Accidents that Have Occurred at the Metro Washington Dc

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Many people have already experienced accidents. Because of this, lots of individuals lost their lives. Everyday, many different kinds of accidents happen. People do not know where and when. But this can be avoided if one must be careful and take safety precautions. In Washington D.C., lots of accidents happened especially in the Washington Metro. Passengers whether young or old have suffered injuries, wounds, and even death in this area because of train collisions. But it is not just the passengers of the train who are suffering from these accidents but also the employees. Since the start of the operation of Washington Metro and until now, many of their employees were killed by accidents.

Some people stated that the lack of safety warnings is one of the reasons why accidents happen at Washington Metro. According to Metro’s records of accidents, the total numbers of accidents including the Metro employees are already six. The First accident happened on October 2005. Braddock Road station is area where this unfortunate event occurred. A Metro employee was hit on the Blue and Yellow Lines and sadly, the said individual was killed. In May 2006 at Dupont Circle station, a Red Line train hit and killed a Metro employee. Another Washington Metro employee was killed at Eisenhower Avenue on the same year. He was also hit by a train while he was doing routine track maintenance. The reason why this happens is that the train operator is not doing the right thing. He did not follow the correct emergency braking procedures. Because of this, the driver cannot operate any Metro train or buses anymore.

Accidents in Washington Metro have not yet stopped. Another Metro employee died on August 9, 2009. He was hit by a ballast regulator in the middle of Vienna/Fairfax-GMU station and Dunn Loring station. Another accident occurred between the Braddock station and Ronald Reagan Washington National Aiport station. During the accident, the employee is still alive but he died after four days at the hospital. The reason why this Metro employee died is because of the injuries that he obtained from the accident. The latest accidents where Metro employees were involved happened on January 26, 2010. In this situation, two employees were the victims. They were hit by track equipment and they were both killed. The accident happened at Rockville station.

Derailment also occurs at Washington Metro. Many people have died and committed injuries because of this. This kind of accident is really dangerous to the passengers and employees. Derailments occur in different stations in Washington D.C. A green Line train derailed on January 7, 2007. It happened near Mount Vernon Square station. Luckily, no passengers and employees died on this accident. They have just suffered from injuries. The last derailment happened on February 12, 2010. In this accident, there were 345 passengers involved and all of them were rescued safely. There are some passengers who suffered from minor injuries and delivered immediately to the hospital. These are just some of the derailments that resulted to injuries and deaths to many people at Washington Metro.

Metro Washington DC and Unexpected Accidents

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Accidents can happen anytime and anywhere. Lots of people have already died because of this. In Washington Metro, many accidents have occurred from many years ago and until now. Many individuals have suffered from injuries and wounds. There are also people who died at Washington Metro because of accidents. Some people stated that the reason why several of accidents have occurred is that the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority or WMATA ignored safety precautions. They do not also ask suggestions from the experts. Accidents can be avoided if they have done this.

The first accident that happened in Metrorail is on January 6, 1996. In this accident, only one person died and this man was an operator of Washington Metro. The reason why this accident happened is that the train lost control and was unable to stop. The train failed to stop because there was something wrong on the train’s computer-controlled braking system. The Washington Metro has received an advice from the National Transportation Safety Board or the NTSB that their operators should use a braking system that is manually operated to prevent this kind of incident. Another accident at Metro occurs in November 3, 2004. In this accident, 20 people were injured and luckily no one died. This accident happened because the out of service Red Line Train move backward into the Woodley Park-Zoo station. It crashed into a stopped in service train. After this, Metro officers decided to put a total of 300 rail cars as a protection and to avoid any accidents from occurring.

Accidents in Washington Metro did not stop because another accident happened in this area on June 22, 2009. In this situation, there were two trains smashed against each other and they are both on the Red Line. The running train crashed in the back of the stopped train. There were passengers who were trapped inside the train. Some of them were injured and wounded while others were already dead. The rescue operation lasted for more than one hour because the rescuers found it hard to get the trapped passengers out of the train. Because of this, the New Hampshire Avenue was closed and the Red Line service stopped its operation between the Forth Totten station and Takoma station. The last accident that occurred in Washington Metro was on November 29, 2009 at Falls Church rail yard in Fairfax Country, Virginia. The accident was between two trains that were both not in service. The cause of this accident is the three rail cars were damaged and they were not fixed yet. The operator of the train was also one of the reasons why this accident happened. He was not careful enough and he did not follow the standard procedures in operating the train. There were twelve cars that were damaged during the incident. Aside from this, there were two cars that were spoiled. The victims of this accident were the workers of the train. These workers were all injured and wounded.

Train accidents are not just in Washington Metro but it also happens in different train stations all over the world.

One of the Best Transportation Systems in the World

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There are various kinds of transportation. Every place in the world has its own kind of transportation. Transportation is very important in the lives of many people. Especially those who are working far from their house and they do not have their own car. Some people live because of transportation because this is where they can get money from as in the case of drivers. For the people of Washington D.C., the most important kind of transportation for them is the Metrorail. Washington D.C has another kind of transportation which is called the Metrobus. The one who controls these two kinds of transportation in this area is the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority. Their operation started in 1976 and until now, they are still the best when it comes to transportation. Today, they have 86 stations, 5 lines, and 171.1 km of track. In the United States of America, their system is considered as the second-busiest fast transportation system.

