Unlikely Scene For Train Collision
For many of us who have covered Metro, this crash is mystifying. The stretch of track on the Red Line between Takoma and Fort Totten is one of the straightest and most wide open in the Metrorail system. You're above ground all the way. The terrain is flat. The weather this afternoon was fine.
It's one of the biggest distances between stations in the system. Trains can get going quite fast there, compared to other segments of track.
This was a rear end collision. Metro has many systems designed to stop a collision, whether the trains are being operated automatically, or are under the control of the train operator in the front cab.
By
Robert Thomson
|
June 22, 2009; 7:21 PM ET
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Posted by: NancyTav | June 22, 2009 7:52 PM | Report abuse
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This is an awful horrible tragedy -- I'm sure the NTSB will come to a conclusion about what happened. In Boston, we've recently had 2 similar accidents -- both due to the driver/operator texting while driving. It is either that or the operator suffered some debilitating health issue.