Metro Silver Line Safety Drill Goes Poorly: Report

Remember that safety drill Metro conducted on the Silver Line between the Greensboro and Tysons Corner stations last month? It didn't go so well.

Metro Transit Police Chief Ron Pavlik told Metro Board members recently that initial results from the drill -- which tested the response to a smoke and fire incident on the Metro rail system -- indicate that Metro and first responders aren't communicating very well with individuals on the train, according to a WTOP report.

The drill was a simulated electrical arcing incident in the Silver Line tunnel near Route 7 and Route 123. Such incidents have become commonplace in the Metro rail system in recent years, forcing the entire system go through a year-long "SafeTrack" plan to fix chronic problems throughout the system that continue to crop up.

Pavlik said that the main problem that arose during the drill was that the first responders weren't able to effectively communicate with people on board the train, according to WTOP. Oftentimes the initial calls will get through, but the aren't updated frequently enough.

Metro has started holding more frequent drills after one smoke and fire incident resulted in the death of a Metro rider near L'Enfant Plaza in January 2015 after the train got stuck in a tunnel that filled with smoke, sickening many passengers.

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