Harry Weese is an architect from Chicago who designs the Metro stations by using modern architecture. The materials that he used in constructing the Metro stations are all durable. The National Capital Transportation Agency was created by the federal government in 1960. The purpose of this transportation agency is to exploit a quick rail system. The system was being transferred to WMATA or also known as Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority. The 158 km regional system was the approved plans of WMATA in 1968. By the following year, the construction started and on December 9 1969, the groundbreaking happened. On March 27, 1976, the system started its operation. They had 5 stations and all stations were in the District of Columbia. These are from Rhode Island Avenue to Farragut North. The system has reached Maryland, Montgomery Country, Fairfax Country, and George’s Country.

During the opening of the Green Line portion to Branch Avenue, the 83-station system was also completed on January 13, 2001. Two years after, another station was opened. In year 2004, New York had its new station. In March 2009, construction has started and the opening of this station is set in 2013. The construction was being done in Dulles Airport. Billions of federal money is needed in Metro construction. According to National Capital Transportation Act of 1969, the amount of money that is needed in Metro construction should be given by the Congress. The money that is used for construction must also come from two different kinds of money. The 90% must be federal money and the 10% should be local money.

People without cars are always taking this kind of transportation. This transportation will help them reach the place where they want to go easily and fast. During the inauguration of President Barack Obama, there were 1, 120, 000 people who took this kind of transportation. This is considered as the highest total amount of passengers in just one day. On the other hand, the highest total amount of trips is 825,437. Today, the lives of many people have become easier and more comfortable because of this transportation.

People-Friendly Features at Washington Metro

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Metrorail was made to make the lives of many people at Washington D.C. easier. The train is the best transportation in Washington D.C. especially if one does not have his own car. Lots of individuals feel comfortable when they take this kind of transportation. Hundreds of people are taking trains everyday at Washington. Metrorail was made with great accessibility features to make people feel comfortable every time they take a ride on the train. People can really feel comfortable because all rail cars and Metrorail were made accessible. The Metrorail was made with directional signs so that people will know the directions of the station. With this, people can determine where the entrance area is located. People will also know the location of the user-friendly elevator entrance. There are also escalators in most rail stations. It was made with different bright paints so that people who have eyesight problems will not find difficulties in using these escalators. For passengers who are using wheelchairs can ride the train easily because all Metrorail stations have wide accessible fare gate.

Another feature that gives convenient to the people is the accessible telephone that is equipped with TTY. All rail stations have this kind of telephone and one can find this on the mezzanine level of the station. One can also identify what are the schedules of the next incoming train because of the Passengers Information Display System. This system can also give warnings to the passengers if there are some delays. When elevators of the station are not in service, one can make free shuttle arrangements easily because of the Passenger Information Display System. The elevators of all Metrorail stations are all safe and comfortable to utilize. Passengers will know if there is a train coming because of the blinking lights that are located at the edge of the platforms.

All rail cars have gap reducers to minimize the gap in the middle of the platform and the rail car. With this, people who are using wheelchair or any mobility devices can in and out the train more easily and safely. Senior citizens can acquire priority seating. They will be seated next to the center doors. Disabled persons or those who have injuries can also acquire priority seating. Blind passengers are warned so that they cannot commit mistakes when they enter and exit the train. Barriers that are located between rail cars can help these passengers take the train easily. With this, those who are blind and have eyesight problems are safe to ride the train. For the security of all passengers, all street elevators of stations are installed with security cameras. To make communications with the manager, emergency intercoms are made.

It very important that customers are satisfied of what they are paying for. Washington Metro has a good management to back it up. They make sure that their passengers are safe especially those passengers who have health problems or disabled persons. They also give priorities of these passengers especially the old ones. Great accessibility features can be experience at Washington Metro.

Protective Features Afforded to Metrorail Passengers

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The management of Metrobus and Metrorail should give importance to their passengers. Washington Metro is doing this because they want their passengers to be safe and satisfied at all times. They are providing security and safety features for their passengers. They put these features on their stations, trains, and buses. Installing these kinds of stuff can give a huge help to Washington Metro and to their passengers.

Their trains have call boxes. Each rail car has this kind of feature and it is located at the end. By this, the passengers can report any occurred emergencies by calling the train operator. An emergency button will let the operator lock the wheels of the train right away. Another great feature of their trains is that the door of the train will ring or give alerts to the passengers every time it will close and open. All rail cars are made with emergency door release. It is located after the middle doors behind the panel. It is also very easy to utilize because there are instructions that one can read at the panel.

Metrobus has also made their buses with safety and security features. There are silent alarms that are installed in every bus. This is very useful especially if there are any emergencies that are happening inside the bus like a disruptive behaviour of a passenger. By activating the silent alarm, the police can recognize that your bus needs help. Only the driver of the bus can activate this kind of features and no passengers can determine that the operator had activated the silent alarm. Aside from this, the bus operator can contact the central control by using the bus radio. With this, the bus operator can call help and save the lives of his passengers. Metrobus is considered as one of the best when it comes to security features of their buses.

All of these features are very effective because Washington Metro conducts trainings to the local police departments. Local fire departments are also involved on the said trainings. Police and fire men learned how to respond to Metro emergencies on these trainings. Training about first aid procedures was conducted by the management. All employees of the Washington Metro are involved in this kind of training. The Central Control of Washington Metro was made with a computer display. This can show the exact position of the train in the system. It is also very easy to contact the fire department and police department because their contact numbers are installed in the Central Control of Washington Metro.

All passengers are advised not to run while catching up the train so that accidents can be prevented. For the first timers like tourists who do not know the directions yet, they should look for the station manager and ask about where the correct directions are. Passengers are also advised not to stay on the platform’s granite edge because they might face an accident. For safety, they must stay close to other passengers. People in Washington are all safe to ride train and bus because these of security and safety features.