On Jan. 12, 2015, passengers on a Washington Metropolitan Transit Authority (WMATA) Metrorail train were trapped for some 40 minutes in the tunnels between two downtown D.C. stations, while smoke filled the air, according to the Washington Post. One passenger died, and 86 others were taken to nearby hospitals to be treated for smoke inhalation.


The following day, the National Transporation Safety Board (NTSB) began its investigation. While the preliminary report does not say what caused the malfunction, investigators observed severe electrical arcing damage to the third rail and electrical cables. The NTSB stated it could take months to determine the cause, and investigators are reviewing training and maintenance records, documentation on previous events with smoke generation, and WMATA’s emergency response and evacuation plans.


While the emergency-response performance of WMATA and the fire department was criticized, authorities continued to hold back details through press time. However, Washington, D.C., Mayor Muriel E. Bowser stated emergency response teams arrived at the scene “within the time frames that are customary.”


As the story develops over the coming months, ELECTRICAL CONTRACTOR may follow up with more details if arcing or electrical issues prove to be the origin of this accident.


Editor’s note: Headquartered in Bethesda, Md., many ELECTRICAL ­CONTRACTOR staff members depend on Metrorail to get to and from work safely, and it isn’t often far from our minds that, in June 2009, two trains collided and killed nine people—the deadliest accident in WMATA history. So, when reports of the January incident reached our office, we feared the worst.