• Welcome! The TrekBBS is the number one place to chat about Star Trek with like-minded fans.
    If you are not already a member then please register an account and join in the discussion!

Washington Subway Trains in Collision

How does something like this happen? Don't commuter rails usually have set directions -- like sides of a highway?
 
^ this isn't uncommon. It's not all computer controlled. Metro is full of merging tracks and construction inn top of fatigue, it was bound to happen.
 
One must have rear-ended the other; they don't seem to know yet.

This sounds pretty bad. Four dead, more than forty taken to the hospital and lots still trapped at last report. I hope there are no more fatalities. :(
 
^There may be more fatalitlies. Many of the injuries are serious, and a few are said to be life-threatning. :( Around 100 injured total.

They're not even sure they got everyone off the trains yet. (according to my local news)

ETA- death toll now six. :(
 
Last edited:
How does something like this happen? Don't commuter rails usually have set directions -- like sides of a highway?

Unfortunately, mistakes happen. There was a collision on Toronto's subway system back in 1995 that was a case of an operator mis-reading a signal (they're not as simple as green-red-yellow) and his train ended up running into another at the end of the line.

Tragic as these things are (and I hope that there are no more fatalities in this incident :() they're thankfully and remarkably few and far between.
 
there have been several bad crashes across the control due to error on the part of the crew.

sorry for the severtity of the crash.
:(
 
I take the red line to and from work everyday; I had a few voicemails from concerned family & friends. The whole thing is pretty shocking... and I still took the red line home 2 hours after it happened.

Prayers to the family of those who were hurt and killed :(
 
As I said in the TNZ thread, I really do hope this is human error, 'cus if it isn't that does not bode well for trust in the system. I'm still mystified by how extreme this is, considering all the redundancies.

Fatal accidents are terrible, period. But it is always more disheartening and sudden when it happens on mass transit. For one thing, there are no restraints. And there's usually no warning.

I can't believe they're still looking for bodies. :(
 
I've heard of mass transit systems having mechanisms that automatically stop trains passing red signals if the train operator doesn't stop the train before reaching the signal. I don't know if the metro DC area system has that type of equipment. The signals are supposed to automatically display red if there's a train in the next block on that track and yellow (direction to reduce speed) if there's a train in the second block ahead. The signals would normally reflect yellow or red when switches would route the train to parallel tracks occupied by trains past the switch.
 
Now the death toll is up to nine. And they're still not sure if they've found everybody. :(
 
Don't we have lots of DC people at this bbs? Have we heard from them?
*worries for people like Shatna*
 
Weird... this morning NPR said the death toll was actually seven, not nine, but now it's nine again.

So far, no one I know was there, but I know a *lot* of people out there...

Anyone hear from flamingliberal, or Dennis yet?
 
Dennis I have seen posting in TNZ so he is a-ok.
flamingliberal.. is she from DC?
flamingliberal is in Baltimore, DC's cheaper, frumpier sister-city. Additionally, when worried about members who are prolific posters, a quick search usually does the trick. But only for checking in, not for stalking. :shifty:
 
If you are not already a member then please register an account and join in the discussion!

Sign up / Register


Back
Top