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Metro train derailed Tuesday afternoon on the Blue Line near the Arlington Cemetery station, the transit agency reported. The incident occurred about 4:50 p.m. Metro rail controllers in the Rail Operations Control Center received a report of a disabled Blue Line train in the tunnel between the Rosslyn and Arlington Cemetery stations in Northern Virginia, Metro spokesman Ian Jannetta said. Metro officials said the train, a 7000-series train that is one of Metro’s latest models, partially slipped off the tracks. Metro officials said that 300 to 400 people were on the train and that 187 passengers had been evacuated by...

The anticipated opening of the Washington & Old Dominion trail bridge over Route 29 along the City of Falls Church and Arlington’s border is finally here, letting pedestrians and cyclists alike breathe a sigh of relief. A ribbon was cut for the bridge on Friday, signaling the completion of one major part of the Dual Trails project that is being started in Falls Church and eventually expanded to other sections of the W&OD, according to NOVA Parks executive director Paul Gilbert, the agency that primarily manages the trail. But more importantly, the bridge’s construction removes one of the 45-mile trail’s...

A city government that would drag everyone down to its level.It’s like the old saying of city government goes: if at first you don’t succeed, tax something that is succeeding. Members of the Washington, D.C. government have suggested a way to prop up its failing Metro system while hamstringing its competitor. Mayor Muriel Bowser recently proposed a nearly 400 percent tax increase on ridesharing services, increasing the fee that users pay from 1 percent to 4.75 percent. This would increase the tax on a $10 trip from ten cents to forty-seven cents. Local officials are proposing to use this tax...

Users of the Dulles Toll Road can expect to pay more in 2019, according to a 2018 draft budget presented to the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority Board today.No increase from the $3.50 toll ($2.50 at the plaza and $1 at the ramp) is planned in 2018; however, it is expected to jump to $4.75 the following year. Numbers presented by the Board’s Finance Committee show that is only the beginning of the hikes.In 2023, the toll is projected to go up to $6. Additional jumps of $1.25 or more are projected every five years for the following two decades, resulting...

The Federal Transit Administration is raising questions about whether Metro rail ties are the proper size to keep tracks safely in place. A federal inspection report released Wednesday says inspectors have “consistently noted” WMATA crossties on mainline track that are 7 1/2 inches. Metro’s own standards call for rail ties at switches to have at least an 8-inch face. The inspection report noted that as of Sept. 24, Metro had not responded to federal inspectors’ questions about crossties that are a half inch narrower than internal standards. It is not clear how many of the smaller crossties exist in the...

ALEXANDRIA, Va. – A Washington, D.C. Metro Transit police officer who was a convert to Islam and once dressed up as Jihadi John for Halloween was charged on Wednesday with trying to provide material support to ISIS -- the first time a law enforcement officer has been charged with an ISIS-related crime. Virginia resident Nicholas Young, 36, who has served with the department since 2003, was arrested Wednesday morning by FBI agents. Authorities allege in a criminal complaint unsealed Wednesday that Young attempted to send money to ISIS through a mobile-based gift card using an unnamed messaging service the terror...

The Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA) in Washington, D.C. is currently running an advertisement for Squirt.org, an app that helps homosexuals find hookup partners. But the WMATA refuses to run religious or political ads. A Metro representative said the Squirt.org ads could not be removed because regulating ad content violates the advertiser’s First Amendment rights, even though religious, political and advocacy-related ads are banned according to Metro policy because of their content. …

Entire rail lines in Washington's Metrorail subway system could be shut down for months at a time to conduct repairs, the transit system's leaders acknowledged Wednesday. Board of directors Chairman Jack Evans raised the possibility during a Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments conference, saying there is not enough time to complete work during nights and weekends, according to The Washington Post.

Washington DC is shutting down the entire subway system on Wednesday with no notice for urgent safety checks The entire Washington, DC, subway system will shut down for at least 29 hours to inspect electrical components on the tracks following a fire near one of the system's tunnels, officials said on Tuesday. The shutdown comes after a fire broke out on Monday about 4.30am in the tunnel outside the McPherson Square station in downtown Washington. The fire led to delays on the orange, blue and silver lines, which go through the station. The Metro subway system will shut down at...

The National Transportation Safety Board sent Metro three urgent recommendations Wednesday regarding the ventilation of tunnels in response to the fatal smoke incident Jan. 12 in Washington, D.C. In a letter to interim General Manager Jack Requa, NTSB said Metro should assess its ventilation system, write a procedure for tunnel ventilation and establish ongoing ventilation training for control center staff and emergency responders. "Procedures for ventilation of smoke in emergencies can be critical, but they vary across systems, and in some systems are inadequate — as we have found in the present WMATA investigation,” acting NTSB Chairman Christopher Hart said...

On January 2nd Allen Haywood was attacked by a bunch of teenagers. The attack was filmed yet no one helped. This led many to believe the hooligan teenagers were trying to make a YouTube video, much like the Florida teens that beat up a girl in 2008. On February 25th there was another attack, this time at the Suitland station on the Green line. The attack has prompted the DC branch of the guardian angels to patrol the metro stations more closely. In August last year there was a brawl involving 70 people. These particular attacks were highly publicized but...

FALLS CHURCH, Va. (AP) — Officials say a Washington Metro subway train crashed into the back of another at a rail yard, injuring three workers. The Metro transit agency says injuries were minor and not life-threatening. No passengers were on board when the crash occurred at about 4:30 a.m. Sunday. Metro says a six-car train was returning to the West Falls Church Rail Yard in northern Virginia when it rear-ended a parked six-car train. Two workers were cleaning the parked train to get it ready for service.

WASHINGTON - Maj. Gen. David F. Wherley Jr., retired commanding general of the D.C. National Guard, and his wife, Ann, were among those killed in the collision of two Metro trains. *snip* especially during the Iraq and Afghanistan wars. That time saw the changing of the D.C. National Guard from weekend warriors to Army troops performing the duties of enlisted soldiers in battle. Wherley worked on deployment and returning ceremonies for Guard troops, funding for tuition for Guard members, and after school activities conducted by the D.C. National Guard. *snip*

WASHINGTON – Investigators looking into the deadly crash of two Metro transit trains focused Tuesday on why a computerized system failed to halt an oncoming train, and why the train failed to stop even though the emergency brake was pressed. At the time of the crash, the train was also operating in automatic mode, meaning it was controlled primarily by computer. In that mode, the operator's main job is to open and close the doors and respond in case of an emergency. Debbie Hersman, an investigator with the National Transportation Safety Board, said it was unclear if the emergency brake...

CNN producer Vito Maggiolo saying "one train on top of each other."

WASHINGTON - Metro confirms two trains have collided on the Red Line between the Takoma and Fort Totten stations. It happened close to the Fort Totten station, a Metro spokesperson said. D.C. Fire and EMS spokesman Alan Etter said one train was on top of the other train. The number of injuries and the extent of the injuries could not be immediately confirmed. Mass casualty units were called to the scene.

Woman Arrested For Chewing Candy Bar In D.C. Metro Station Woman Handcuffed, Held For Three Hours POSTED: 7:21 am EDT July 29, 2004 WASHINGTON -- You can't eat and ride in the nation's capital. A Maryland woman said a transit officer in Washington, D.C., handcuffed and held her for three hours after she finished a candy bar at a Metro station. Stephanie Willett told The Washington Post she was heading into a station while eating a PayDay bar when a transit officer told her to finish it before entering. They both agree that she put the last bit in her...