“Metro investigating overnight train incident at Farragut West; Customers on the Orange, Blue, and Silver lines will encounter significant delays throughout the day”

Photo by Harrison Jones “Scene at the Farragut West metro station where two metro trains reportedly collided tonight. Trains reportedly empty except conductors, both of which reportedly have non-life threatening injuries.”

From WMATA:

“UPDATE AS OF 5:10 A.M.

Customers on the Orange, Blue, and Silver lines will encounter significant delays throughout the day, Monday, October 7, due to an overnight rear-end train collision outside Farragut West. There were no passengers aboard the trains, which were being moved to their home rail yards.

Metro is strongly encouraging customers on these lines to consider using alternate travel modes today to avoid delays.

• Orange Line: Trains will operate about every 15 minutes, even at rush hour, with single tracking between Farragut West and McPherson Square. Significant crowding is likely during rush hour.

• Blue Line: Trains will operate about every 15 minutes, even at rush hour, with single tracking between Farragut West and McPherson Square. Significant crowding is likely during rush hour.

• Silver Line: Trains will operate about every 15 minutes between Wiehle-Reston East and Ballston ONLY. Customers will need to transfer to/from Orange Line trains at Ballston to continue their trip.

Metro will honor its “Rush Hour Promise” for delays during the AM commute. However, Rush Hour Promise will be suspended on the Orange, Silver and Blue lines during the PM rush hour.”

Scene at the Farragut West metro station where two metro trains reportedly collided tonight. Trains reportedly empty except conductors, both of which reportedly have non-life threatening injuries. @PoPville @alanhenney @fox5dc @ABC7News @nu1wcf pic.twitter.com/RYzXmWiZXe

— Harrison Jones 🎃 (@h_jonesphoto) October 7, 2019

Original alert:

“Metro is investigating an overnight rear-end collision involving two out-of-service trains that were in the process of being moved to their respective rail yards. The incident occurred at approximately 12:54 a.m. between Foggy Bottom and Farragut West stations. The trains, each comprised of six 3000-series cars, were traveling in the same direction (eastbound) on the same track. There were no passengers aboard either train. Both train operators (one per train) requested medical assistance for non-life-threatening injuries. All railcars remained on the tracks, and there was no reported damage to tunnel infrastructure. An assessment of railcar damage is pending.

Metro has launched a full investigation to determine the cause of the incident, including analysis of event recorders and inspections of railcar and signal systems. In addition, Metro notified the Metropolitan Washington Safety Commission and the National Transportation Safety Board as required.

While Metro will work to restore normal service as quickly as possible, conducting a thorough on-scene safety investigation is the first priority. As a result, customers on the Orange, Blue and Silver lines are advised that delays–and potentially single tracking–are likely during the morning rush hour. Customers may wish to consider alternate travel modes to avoid delays.”