Safety Review of Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA) Metrorail Operations

Details

• Creators:
  Boni, Edmond A ; Gilbert, Eli ; Gilbert, Susan ; Newman, Dennis R
• Corporate Creators:
  John A. Volpe National Transportation Systems Center (U.S.) ; Interactive Elements, Inc.
• Subject/TRT Terms:
  • Crash investigation
  • Transit safety
  • Train operations
  • Safety
  • Accident investigation
  • Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA)
  • Accidents
  • Rail transit safety
• Publication/ Report Number:
  Report No: A-90-9005-97-1 ; DOT-VNTSC-FTA-97-6 ; FTA-MA-90-9005-97-1
• Resource Type:
  Tech Report
• Geographical Coverage:
  Washington (District of Columbia)
• Edition:
  Final report Nov 1996-Jul 1997
• Corporate Publisher:
  John A. Volpe National Transportation Systems Center (U.S.)
• Abstract:
  A recent series of accidents and incidents at the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA) have raised concerns about the Authority's commitment to safety as its top priority. In January 1996, a train operator was killed at an end-of-the line station when his train slid on icy tracks into parked railcars. There have also been incidents of tower supervisors misdirecting trains in yards, including an incident in which a supervisor directed a train to pass a red (stop) signal. In April 1996, WMATA disconnected the operating mechanisms for the mid-car emergency doors on approximately 100 rail cars without removing cars from service. Later that month, two workers were injured when their tools made contact with a live electrical cable that should have been deactivated while tracks were being repaired. On May 10, a delayed response to a fire put both firefighters and passengers at risk. This document presents a review of safety and operational issues that have affected safety performance at the Authority and presents 31 findings, many of which have been the subject of prior internal and external reviews. Recent actions to improve safety practices are also identified.
• Format:
  PDF
• Download URL:
  https://rosap.ntl.bts.gov/view/dot/8426/dot_8426_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 330.72 KB]
• Collection(s):
  Volpe Center
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha256:cce669f453927b71ffa9cb63f62c8976c05a1e9fea55230f9b6b7d7abd50c187