Power Surge May Have Caused Sunday's Rail Woes

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WHILE METRO CONDUCTS a formal investigation into Sunday's unprecedented rail disruptions across the system, one possibility has emerged as to the cause of some of the problems, including a fire at an automatic train control equipment room near the Reagan National Airport station. From a transit agency statement:

Metro officials are working with Virginia Dominion Power officials as part of an investigation looking into the possibility that a sudden surge in electricity in Northern Virginia may have resulted in several smoke and fire incidents at Northern Virginia Metrorail stations and facilities ...

» 5:45 p.m. — A problem with an insulator at the Mt. Vernon Square/7th St-Convention Center Metrorail station caused smoke on the tracks of the Yellow and Green Lines. The smoke was emanating from bolts and an electrical cable that support the running rail. During the incident, trains shared one track between the U St/African Amer-Civil War Memorial/Cardozo and Mt. Vernon Square/7th St-Convention Center stations. Service resumed at 7:56 p.m.

» 5:54 p.m. — A fire in an automatic train control equipment room along the tracks at the Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport Metrorail station caused officials to close the station on the Yellow and Blue Lines. The automatic train control equipment room houses the necessary support electrical equipment and circuitry to operate Metrorail trains.

» 5:54 p.m. — At the same time, Blue Line train #405, traveling towards the Largo Town Center Metrorail station, lost power at the Braddock Road Metrorail station. As a result, Yellow Line train #302 was offloaded at the King Street Metrorail station so it could push train #405 off the mainline.

» 6:21 p.m. — As a result of the fire in the automatic train control equipment room at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport Metrorail station, Yellow Line train #306 lost propulsion power between the Pentagon and Pentagon City Metrorail stations causing a delay in removing that train from the tracks. As a result, Blue Line train #410 was offloaded at the Pentagon Metrorail station so it could push Yellow Line train #306 off the mainline.

Metro provided free shuttle bus service between the Braddock Road and Pentagon City Metrorail stations during the Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport service interruption. Seven shuttle buses transported 308 passengers. Service resumed at 9:19 p.m.

» 6:32 p.m. — A smoldering insulator inside the Farragut North Metrorail station on the Red Line caused the closure of the station. An insulator is attached to the third rail, which provides power to Metrorail trains. Red Line trains operated from Metro Center to Glenmont, and from Dupont Circle to Shady Grove. Metro provided shuttle bus service between the Metro Center and Dupont Circle Metrorail stations. Nine buses transported 324 passengers. The station reopened at 8:54 p.m.

» 6:35 p.m. — A problem with three smoldering insulators resulted in a fire in the tail track (end of the line where trains are stored and staged) at the Huntington Metrorail station on the Yellow Line, causing a temporarily closure of the station. Similar to the Farragut North Metrorail station incident, an insulator is a piece of equipment that is attached to the third rail which provides power to Metrorail trains. The station reopened at 6:59 p.m., with only the south entrance closed. The south entrance reopened shortly after 8 p.m.

» 7:40 p.m. — A fire in the rear of a seven-year old Metrobus operating between the Dupont Circle and Metro Center Metrorail stations as part of shuttle service due to the closure of the Farragut North Metrorail station that occurred at 12th and I Street, N.W. Sixty-five passengers were on the bus. One passenger tripped and fell exiting the bus, but there were no other injuries. The fire was extinguished by the D.C. Fire Department. The cause of the fire was the result of a cable that wore out.

» 8:25 p.m. — Smoke was initially reported coming from a non-passenger 12-car train (trains #306 and #410) between the Foggy Bottom and Farragut West Metrorail stations on the Orange and Blue Lines. The non-passenger train was traveling to the New Carrollton rail yard when a power surge occurred. The train automatically came to a stop (fail-safe mode) and the brakes locked on one of the 12 cars, which caused smoke. The smoke caused the closure of the Farragut West Metrorail station at 8:25 p.m. The station reopened at 8:58 p.m.