Photo by Victoria Pickering

During morning rush hour last Wednesday January 6, two cars on the Green Line separated on the train’s way to Navy Yard. Metro General Manager Paul Wiedefeld said, while the investigation is ongoing, they’ve found moisture in a pneumatic line that connects the cars, known as a coupler system.

According to WTOP, Wiedefeld told reporters after today’s Metro Board committee meetings that

“They have eliminated things, so we know there was no issue with the coupler itself, it was not broken or anything of that sort, the cars were aligned correctly … one anomaly we’ve found is some extra moisture in some lines — this a pneumatic sort of coupling thing that occurs, so basically it’s getting air, and there’s always moisture and air, and then there’s a system that takes that moisture out.”

The Federal Transit Administration, which now has direct oversight of Metro safety, is looking into the incident, as is Metro.

No injuries were reported from the 18-inch separation. “The train immediately came to a safe and complete stop, and the operator conducted an inspection,” WMATA spokesperson Sherri Ly said.