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Metro's Real Time System Monitoring Now In Place

By: Armando Trull // September 14, 2012
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Metro is still working to implement the full gamut of recommendations from federal regulators that were made after a 2009 crash. 
Andrew Bossi: http://www.flickr.com/photos/thisisbossi/5032029238/
Metro is still working to implement the full gamut of recommendations from federal regulators that were made after a 2009 crash. 

Metro can now monitor its trains in real time, so that signal malfunctions,  such as the one that caused the fatal 2009 Red Line crash at Fort Totten, are spotted as they happen. 

The new system, which Metro said Thursday is now in place, is a significant step to returning trains to automatic control. Metro has been running trains in manual mode since the accident but is hoping to return to automatic train movement, the AP reports

The other federal safety recommendation that has been fully addressed by Metro is the replacement of track circuits that allow for better monitoring of trains. 

That leaves nearly two dozen other National Transportation Safety Board recommendations outstanding or in the process of being resolved, including the the replacement of the 1000 series model cars. For years the agency had been warned about these models inability to withstand a severe crash. 

Another recommentation that will take time to implement is installing rollback protection on all trains. 

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