Metro Officials Warn Of Delays During Morning Commute After Train Derailment
BALTIMORE (WJZ) — Metro riders are being warned that their commutes Tuesday morning may be impacted after a train derailed in downtown Washington, D.C. Monday morning.
Sections of an eight-car train derailed around 6:40 a.m. Monday, shortly after the train left the Farragut North station. After being stuck on the train for more than an hour, 63 passengers were able to walk through the tunnel to safety. Officials reported that no one was injured.
"It was just a really large bump. It felt like the train had run over something really solid," one rider said.
Another passenger said: "It felt twice as bad as any turbulence I've been in a plane."
Metro says the portion of the track where the derailment occurred was installed in 1993, and it typically has a 50-year life span. As for what happened, that's being investigated.
RELATED: Officials Investigating Train Derailment In Downtown D.C.
Metro leaders are using this moment to renew calls for additional funding as it tries to deal with an aging infrastructure.
"Metro needs the dedicated funding, the resources to continue to fix our systems, " WMATA Chairman of the Board Jack Evans.
After Monday's derailment, Maryland Sen. Chris Van Hollen tweeted about the incident and what's next for the train system.
Glad to hear that there have been no reported injuries—but Metro has a lot of work to do to ensure our system is safe. I've asked @NTSB and @wmata for more information on the incident and will work to get to the bottom of this issue. https://t.co/2cOSlxchMD
— Senator Chris Van Hollen (@ChrisVanHollen) January 15, 2018
The system is already warning passengers to plan for extra time Tuesday morning because the Red Line may be forced to operate on a single track.
"If I'm coming in and it's delayed I might as well just Uber, because if the Metro is delayed you never know when your train is going to come," Metro rider Carey Dunde said.
"It seems like Metro is trying their best...but I think they still have a long ways to go," passenger Christopher Wheetley said.
Investigators are looking into what caused the derailment. Human factor, track or the rail cars may be possible causes.
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