Post by Logan on May 2, 2016 3:44:57 GMT -6
FTA safety inspectors uncover more track defects that Metro missed
Metro halted rail traffic or slowed train speeds at 10 locations in April after federal inspectors found track defects that could have caused derailments and other problems, according to federal safety reports.
All of the tracks are now back in normal use after repairs were made, officials said. But the documents, obtained by The Washington Post, disclose new examples of problems that Metro overlooked until the Federal Transit Administration took over safety oversight of the agency in October.
On April 10, for example, federal safety inspectors checking the system as part of a “safety blitz” found incorrectly fastened rails along more than 38 feet of pocket track on an aerial structure east of the Stadium-Armory Metro station at a junction of the Orange, Blue and Silver lines.
Metro inspectors had overlooked the defect — which could cause a derailment — in nine visual inspections in the preceding month, federal officials said. A pocket track is a stretch of rail where trains can be parked off the main line.
Read more: www.washingtonpost.com/local/trafficandcommuting/fta-safety-inspectors-uncover-more-track-defects-that-metro-missed/2016/05/01/3750b762-0e27-11e6-a6b6-2e6de3695b0e_story.html
Metro halted rail traffic or slowed train speeds at 10 locations in April after federal inspectors found track defects that could have caused derailments and other problems, according to federal safety reports.
All of the tracks are now back in normal use after repairs were made, officials said. But the documents, obtained by The Washington Post, disclose new examples of problems that Metro overlooked until the Federal Transit Administration took over safety oversight of the agency in October.
On April 10, for example, federal safety inspectors checking the system as part of a “safety blitz” found incorrectly fastened rails along more than 38 feet of pocket track on an aerial structure east of the Stadium-Armory Metro station at a junction of the Orange, Blue and Silver lines.
Metro inspectors had overlooked the defect — which could cause a derailment — in nine visual inspections in the preceding month, federal officials said. A pocket track is a stretch of rail where trains can be parked off the main line.
Read more: www.washingtonpost.com/local/trafficandcommuting/fta-safety-inspectors-uncover-more-track-defects-that-metro-missed/2016/05/01/3750b762-0e27-11e6-a6b6-2e6de3695b0e_story.html