A short circuit on Washington’s Metrorail system that caused thick smoke to fill a stranded train, killing one passenger and injuring 91 people on Jan. 12, 2015, was the result of WMATA failing to follow its own safety procedures and inadequate safety oversight by the Tri-State Oversight Committee and the Federal Transit Administration, according to a report by the National Transportation Safety Board.
“From WMATA’s lack of certain safety procedures and its deviation from established ones, this accident reveals a compromised safety system and a dysfunctional organizational culture,” said NTSB Chairman Christopher A. Hart.
In a nearly 200-page report, investigators presented findings that called into question WMATA’s ability to apply the information gained since 1982 through 12 accidents previously investigated by the NTSB, eight of which involved fatalities. “The NTSB concludes that WMATA has failed to learn safety lessons from NTSB studies and accident investigation reports,” the report stated.
The short circuit in the January 2015 accident resulted from WMATA’s failure to follow its procedures for washing tunnels and constructing power cable connector assemblies. NTSB investigators said if WMATA had followed its standard operating procedures, stopping all trains at the first report of smoke, the accident train would not have been trapped in the smoke-filled tunnel.