Passenger Evacuations...

So WMATA's reaction to the issue of stranding people on dead cars, and leaving them there for hours?

Why, new signs on board saying "Don't" and implying, of course "Just trust us...we know what we're doing, and we've never screwed up yet.....

http://wamu.org/news/13/04/11/metro_to_ ... _on_trains

The signs are a start but what needs to happen is WMATA must work harder to not only prevent these types of incidents to begin with, but also respond better.

Granted not every failure is preventable but WMATA is definitely not doing everything possible to reduce the frequency of their occurrences. And the response by the field crews is abysmal. There are very few problems that can't be isolated in a 6- or 8-car train that can allow the consist to be safely "limped" to the nearest station. And even when those few major problems do pop up, it's taking way too long to get the rescue train on scene and confgured for operation. This seems to be a result of either an inability or unwillingness to understand the equipment by the field staff.

I realize the College Park self-evacuation incident involved a loss of third rail power. Admittedly I'm not real familiar with WMATAs traction power system so I'm confused as to why the built in redundancy failed. What I really don't get is, given the proximity of the incident to Greenbelt Yard - where there are various prime movers on standby - why one couldn't be dispatched to drag all or part of the stranded train to the nearest station.

It can get dangerously hot in a very short period of time in an unconditioned rail car (you wouldn't leave your dog in a parked car, right?) so I don't totally blame the passengers for wanting to escape. But really what else could the operator have done? Obviously the right thing to do would have been to open the doors for ventilation and ask the passengers to stay seated. But of corse in this litigious culture we live in, inevitably some buffoon would have inadvertently (or even intentionally) fallen out a door and sued WMATA.

"dcmike"

I realize the College Park self-evacuation incident involved a loss of third rail power. Admittedly I'm not real familiar with WMATAs traction power system so I'm confused as to why the built in redundancy failed.

The third rail is for all practical purposes a continuous bus with substations along it's length feeding power to it. Segment of the third rail can be individually turned off between the substation and tiebreaker stations both centrally (centrol control) and locally (in the substations and tiebreaker stations). WMATAs policy has always been that when unauthorized persons are on the tracks power to the third rail in the general area is to be immediately cut off, both tracks when there no physical barrier between adjacent tracks.

What I really don't get is, given the proximity of the incident to Greenbelt Yard - where there are various prime movers on standby - why one couldn't be dispatched to drag all or part of the stranded train to the nearest station.

To my knowledge WMATA has never dispatched a "prime mover" to rescue a passenger carrying train. I don't even think WMATA has a written set of procedures for executing a rescue using a "prime mover".

I place prime mover in quotes because these vehicles are basically diesel powered work cars, not locomotives with enough power and tractive effort to move all or part of a fully loaded passenger train.

Sand Box John wrote: The third rail is for all practical purposes a continuous bus with substations along it's length feeding power to it. Segment of the third rail can be individually turned off between the substation and tiebreaker stations both centrally (centrol control) and locally (in the substations and tiebreaker stations). WMATAs policy has always been that when unauthorized persons are on the tracks power to the third rail in the general area is to be immediately cut off, both tracks when there no physical barrier between adjacent tracks.

Hi John,

Thanks. That much I did know. From what I understand, what caused the passengers to evacuate in the first place was a loss of third rail power. (according to this). So I guess my question would be, was power also lost at adjacent substations? What level of human intervention is required to operate the tie breakers - does someone need to physically visit a substation, or can a load dispatcher operate them remotely? How long should this procedure take? Of course, once passengers have entered the roadway, all bets are off and power must be immediately removed.

Sand Box John wrote: To my knowledge WMATA has never dispatched a "prime mover" to rescue a passenger carrying train. I don't even think WMATA has a written set of procedures for executing a rescue using a "prime mover".

I place prime mover in quotes because these vehicles are basically diesel powered work cars, not locomotives with enough power and tractive effort to move all or part of a fully loaded passenger train.

You're probably correct in that WMATA has never used a PM to rescue a revenue train. However I can say that I have definitely seen one used to push around a 4-car train in the yards. I acknowledge that I know very little about these machines and their abilities, and would be concerned about how much braking power they have. WMATA also has at least one old GE switcher locomotive in working order that surely is up to the task.

