Metro corrects, comments on Washington Post story

The Washington Post's story, "Metro Scare Under Potomac," (September 6, 2009) revisited a 2005 incident that was covered at the time, Metro officials said. 

Metro has issued a line-by-line list of corrections, clarifications and comments to the article.

A track-circuit problem
occurred between Foggy Bottom and Rosslyn Metrorail stations on June 7, 2005.
The incident was investigated, the circuit was fixed and safety recommendations
were implemented. A news release was issued in 2005. A more detailed description of the incident is posted on Metro’s Web
site under Questions and Answers about the June 22, 2009 collision. 

The Tri-State Oversight Committee was made aware of
the incident when it happened. Once the safety recommendations were
implemented, Metro closed its own investigation.



On June 22, 2009, two
Metrorail trains collided. The National Transportation Safety Board has not yet
determined the cause of the accident. However NTSB officials are focusing on a module that is located in a train control room near the tracks at Fort Totten Metrorail station.

Metro has posted
significant information about the incident on a special accident page
on its web site. 

Metro
welcomes additional focus on safety. Metro General Manager John Catoe has
recently spoken with federal officials about a need for added regional transit
oversight. Catoe, along with the top transportation offices from Maryland,
Virginia and the District of Columbia sent a joint letter to U.S. Department of
Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood on August 26, 2009 stating that they were
in favor of additional safety oversight for Metro at the highest regional
levels. That letter was posted on Metro’s web site.