Train Operator on Phone Before Hitting 2, Sources Say

The operator of a Yellow Line train that struck and killed two Metro track workers in Alexandria last year was talking on a cellphone while operating the train, according to three sources familiar with a federal investigation into the incident.

It's not clear whether the train operator was using her cellphone at the moment of impact because times recorded by the cellphone tower and the train's vehicle monitoring system were not in sync, according to a source who asked not to be identified because of the investigation.

"They can't pin it down to the minute," the source said. "But there's no doubt she was on the phone."

It is unclear whether the operator's cellphone conversation contributed to the Nov. 30 accident, which is being investigated by the National Transportation Safety Board. Regardless, Metro forbids the use of cellphones while operating trains, driving buses or performing other duties.

Cellphones have long been targeted for extinction on roads by safety advocates who say their use distracts drivers and contributes to accidents. Lawmakers across the country increasingly agree and have banned the use of hand-held cellphones in the District, Connecticut, New York and New Jersey. A similar law is expected to take effect in Washington state in July, and a ban in California will take effect next year.

There is also growing concern about bus and train operators dialing and talking, according to Greg Hull, security chief for the American Public Transportation Association. Although most transit systems have policies regulating cellphone use, there is no national standard, said Hull, who added that the association is developing guidelines.

Transit officials and riders complain about lax enforcement at agencies where bans are in place, Hull said. A Washington Post reporter who rode Metrobuses for a day after a fatal accident in February saw drivers talking on cellphones.

"Driving a bus or a train requires keen concentration," Hull said. "Cellphone use is a distraction for any driver, whether it is an operator of a bus, a train or a car."

Gerald Francis, Metro's deputy general manager, said he could not comment about the Yellow Line incident because of the investigation. But he said employees need to "keep alert and attentive when operating any type of equipment, whether it's buses, trains or maintenance equipment."

The Nov. 30 incident was the third fatal accident involving a Metro worker and a train in a little more than a year. The four fatalities surpass the number of employees killed on the tracks in the agency's first 29 years, and the incidents drew a strong and swift reprimand from the NTSB.

The NTSB is also investigating two other Metrorail accidents: one on Mother's Day last year at Dupont Circle, in which a train hit and killed an employee, and a Jan. 7 derailment at the Mount Vernon Square Station that injured at least 18 people.

In the two fatal accidents, NTSB staff members have completed gathering facts and reviewing technical data and are analyzing them to see whether there are common safety or operational issues, an NTSB spokesman said. The findings of both investigations are expected to be announced this summer.