Some Near Misses For Those in Rear Of Eight-Car Trains

By Robert Thomson
Sunday, May 4, 2008

Some commuters who board the crowded Orange Line trains at Court House station know they might get a seat if they enter the last car of an eight-car train. That's because many other riders are still in the habit of standing at boarding spots for six-car trains.

Some train operators also may find that six-car trains are habit-forming. When bringing eight-car trains to a platform, they occasionally come up short.

During a Monday morning rush late last month, the doors on an eight-car train that had left Court House opened again at the next station, Rosslyn.

Well, almost at Rosslyn. Actually, the last car was still in the tunnel. Riders were upset but unharmed. By Wednesday, though, they were getting way too familiar with that tunnel wall at Rosslyn.

Dear Dr. Gridlock:

I'm the rider who submitted the comment to your online chat [ http://www.washingtonpost.com, April 21] regarding the train doors opening while the last car of the eight-car train was still in the tunnel.

Unbelievably, the exact same thing happened while I was on the train this morning [April 30]. My husband and I were on car 5005 around 8:20 a.m. as it pulled into Rosslyn. The doors opened while the entire car was still in the tunnel. And again, there was no reaction from the operator.

Blair Petrillo

Arlington

Dear Dr. Gridlock:

The incident on an eight-car Orange Line train at Rosslyn in which the doors of the last car were opened in the tunnel, reported on your blog April 21, happened again this morning. By dumb luck, my partner and I have been present for both incidents on our commute into the city from Court House.

This morning, an eight-car train that had made it all the way onto the Court House platform pulled into Rosslyn, but the last car failed to make it into the station. The operator then opened the doors. There was no indication from the operator that he knew of the issue. We continued on to Foggy Bottom, where the train again made it all the way onto the platform (as at Court House) and, subsequently, at Farragut West, where we disembarked.

Brian Moulton

Arlington

Metro is still investigating the two incidents, spokesman Steven Taubenkibel said. But the transit authority is concerned that operators, like passengers, might be forgetting they are at the front of eight-car trains that fill the entire station platform.

Metro says it is increasing supervision and putting notices in operators' cabs to remind them. Operators should be looking down the platform from their cab windows to see the rest of the train. And they should be announcing that "This is an eight-car train" at every station -- partly to remind themselves.

I heard from four riders who were aboard those trains at Rosslyn. Petrillo said she didn't see any of her fellow "pre-coffee" commuters go for the intercom to contact the operator. "People didn't know what to do," she said. "You're not expecting that."

Nor should you.

The train operators were placed on administrative leave pending the outcome of the investigations.

Metrorail was designed to allow the doors to open automatically, but because of a malfunction in the electronic system that controls the doors, train operators recently assumed that task.

Riders know how often operators forget which station the train is at or where it's heading. The consequences of forgetting how many cars the train has can be fatal.

Enforcing Safety

Dear Dr. Gridlock:

So many people cross between corners that it is no wonder there are so many pedestrian deaths. Add to this the fact that people do not pay attention to the crosswalk signs, and there is a major problem.

A gentleman walked in front of me in the middle of a block while on his cellphone last week. Downtown Silver Spring could probably support the county just on illegal crossers at the corners around the Discovery Channel building if there was even minimal enforcement.

Philip Lalka

Wheaton

Despite periodic safety campaigns, local jurisdictions need to do a better job enforcing the street-crossing rules.

With limited resources, enforcement should target areas where pedestrian behavior is clearly dangerous and ticketing could produce visible results. Downtown Silver Spring, University Boulevard and Langley Park are among the good targets in Maryland.

What other dangerous spots would readers cite?

Dr. Gridlock appears Thursday in the Extras and Sunday in the Metro section. You can send e-mails todrgridlock@washpost.com. Include your name, home community and phone numbers. Some letters are published.

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