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Communication In Derailment Is Criticized
Metro Board Chairman Chris Zimmerman says the agency's communications were ineffective.
(Gerald Martineau - The Washington Post)
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The bottom line, Zimmerman said, was that local officials who could have helped Metro were hobbled. "This is basic coordination among people who can help you do your job," he said.
Metro expects to issue a preliminary report on the derailment in mid-July.
After last week's storm-related disruption at the East Falls Church and West Falls Church stations, Metro set up shuttle buses at East Falls Church. But plans drawn up by the Northern Virginia Transportation Commission recommend that bus bridges be staged from the Ballston-MU Station, which is bigger and can handle larger crowds, Zimmerman said.
Metro spokeswoman Lisa Farbstein said those plans were drafts that have yet to be adopted.
Board member Peter Benjamin said Metro needs to be as clear and blunt with riders "as early as possible and as far away as possible" from the incident location that it might take the agency two or three hours to move all the riders and suggest alternatives for them.
Riders need to realize that Metro has only 20 to 25 buses during peak hours to transport stranded passengers during service disruptions, officials said. One bus carries 50 people; a six-car train during rush-hour might have 900 to 1,000 riders. During rush hour, two to three trains are typically backed up in both directions if service is disrupted. That means the first 20 shuttle buses to arrive can pick up only one out of six trainloads of riders, Benjamin said.
Metro was able to resume Orange Line service yesterday after a heat kink Wednesday caused major delays. Trains were running at reduced speeds of 15 mph on a section between the East Falls Church and Ballston stations, after personnel replaced 1.5 inches of track that caused several feet of rail to buckle, rail chief Dave Kubicek said.
Staff writer Daniela Deane and researcher Meg Smith contributed to this report.
