[tw]

From the Washington Post of 9 Aug 2009:

Metro Safety System Failed in Near Miss Before June Crash
The crash-avoidance system suspected of failing in the recent deadly accident on Metro's Red Line malfunctioned three months earlier, when a rush-hour train on Capitol Hill came "dangerously close" to another train and halted only after the operator hit the emergency brake, newly obtained records show. ...

The National Transportation Safety Board, which is investigating the June 22 crash, learned of the March incident last week when notified by the little-known Tri-State Oversight Committee, said NTSB spokeswoman Bridget Serchak. Metro officials did not immediately respond to questions about why they did not notify the NTSB.

The Washington Post discovered the incident while reviewing documents obtained through a public records request filed with the oversight committee, which was created 12 years ago to monitor Metro. ...

In an April 29 letter ... He said the train "violated a block," meaning it improperly shared a section of track with another train, and "came dangerously close to the leading train." Madison, a planner for the D.C. Transportation Department, wrote that it was only by "coincidence" that a Metro employee later noticed the incident in computer records. ...

After the June crash, Metro officials said that the malfunctioning track circuit at the accident site was "a freak occurrence" and that they were unaware of other incidents, including near misses, that stemmed from failures in the safety system. ...

NTSB says it appears that Metro's control system failed to detect a stopped train and that an approaching one did not receive a command to stop.

That is multiple failures. Similar problems were observed previously when humans averted crashes. Metro spokesmen even denied these problems existed only to learn about them after the Washington Post discovered them. A previous failure was only discovered by coincidence. All imply a serious management problem exists where management does not know how the work gets done. Where employees have the attitude and knowledge provided by management.

Later in the meeting, the panel discussed a June 3 letter in which a Metro worker alleged "that the ATP system was unreliable." Metro declined to comment on the reference.

There is one employee who will find future employment difficult. The problem with being honest when management would rather lie or deny - and then take revenge.