Metro officials face more scrutiny from D.C. Council today

FILE: Metro train riders are seen being shuttled on a Metrobus after commuters were evacuated from the L’Enfant Metro Station. (Ricky Carioti/The Washington Post)

Metro officials will face more questions from D.C. Council members Thursday afternoon about the Jan. 12 incident in which hundreds of Metro riders were trapped for more than 35-minutes on a smoke-filled train in a tunnel just outside of L’Enfant Plaza.

Alexandria resident Carol Glover died and more than 80 passengers were injured in the incident, which has raised serious questions about the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority’s safety and maintenance protocols. On Wednesday, the Federal Transit Administration announced it would review Metro’s safety programs for subway and bus operations. The episode also has exposed holes in the radio systems that allow first responders to communicate with each other during such an emergency.

Council member Kenyan R. McDuffie (D-Ward 5), chair of the Committee on the Judiciary, and Council member Jack Evans (D-Ward 2), chair of  the Committee on Finance and Revenue, will hold the joint public oversight roundtable to examine how WMATA’s and other agencies responded to the incident. The roundtable is expected to begin at 2 p.m. The Post’s Aaron C. Davis will be live tweeting @byaaroncdavis

The National Transportation Safety Board is investigating the incident. In a preliminary report, it said an “electrical arcing incident” caused smoke to fill the tunnel. But many questions still remain unanswered, including why it took rescuers so long to reach passengers on the train.

Last month, Tom Downs, then chairman of the Metro board, briefed D.C. Council members on the incident, but offered few answers citing the NTSB investigation.

Glover, a D.C. native, was the first Metrorail passenger to be killed in a Metro incident since the 2009 Red Line crash near Fort Totten. Nine people, including the train operator, were killed and scores injured. Last week, her family filed a $50 million lawsuit against Metro.