Just a little over a month after a malfunction caused smoke to fill a Metro train at L’Enfant Plaza station and sent dozens of passengers to area hospitals, Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA) experienced two more smoke incidents. These incidents, which both occurred during this past weekend, involved smoke filled tunnels at two separate stations.
According to Metro officials, the two incidents took place on Saturday and were not related.
- On Saturday afternoon, a Metro Red Line train was taken out of service and passengers were off loaded after a mechanical problem caused smoke to fill Woodley Park station. Officials stated the smoke was a result of faulty brakes. The smoke cleared in approximately 30 minutes and no injuries were reported.
- On Saturday night, the DC fire department responded to a call that a fire and smoke were seen on an inbound track near Foggy Bottom station. Metro officials are stating that incident was caused by an insulator problem and that no passengers were hurt.
Although no passengers were reportedly harmed in either incident this past weekend, they do send an alarming message to DC residents who use the Metro. Just last month, over 80 passengers were hospitalized in a major Metro incident. That event, similar to those that occurred this weekend, involved a malfunction and smoke.
At Chaikin, Sherman, Cammarata & Siegel, P.C., we are currently representing some of the passengers involved in the L’Enfant Plaza incident. Having a great deal of experience handling Metro accident cases, we know that it is vitally important for Metro and other transportation operators to make sure their trains and equipment are safe. Addressing these types of issues immediately will help protect local citizens.