How Inadequate
Facilities Assessment Led to the
Incidents at the Washington DC
Fire at the L’Enfant Plaza Station: On January 12, 2015, a fireMetro
occurred that
led to the death of one woman and at least 86 others become ill. This incident
was caused by the following:
o Damaged Jumper Cables - Low standard insulation layer.
o Electrical Arcing - Debris was encroaching the electrical areas and water
leakage.
o Bad Connectors - Lack of sealing sleeve on the connectors let the electricity
escape.
Silver Line Derailment at East Falls Church Station: On July 29, 2016, a
derailment occurred leading to injury of 3 passengers, one of whom was
hospitalized. The incident was caused by the following:
o Track Gage Width - near point of derailment (POD) was nearly 2” wider than
standard.
o Deteriorated Crossties - 16/18 crossties near POD were not in compliance
with established standards.
o Tie Plats and Spikes - were not capable of holding the rail fasteners.
, Common Causes:
oInsufficient facilities condition assessments
oInsufficient oversight
oInadequate inspections
oInsufficient preventative maintenance being performed
oThe two-track design did not allow for sufficient downtime for proper inspections &
maintenance
oInsufficient communication and training to the crew
oInsufficient technical staff like engineers on crew
oInadequate service maintenance being performed, like cleaning of tracks
Facilities Assessment Led to the
Incidents at the Washington DC
Fire at the L’Enfant Plaza Station: On January 12, 2015, a fireMetro
occurred that
led to the death of one woman and at least 86 others become ill. This incident
was caused by the following:
o Damaged Jumper Cables - Low standard insulation layer.
o Electrical Arcing - Debris was encroaching the electrical areas and water
leakage.
o Bad Connectors - Lack of sealing sleeve on the connectors let the electricity
escape.
Silver Line Derailment at East Falls Church Station: On July 29, 2016, a
derailment occurred leading to injury of 3 passengers, one of whom was
hospitalized. The incident was caused by the following:
o Track Gage Width - near point of derailment (POD) was nearly 2” wider than
standard.
o Deteriorated Crossties - 16/18 crossties near POD were not in compliance
with established standards.
o Tie Plats and Spikes - were not capable of holding the rail fasteners.
, Common Causes:
oInsufficient facilities condition assessments
oInsufficient oversight
oInadequate inspections
oInsufficient preventative maintenance being performed
oThe two-track design did not allow for sufficient downtime for proper inspections &
maintenance
oInsufficient communication and training to the crew
oInsufficient technical staff like engineers on crew
oInadequate service maintenance being performed, like cleaning of tracks
