No single-tracking, the metro general manager is saying. Four dead, one a operator of one of the trains. What if this had happened more in the center of the Red Line during rush hour when everyone is standing and pressed up against one another?
Also, line to call for information (when available): 202-727-9099.
@adminslave: they were also supposedly inbound trains instead of outbound trains from downtown though the location of the crash means they were still probably horribly crowded.
I am from Mont. county MD and used to commute (when I lived there) on the Red Line every day for work (as do most of my friends that remain). My stepmother takes this train to and from Silver Spring every morning and this is her route home. I am waiting for word from my father and freaking out in the west coast.
If this is an issue of single tracking, why in the world were they single tracking the cars during rush hour? When I rode that line single tracking only happened on odd hours.
@HiredGoons: Thank you, I just heard from my father and my stepmother is ok. My father (a widower) has been freaking out for the last two hours; I can't imagine what he went through. The whole thing is awful.
@adminslave: i'm glad your family is okay. i had friends that went missing after the bombings in the london tube and that was harrowing enough, can't imagine if it was a relative.
Oh my god, this is terrible. What is happening with Metro that this sort of accident keeps occurring every few years!? The last time, we were "lucky" because the late hour meant the trains that collided weren't that full. This time, it's during rush hour, on the red line, for god's sake. I can only hope that the national attention forces Metro to finally shape up and prevent all the operator errors and mechanical problems.
My thoughts are with the people who were injured and are trapped, and the families of those killed. I hope everyone who can be is saved.
This is the notice on the Washington Metropolitan Transit Authority's website:
Disruption at Fort Totten. Trains are turning back at Rhode Island Ave and Silver Spring stations due to a train experiencing mechanical difficulties outside of Fort Totten station. Shuttle Bus service has been requested.
06/22/09
Also, line to call for information (when available): 202-727-9099.
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If this is an issue of single tracking, why in the world were they single tracking the cars during rush hour? When I rode that line single tracking only happened on odd hours.
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Still safer to commute by rail, though.
06/22/09
My thoughts are with the people who were injured and are trapped, and the families of those killed. I hope everyone who can be is saved.
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[www.insidetransit.com]
Just awful.
06/22/09
06/22/09
Disruption at Fort Totten. Trains are turning back at Rhode Island Ave and Silver Spring stations due to a train experiencing mechanical difficulties outside of Fort Totten station. Shuttle Bus service has been requested.
Mechanical difficulties. Sheesh.