Latest on Metro Smoke: One Dead, 83 Injured, Tuesday Service Adjustments

Investigators will continue work Tuesday in the smoke incident at the L’Enfant Plaza Metro station incident that killed on and injured dozens more on Monday.

A video has been posted on YouTube showing the chaotic scene on one smoke-filled Metro train. The Washington Post notes the train abruptly stopped, went dark and filled with smoke. Witnesses told the Post that passengers waiting in the car were choking and some lost consciousness.

Roughly 200 were evacuated and treated in a makeshift triage center on the street, according to WJLA.

An investigator tells WTOP that it’ll be a long time before it’s known exactly what caused smoke.

Mike Flanigon, the railroad investigator for the National Transportation Safety Board, said at about 11:30 Monday night that the Virginia-bound train stopped about 800 feet beyond the station platform. About 1,000 feet on from there, “an arcing event” involving the third rail and power-supply cables was detected, which caused the smoke.

For the Tuesday commute, Metro released an update on schedule changes:

• Green Line: Regular service, every 6 minutes, between Branch Ave & Greenbelt
• Orange Line: Trains every 8 minutes between Vienna & New Carrollton
• Silver Line: Trains every 12 minutes between Wiehe-Reston East & Largo, with 8-car trains to provide additional capacity
• Blue Line: Trains every 12 minutes at Franconia-Springfield and Van Dorn Street, every 6 minutes at all other stations
• Yellow Line: Service is replaced by additional Blue Line trains running between Huntington & Largo every 12 minutes

More:

Death Reported in Smoke Incident at L’Enfant Plaza Metro

Smoke on the Green Line