One thing I have come to learn since joining WMATA is how bureaucratic and "by the book" everything tends to be. For example, the last property I worked for would throw the book out the window in this situation and do whatever it took to safely get the passengers out of the heat. The culture at WMATA seems to be that, since there's no written procedure on how to handle every little possibility, when something out of the ordinary happens everyone just throws their hands up up in the air and waits for someone else to figure it out. In this case, it was the passengers and that is in my opinion completely unacceptable. The unfortunate part is they don't seem to ever use the lessons learned these anomalies to help better plan for future crises.

"dcmike"

Thanks. That much I did know. From what I understand, what caused the passengers to evacuate in the first place was a loss of third rail power. (according to this). So I guess my question would be, was power also lost at adjacent substations? What level of human intervention is required to operate the tie breakers - does someone need to physically visit a substation, or can a load dispatcher operate them remotely? How long should this procedure take? Of course, once passengers have entered the roadway, all bets are off and power must be immediately removed.

I will also add that power can be cut from the tip stations located at 800' intervals along the right of way, but then you know that as well.

Traction power from adjacent substations should provide sufficient power to the third rail in the area where a substation loses power from the electricity utility. Mind You if the power is lost at multiple substations along the line resistance in the third between the substation and the load may be to great to provide sufficient power to a train. Some years ago there was an ice storm in Montgomery County that cut power to all of the traction power substation north of the Friendship Height station. WMATA managed to dispatch trains at considerably reduced speed out of Shady Grove Yard by drawing power from the substation at 42nd and Elliott Street NW.

Not knowing all the details related to the indecent in question, my guess is the substations lost power from electricity utility and also disconnected itself from the third rail resulting in the breaking of the bus. The power failure may have also effected central controls ability to control the circuit breakers remotely in the substations and tiebreaker station.

The substation south of the Collage Park station is located at Blbion Road roughly 100' railroad south of the portal. The substation north of the Collage Park station is located behind Paint Branch Elementary School at Pierce Avenue and 54th Street. The interlocking south of the Collage Park station is connected to a tiebreaker station.

You're probably correct in that WMATA has never used a PM to rescue a revenue train. However I can say that I have definitely seen one used to push around a 4-car train in the yards. I acknowledge that I know very little about these machines and their abilities, and would be concerned about how much braking power they have.

I believe moving passenger equipment with a prime mover would not be that big of an issue from a braking perspective, think connection of the train brake line.

WMATA also has at least one old GE switcher locomotive in working order that surely is up to the task.

That I did not know, I thought WMATA sold or scraped their GE switchers, those thing are so old they can not be run on common carrier railroads because the still have friction bearing on the trucks under them.

One thing I have come to learn since joining WMATA is how bureaucratic and "by the book" everything tends to be. For example, the last property I worked for would throw the book out the window in this situation and do whatever it took to safely get the passengers out of the heat. The culture at WMATA seems to be that, since there's no written procedure on how to handle every little possibility, when something out of the ordinary happens everyone just throws their hands up up in the air and waits for someone else to figure it out. In this case, it was the passengers and that is in my opinion completely unacceptable. The unfortunate part is they don't seem to ever use the lessons learned these anomalies to help better plan for future crises.

The "by the book" mentality can be traced back to the over emphasis on safety. One of the greatest examples of safety over emphasis is the converting of the pocket track at Nation Airport into a 600' long single crossover after a derailment north of the station. From the outside looking in it seem to me that folks from the middle to the bottom of the food chain don't want to be responsible for making decisions that may get the job done but may get that person demoted or fired.

I certainly don't have a problem that WMATA has a reputation for doing things "by the book." It's a sign of a well-run organization that takes safety seriously.

Unfortunately, in WMATA's case, the book doesn't seem to be long enough or particularly well-written. In particular, Metro is often shockingly bad at communicating with passengers during emergencies, or initiating evacuations in a timely manner.

Last year, I got stuck on a train outside of Court House, while the train was still halfway inside the station. Despite being stuck for 40+ minutes, the train operator never evacuated the passengers aboard the part of the train that was still in the station. Obviously, this could have been done safely, but wasn't. During the outage, the operator did nothing except inform us that we'd be moving "momentarily."

In cases of extended outages, station managers never think to inform customers of alternate bus options available at the station. That's another problem.

On the other hand, from what I've seen, Metro seems to be quite good at responding to medical emergencies aboard their trains.

"dcmike"
The CTEM department completely overhauled one of them.

WOO HOO!

Like the paint scheme. They even changed out the friction bearings for roller bearings.

I also like the paint scheme too, like the all-yellow switching locomotives that NYCT has for its subway system.

WMATA's "prime movers", I place that in quotes because those vehicles are basically powered flat cars, are also painted yellow.