June 22, 2009 Washington Metro train collision
NTSB photo of accident scene
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| Date | June 22, 2009 |
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| Time | 17:02 EDT (21:02 UTC) |
| Location | Between Takoma and Fort Totten, Northeast, Washington, D.C. |
| Coordinates | 38°57′36.6″N 77°0′20.9″W / 38.960167°N 77.005806°WCoordinates: 38°57′36.6″N 77°0′20.9″W / 38.960167°N 77.005806°W |
| Country | United States |
| Rail line | Red Line |
| Operator | Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority |
| Type of incident | Train collision/telescoping |
| Cause | track circuit-related malfunction |
| Statistics | |
| Trains | 2 () |
| Deaths | 9 (including a train operator) |
| Injuries | Approximately 80 |
During the afternoon rush hour of June 22, 2009, a subway train-on-train collision occurred between two southbound Red Line Washington Metro trains in Northeast, Washington, D.C., United States. A moving train collided with a train stopped ahead of it; the train operator along with eight passengers were killed, and 80 people were injured, making it the deadliest crash in the history of the Washington Metro.
The NTSB investigation found that after a June 17 replacement of a track circuit component at what became the site of the June 22 collision, the track circuit had been suffering from parasitic oscillations which left it unable to reliably report when that stretch of track was occupied by a train. The struck train came to a stop because of traffic ahead. Because the entire train was within the faulty circuit, it became invisible to the Automatic Train Control (ATC) system. The train behind it was therefore commanded to proceed at 55 mph. The operator of the striking train applied the emergency brake after the stopped train came into full view but there was not enough time to prevent the collision, which occurred at approximately 44 mph.
At approximately 4:57 pm EDT (20:57 UTC) on Monday, June 22, 2009, Washington Metro Train 112, bound from Glenmont for Shady Grove, left the Takoma station. Minutes later at 5:02 pm, Train 112 rear-ended Train 214, which was stopped between the Takoma and Fort Totten stations while waiting for another train to leave the Fort Totten station. Nine people were killed, including the operator in the lead car of the moving train, Jeanice McMillan, 42, of Springfield, Virginia; at least 80 people were injured. The death toll makes the crash the deadliest in Metro history.
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Wikipedia