During the afternoon hours of June 22, 2009, a subway rail collision occurred between two lines south of the Washington Metro Line train in Northeast, Washington, D.C., USA. A moving train colliding with the train stopped in front of him; train operators along with eight passengers were killed, and 80 people were injured, making it the deadliest accident in Washington Metro history.
The NTSB investigation found that after the June 17 replacement of the track circuit component at the site of the June 22 crash, the track circuit had suffered from parasitic oscillations that made it unreliable to report when the stretch of the track was occupied by the train. The strike stopped because of traffic ahead. Since the entire train is on a broken circuit, it becomes invisible to the Automatic Train Control (ATC) system. The train behind him was ordered to continue at 55 mph. The operator of the breaking carriage implements the emergency brake after the train stops into full view but there is not enough time to prevent a collision, which occurs at about 44 mph.
Video June 2009 Washington Metro train collision
Collision
At about 4:57 pm EDT (20:57 UTC) on Monday, June 22, 2009, Washington 112 Metro Train, tied from Glenmont to Shady Grove, left the Takoma station. A few minutes later at 5:02 am, Train 112 ends behind Train 214, which stops between Takoma and Fort Totten stations while waiting for another train to leave Fort Totten's station. Nine people were killed, including operators in the main car of the moving train, Jeanice McMillan, 42, from Springfield, Virginia; at least 80 people were injured. The death toll made the deadliest accident in Metro history.
NTSB found that Train 214 had stopped entirely inside the wrong B2-304 circuit, making it effectively invisible to the automated train control system. Other trains have received a 0 speed command when traveling through this circuit but have enough forward momentum to make it to the next circuit and continue the detection and reception speed commands of the ATC system. Train 214 runs slower than usual because it is being driven in manual mode by the operator, and stops when on the B2-304 circuit and is therefore invisible. Train 112 behind is given a full speed command by ATC to continue on the track. The investigation found that the emergency brake had been applied by the train operator 112 when the train 214 appeared but it was too late to avoid a collision.
A series of nearly-collisions in 2005 under the same circumstances in the tunnel between Foggy Bottom and Rosslyn stations led to a new testing procedure that would identify the wrong circuit after installation. However, in 2009, Metro engineers were unaware of this incident or a test was developed to detect a failure condition.
Rolling stock involved
Train 112 (moving train) consists of 1079, 1078, 1071, 1070, 1130 and 1131 cars - all from 1000-Series. Train 214 (stationary train) consists of 3036, 3037, 3257, 3256, 5067 and 5066 cars, from Breda 3000-Series and CAF 5000-Series. These cars are equipped with an on-board system called Automatic Train Operation and Automatic Train Control, which allows autonomous operations with little human interference.
Maps June 2009 Washington Metro train collision
Response
At 5:20 pm, the rescuer first enters the 1079 car, the main car of the 112 train. The car has a telescope on a stationary rear car, trapping many passengers in need of rescue by emergency workers using stairs for access. Survivors described the accident as "like... crashing into a concrete wall," with the air covered in smoke and debris, and panic among passengers when the car door did not open immediately.
Dennis Oglesby and Martin Griffith, two US Army soldiers stationed on the main train and unharmed in the collision, assisting passengers, most of whom appear to be slightly injured, to flee their trains. Oglesby and Griffith later realized that six to eight people from other trains had been ejected by a collision force and more seriously wounded. One person from the overtaking train had been thrown onto the stationary train roof and suffered a severe head injury. The soldiers gave first aid to the more serious victims until help arrived, and alerted the emergency officer that the rails were still powered and needed to be turned off.
Immediately after the collision, firefighters and paramedics from the District of Columbia Fire and Emergency Medical Services were sent to the Takoma Metro station, and arrived at the crash site shortly thereafter. Fire Chief D.C. Dennis Rubin stated that the initial 9-1-1 emergency call made the incident seem small, but after firefighters arrived at the scene, they sent a team of mass casualty casualties. Within two hours, more than 200 firefighters were on site in response to a three-alarm incident. Rescuers work through the night of June 22, using cranes and heavy lifeboats to free trapped passengers and search for bodies.
The head of Rubin initially confirmed four casualties (including train operators) and 74 injuries, 14 of whom were considered moderate and 6 critical. Five people were killed in the rubble and moved from the crash site on the morning of June 23, when the cranes that dismantled the damaged trains revealed the bodies. Nine fatalities were finally confirmed. Major General (ret.) David F. Wherley, Jr. from the District of Columbia Air National Guard - known for deploying fighter jets to defend Washington, D.C. during the September 11 attacks - were killed in collision along with his wife, Ann; Other passengers killed in the crash were Lavonda King, Veronica DuBose, Cameron Williams, Dennis Hawkins, Mary Doolittle, and Ana Fernandez.
According to Daniel Kaniewski, former Homeland Security Administration official George W. Bush now with the Homeland Security Policy Institute at George Washington University, the overall "quiet and orderly" emergency response, pointing out that the US emergency response "during extraordinary incidents has increased significantly "since the 9/11 attacks.
