WASHINGTON — The National Transportation Safety Board released the site of the Ft. Totten accident back to the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA).
The site, located on the Red Line between Ft. Totten and Takoma stations in Washington, D.C., was the scene of the fatal collision of two WMATA trains on June 22, 2009.
The NTSB’s Signal and Train Control Group has completed its examination and testing of train control equipment at the scene of the accident. Therefore, the accident site, including the track, has been released back to WMATA.
As part of the ongoing investigation, the NTSB is continuing to examine components from the train control system in WMATA’s laboratory facility in Landover, Md., and at WMATA’s Operations Control Center.
Meanwhile, Metro will begin repair work at the site of the June 22 accident starting next week now that the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) has announced that it has concluded its on-scene testing of the tracks between the Fort Totten and Takoma Metrorail stations on the Red Line.
The NTSB’s action means that Metro will be able to begin to replace track circuitry in the area of the accident, including several thousand feet of cable, and track and circuit-related hardware. The work is expected to take about 30 days.
Riders should continue to expect the same delays that they have been experiencing on the Red Line since the accident took place while Metro completes this work.
“Reconstruction of this segment of the system is our priority,” said Metro General Manager John Catoe. “We were prohibited by the NTSB from doing work in this area since the time that the accident took place. We will make repairs, conduct a rigorous testing process and resume service to normal in about 30 days,” he said. “We will provide weekly updates to riders on the status of our repair work on our web site, www.metroopensdoors.com.”
