(The National Transportation Safety Board issued the following on January 29, 2010.)
WASHINGTON, D.C. — The National Transportation Safety Board provides the following update on its investigation into the January 26th Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA) accident in Rockville, MD, involving a hi- rail vehicle, in the work zone on the Red Line that struck and killed two employees on the track.
* The two employees who died were working with a third employee until the third employee’s shift ended a few hours before the accident.
* WMATA rules governing the safety of employees on the right-of- way, de-energizing the 3rd rail power and establishing work zones is being reviewed by investigators.
* Currently, twelve employees have been interviewed: the four employees in the hi-rail vehicle at the time of the accident, three Operations Control Center (OCC) employees, two automatic train control employees, and three track employees. An additional three employees are scheduled to be interviewed today. Interview information received from OCC personnel will be reviewed and correlated with radio and telephone recordings.
* All radio and telephone communication, associated with this accident, is being compiled.
* NTSB’s Highway Vehicle Group is inspecting the vehicle, reviewing maintenance records and performance specifications from the vehicle manufacturer, and also developing a speed estimate of the accident vehicle.
* The sight distance test, which will include evaluating visibility, is scheduled for next week.
* WMATA’s training guidelines, related to the tasks being performed at the time of the accident, has been requested.
The Safety Board’s investigation continues.