By Lena H. Sun
Washington Post Staff Writer
Friday, April 13, 2007

An Easter Sunday fire on one of Metro's newest rail cars was caused by an electrical surge and faulty software that failed to monitor and prevent a heat buildup on the car's underside, Metro officials said yesterday.

Agency officials said they are repairing all cars that use the software and assured Metro's board of directors that the rail system is safe and that service has not been affected.

The software is used in 190 rail cars, nearly 20 percent of Metro's fleet, and all but 38 have been fixed, said rail chief Steve Feil. The remaining cars will have their software replaced by tomorrow, he said.

"Our cars are safe, and our customers should not be concerned about their safety," Metro's general manager, John Catoe, said in a written statement. "We have identified and fixed the problem."

The software issue is the latest in a series of problems that have plagued the production of cars and rehabilitation of older cars. Production was halted for four to five weeks last year because of cracks in a critical part of the cars. In the refurbished cars, Metro has found problems in the primary suspension system and in doors.

Metro officials have been eagerly awaiting the arrival of 184 new rail cars, built by Alstom Transportation Inc., that they expect to ease crowding on platforms and trains. The agency has conditionally accepted 56 new cars, all of which have the affected software. The software is also used in 134 older rail cars that Alstom has refurbished.

The passengers in the Green Line train that caught fire Sunday were evacuated at the Waterfront-SEU station, which was closed for about 2 1/2 hours. No injuries were reported.

The fire started after a sensor underneath the rail car failed, causing the voltage in the car to rise. At the same time, the software designed to monitor the flow of electricity also failed, causing overheating in the resistor grid, an electrical component under the car that absorbs excess energy, officials said.

A Metro official said the software was not designed to take into account the failure of the voltage sensor. A check of all affected rail cars found no other bad sensors, officials said.

A spokesman for Alstom declined to comment.

In other developments, Elizabeth Hewlett, the former head of the Prince George's County Planning Board, and Peter Benjamin, a former senior manager at Metro, were sworn in as Maryland's voting members on the board. They were named by Gov. Martin O'Malley (D) last month to replace Charles Deegan and Ray Briscuso, who were appointed by the previous governor, Robert L. Ehrlich Jr. (R). Hewlett, a lawyer, was elected chairman of the 12-member board.

Catoe told board members that he is continuing to work to close a budget shortfall next year by eliminating positions and tightening spending, and that he hopes to complete the restructuring within the next few weeks. He said he has been in weekly and sometimes daily contact with an outside consultant who has been reviewing agency personnel and costs. Budget officials expect to present details to the board next month.

The board was also briefed by a panel of independent experts on Metro's costs for operating and maintaining a proposed rail extension through Tysons Corner to Dulles International Airport and Loudoun County. The line is being built with federal money and funds raised in Northern Virginia, but once it is completed, it will be owned and operated by Metro.

The panel compared the rehabilitation and operating costs for a tunnel and for an elevated segment and concluded that a tunnel would be less expensive, but the net savings of $80 million over 60 years was not significant.

The experts, who included managers from other transit agencies, found that over 60 years, an aboveground structure had higher rehabilitation costs ($325 million) than a tunnel ($125 million) because it is much more expensive to replace certain parts. But over the same period, a tunnel would cost $120 million more -- or $2 million more a year -- to operate and maintain because of staffing and equipment.

The question appears to be moot, however, because Virginia has announced an agreement with a private contractor to build a line that would not include a tunnel.