WASHINGTON — The DC Metrorail train operator who ran a train using Metro’s Automatic Train Operation system, which has been out of service since 2009, “will not be returning to duty,” according to the head of the Washington Metrorail Safety Commission.
The Washington Post reports commission CEO David L. Meyer told the commission’s board on Tuesday that the operator was no longer with the transit agency as a result of the March 17 incident. Video also showed that with the train operating automatically, the operator ate a meal while in control of the train, which is also a violation of Metrorail rules, Meyer said.
The Metrorail system was built with ATO and used the automated operating system from its opening until a fatal 2009 collision between two trains. The ATO system was shut off after that crash and was never restored to operation even after it was cleared of blame.
The Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority now wants to restore the use of ATO, saying it will provide more efficient operation and eliminate human error [see “DC Metrorail continues preparations …,” Trains News Wire, March 7, 2023]. But the process of restoring it is still in progress and must be approved by the safety commission. The operator who used the system March 17 was not authorized to do so. He was caught when his train overshot a platform at the Innovation Center station in Herndon, Va., triggering an investigation, and admitted to using the system out of curiosity [see “Metrorail safety commission investigating improper use of automated operating system,” News Wire, March 27, 2023].
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