As part of its continuing investigations into two metrorail accidents the National Transportation Safety Board will open public dockets and release a series of factual reports on Thursday, Oct. 25, 2007, at 11:00 am.
The two docket items are:
- About 10:16 a.m. on Sunday, May 14, 2006, a southbound Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA) Metrorail Red Line subway train struck and fatally injured a Metrorail employee as the train was about to enter the Dupont Circle station in Washington, D.C. The fatally injured employee was an automatic train control system mechanic who had been working with two other mechanics at the interlocking just north of the Dupont Circle station. All three mechanics moved between the two main tracks north of the interlocking in order to stay clear of a northbound train that was leaving the station and the southbound accident train that was arriving. The two non-injured mechanics remained in the clear between the two trains as they passed. According to signal system data logs, the southbound train was moving about 40 mph as it traveled past the interlocking.
- About 9:30 a.m. on Thursday, November 30, 2006, a northbound Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA) Metrorail Yellow Line subway train struck and fatally injured two Metrorail employees who were performing a routine walking inspection along an outdoor section of main track. The accident occurred near the Eisenhower Avenue Metrorail station in Alexandria, Virginia as the northbound train was traveling along track normally used for southbound traffic.
The information being released is factual in nature and does not provide any analysis. It will include investigative factual reports, interview transcripts, and other documents from the investigation. Additional material will be added to the dockets as it becomes available. Analysis of the accidents, along with conclusions and a determination of probable cause, will come at a later date when the final reports on the investigations are completed.
