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Rail News Home Passenger Rail

7/19/2012



Rail News: Passenger Rail

D.C. transit agency fixes computer glitch that stopped rail service


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A computer glitch that caused rail service to be interrupted twice last weekend has been fixed, Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA) officials announced yesterday.

The cause was determined to be a failed module in an information management network device, and the module has been replaced, they said.

“While we have confidence that the immediate issue has been resolved, our work must and will continue to make this system more robust and to improve its reliability for our customers,” said David Kubicek, WMATA’s deputy general manager of operations, in a prepared statement.

The computer problem on July 14 and 15 affected an information management system that enables controllers in the Metro Rail Operations Control Center to view trains on a dynamic map and remotely control switches, agency officials said. All safety systems that maintain proper space between trains “remained fully operational during both occurrences,” they said.

While rail service was operating normally yesterday morning, WMATA officials noted that the extreme heat affecting the D.C. area could trigger train speed restrictions as a cautionary measure in the event “heat kinks” cause track to buckle. A heat kink was blamed for causing a WMATA train derailment last week.