NTSB: Mechanical Problems Led to WMATA Derailment
WASHINGTON — The National Transportation Safety Board has found that mechanical problems led to a subway derailment in Washington, DC earlier this year that injured 23 passengers. The Board said that the probable cause of the derailment of the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA) train was a wheel climb on a car as it traversed a standard turnout near the Mt. Vernon Square station. The wheel climb was initiated by a rough wheel surface created during maintenance, the Board determined. The accident was also caused by the lack of quality control measures to ensure that wheel surfaces were smoothed