Service interruption
Immediately after the incident, the Red Line service was suspended between Fort Totten and Takoma stations, and New Hampshire Avenue was closed. The service between Silver Spring and Rhode Island Ave-Brentwood was suspended pending the completion of the initial investigation and clearing of the debris. This section is expected to remain closed at least until June 23. Washington Mayor Adrian Fenty said transport along the East Coast would have a significant impact, as the Amtrak and MARC trains run on a lane adjacent to the crash site. Bus service affected to steer passengers Metrorail around covered lanes, but commuter area is severely affected. The federal government is urging its employees in the capital region to telecommute on June 23 if possible. The Red Line is projected to be very crowded after service resumption and the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA) advises people to take alternative bus routes. The replacement bus shuttle between the affected stations is expected to be delayed long.
The service was restored in both directions on Saturday, June 27, but with a maximum speed of 35 mph reduced across the Red Line, and slower speeds in the collision area.
Aftermath
Initial question
Shortly after the incident, WMATA General Manager John Catoe stated that the cause is unknown but "the system is secure." The National Transportation Safety Agency (NTSB) initiated the investigation. WMATA and NTSB researchers consider several possible causes, which may include operator errors, brake failure, errors in computer signals and operating systems, or a combination of all three. During peak hours operation, rail movement is usually controlled by a centralized computer system, and a separate decentralized system can automatically apply the brakes to prevent collisions. This system has failed at least once in the past, and NTSB later identified incompatible specs, from the maximum deceleration capability of the train to the deceleration level used in the roadside system design. The train has a manual emergency brake, which can be applied by the driver in case of impact, if the driver can see and identify the danger with sufficient time to stop. Officials indicated that manual brakes were indeed involved. It is possible that the brake system failed to function as designed, or that the operator applied the brakes too late. The main car of the moving train was two months late for scheduled brake maintenance. In a June 22 night press conference, Catoe stated that the last car on the discontinued carriage was the CAF 5000 Series car (car 5066), which began operating in 2001, and that the main car on the moving train was the Rohr Mobil 1000-Series industry. WMATA then confirmed that all cars on the moving train are 1000-Series.
The 1000 series entered service in 1976 when the Metro system was opened, and refurbished and their motors converted from DC to AC propulsion by Breda Costruzioni Ferroviarie in the mid-1990s. In 2006, the NTSB cited the 1000-Series car as "vulnerable to catastrophic telescoping damage and the complete loss of occupant survival space in longitudinal end-structure impact". It recommends an entire series repair after a 2004 crash at Woodley Park station where the Rohr 1000-Series car ran into another train. In this case, the Hersman NTSB insists that, "the first car [of the crashed train] overrides the rear car [of the crashed train], and much of the space that can be passed on the first car of the strike train has been compromised". NTSB called for speeding up the 1000-Series car's pension, or insisted they be "fitted with a chase-breaking collision comparable to a 6000-Series car train." In addition, 1000-Series cars lack data recorders that can be used in determining the cause of the crash. During the press conference, Catoe stated that she "has no basis to suspend the current 1000-Series car usage". However, WMATA then announced the decision to no longer use the 1000-Series car as a lead or trailing unit of any train.
On June 24, WMATA issued a press release stating that the agency "is unlikely to know the cause for several weeks or months when the investigation was revealed." Twenty-four hours after the incident, the NTSB confirmed that evidence indicates that the emergency brake has been involved by the operator. In addition, the striking trains in automatic mode and the software on board should stop the train.
On June 25, the NTSB test on a 740-foot (230 m) track track below the train stopped showing that it was not functioning properly, failing to detect the presence of a test train that had been placed by the investigator on it. Hersman said, "These circuits are vital.This is a signal system.This gives information, authorization, and speed commands to the next train," but not to blame them in this case. WMATA had replaced all 20,000 series of system-wide relays in 1999, after components designed for the last 70 years began to fail after only 25 years in service, but the agency claimed that no newer relays had failed before this incident. WMATA ordered the examination of all track circuits on the 106-mile (171 km) track after the NTSB test. On July 23, the NTSB announced that the track circuit at the crash site had been damaged since 2007, 18 months before the collision, and WMATA has since discovered six other circuits in the system that have acted remarkably. WMATA disables any circuit that can not be fixed immediately and creates an online circuit tracking system, similar to its power outage tracker.
NTSB report
The NTSB report on the accident was released on July 27, 2010, and blamed the wrong track circuit, part of the automated train control system, to cause accidents. WMATA created a press release detailing the changes on July 26 in anticipation of the release of the report.
See also
- Incident at Washington Metro
- November 29, 2009 Washington Metro train trains
- Track series
- Faulty side failure
References
Further reading
- Associated Press (June 27, 2009). "Train operator in a D.C accident called a hero: Relatives, friends and colleagues glorify 42 years in church services". Washington, D.C.: Associated Press. Archived from original on June 28, 2009 . Retrieved June 28, 2009 . CS1 maint: URL not worth (link)
- Daniel Kaniewski (June 28, 2009). "Metro Damage Shows Progress in Preparedness". The Washington Post . Retrieved July 31, 2015 .
External links
- Photos from BBC News
- LunchTalk chat with Metro Ceneral Manager John Catoe, July 2, 2009
Source of the article : Wikipedia
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