WMATA review of service disruption finds safety violations

A Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA) review of a Dec. 10 Red Line disruption identified two safety violations that resulted from human error and insufficient training.

The incident and review prompted immediate corrective action, as well as identified where additional training and supervisory oversight is required.

Led by WMATA Chief Safety Officer Theresa Impastato, the review found the Rail Operations Control Center (ROCC) controller did not follow safety procedures upon receiving a report of "light sparks" in the the tunnel outside Tenleytown Station in Washington, D.C.

While the train operator did not explicitly report “smoke” or “fire,” the ROCC controller appropriately recognized a potential hazard and requested that the following train (No. 130) conduct a track inspection, but failed to instruct No. 130 to offload its passengers before beginning the inspection, WMATA officials said in a press release.

The controller’s actions violated WMATA's safety rules and procedures for smoke/fire incidents, and immediate corrective action is underway, they said.

The review also found that, after departing Friendship Heights Station and entering the tunnel, No. 130’s operator notified ROCC that she had properly stopped the train in advance of a small fire on the track ahead. The ROCC controller directed the train operator to return to Friendship Heights, a process that required deactivating the train’s anti-collision protection system in order to move against the normal direction of traffic.

ROCC also instructed the operator to perform a specific procedure to turn off the train’s ventilation systems. The train operator did not properly execute those procedures, and subsequently could not proceed faster than 2 to 3 mph, resulting in an unacceptable delay in returning passengers to the station.

The troubleshooting that followed was deemed insufficient. Further, the review concluded that operators need better training on rarely used mechanical procedures.

Finally, the review found a safety violation and identified critical errors by ROCC and emergency response team members in the tunnel related to the restoration of third-rail power.

Protocols to protect workers from electrical injury were not followed in that incident, the review found.