The National Transportation Safety Board will launch a formal investigation into the latest Metro crash, in which a six-car train smashed into a parked six-car train at a Northern Virginia rail yard, injuring three workers and causing at least $9 million in damage. NTSB spokeswoman Bridget Serchak noted the “significant damage” to Metro’s rail cars in Sunday’s accident at the West Falls Church rail yard.
The damage could total as much as $36 million because all 12 rail cars were damaged, as was the track the two trains were on. New cars cost about $3 million each. Three cars were damaged beyond repair, and officials are assessing the condition of the remaining ones.
Metro officials have not said how fast Train 902 was moving when it pulled into the rail yard and hit the parked train at 4:27 am, but the impact was enough to derail two cars, one on each train. Train 902 was the last train of the night, Metro said. In addition to the train operator, two rail car cleaners in the parked train were injured. Fortunately, no passengers were aboard the trains.
The NTSB is already in the middle of investigating this summer’s deadly crash which killed nine and injured 80 north of Fort Totten subway station in northeast Washington. A hearing is scheduled to address safety issues and government oversight of transit systems.
In August at the same rail yard, two Metro mechanics were hurt when a two-car train struck the rail cars they were working on. A safety board investigation typically looks at all factors, from possible mechanical and equipment failure to human error. The operator of Train 902 had been in the job for about a year and had worked for Metro since 2007. Metro officials declined to provide the hours he worked that week. The incident occurred at the end of his nearly 10 ½ hour shift Sunday.
