Washington Metro

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Beyonce's Show Ran Late, So She Paid $100K to Run the Trains

Singer's tour ponied up cash to keep DC Metro running an extra hour after heavy rain, lightning

(Newser) - Taylor Swift isn't the only superstar on tour who's plunking down big bucks to treat her people well: And while Swift's was a gift to the people who work on her tour, Beyonce's was a gift for fans just trying to home from her concert. As...

Cops ID Pentagon Shooter, Eye Second Man
Cops ID Pentagon Shooter, Eye Second Man
UPDATED
Mar 4, 2010 9:23 PM CST

Cops ID Pentagon Shooter, Eye Second Man

John Patrick Bedell, 36, showed no emotion

(Newser) - Authorities have identified the man behind today’s shooting at the Pentagon as John Patrick Bedell, 36, and are seeking a second man in connection with the incident, which left two Pentagon police officers injured and Bedell hospitalized. Sources tell AP that law-enforcement agencies—which now include the Secret Service...

Pentagon Locked Down After 3 Shot at Metro Station

2 cops have non-life-threatening wounds; suspect more serious

(Newser) - The Pentagon is locked down this evening after a man emerged from the adjoining subway station and opened fire on officers at the entrance to the Defense Department headquarters. Two officers received non-life-threatening injuries, a spokesman tells the Washington Post ; their return fire injured the shooter more seriously. The incident...

Washington Plows to a Halt
 Washington Plows to a Halt 
SNOWPOCALYPSE NOW
Feb 5, 2010 10:22 PM CST

Washington Plows to a Halt

Public transit mostly shut; residents advised to stay inside

(Newser) - Much of Washington is at a halt tonight, with snow falling at the rate of up to 3 inches an hour from the fearsome storm—perhaps the worst in modern history—working its way toward the capital. Above-ground portions of the city’s Metro system are closed, and expected to...

DC Launches Mass Transit Terror Drill

Metro will be scene of simulated mass-casualty attacks

(Newser) - Commuters at one of Washington Metro's busiest stations are being met today by dozens of transit police officers and bomb specialists as part of the system's biggest-ever security drill. "There is no immediate or credible threat" to the Metro, a spokeswoman tells the Washington Post. "We want to...

Tax Deal Derailed DC Train Upgrade

Outlawed tax shelter scheme blamed for lack of modern safety features

(Newser) - Safer cars might have saved lives in Monday's DC train crash, but a tax-dodge deal made with a bank prevented the transit authority from replacing aging stock until 2014, the Wall Street Journal reports. The National Transportation Safety Board urged the authority years ago to either replace its older cars...

Circuit Flaw Suspected in DC Crash

Electronic 'anomalies' found, markings indicated driver hit emergency brakes

(Newser) - Federal investigators believe an electronic problem may have caused Monday's deadly train crash in Washington DC, the Washington Post reports. Teesting has uncovered "anomalies" in a section of the Metro's automated control system, which senses train locations and sends speed commands, according to investigators.

DC Subway Car 2 Months Overdue for Brake Work

(Newser) - The Washington subway car that rear-ended another yesterday, killing nine passengers, was two months overdue for brake maintenance, a Metro source tells the Post today. “These components are supposed to be changed out to prevent failures,” the source said; officials have not said if they think the car’...

Feds Had Told DC to Bench Crashed Train

(Newser) - The subway train that plowed into another stopped train yesterday, killing nine people and injuring scores of others in Washington, was part of an aging fleet that federal officials had sought to phase out because of safety concerns, an investigator said today. The Metrorail transit system kept the old trains...

System, Driver Error Suspected in DC Train Crash

(Newser) - Experts suspect yesterday’s deadly subway collision in Washington was the result of both a system failure and human error, the Washington Post reports. The city’s trains are run by onboard computers, which should, theoretically, prevent trains from colliding. The system has failed once before, in 2005, but the...

Six Dead, 70 Injured in DC Subway Crash

(Newser) - At least six are dead and 70 others injured after two subway trains collided during rush hour this evening in Washington DC, the AP reports. The incident is “developing into a mass casualty event,” a Metro spokesman told WJLA-TV. “We’re expecting a number of injuries.”...

400K Churn Through DC Transit
 400K Churn Through DC Transit 
Jan 20, 2009 10:19 AM CST

400K Churn Through DC Transit

Woman hits tracks

(Newser) - Passengers swarmed Washington’s subway and bus system today, with Metro reporting more than 409,000 entries into the system as of 9am, pushing the public transit system to its limits, the Washington Post reports. At one point, service on the Red Line was disrupted when a 68-year-old woman fell...

Inaugural Crowds Strain DC Transport

Commuters trapped inside station for more than 30 minutes

(Newser) - Washington’s public-transportation system is stretched to breaking today as crowds arriving on the Metro and commuter trains choke the exits at L’Enfant Plaza, the main disembarkation point for the National Mall. At 8:15am, a medical emergency forced officials to slow crowds leaving the station, and packed platforms...

Financing Deals Make AIG a Drag on Transit Agencies

With AIG sinking, banks are calling loans to transit agencies

(Newser) - Transit agencies nationwide are facing the prospect of unexpectedly having to repay billions in loans to large banks under financing deals made years ago, the Washington Post reports. Because AIG guaranteed many of the agreements, the insurance behemoth's woes could potentially affect millions of public transit riders as banks worldwide...

Danger! Crocs on the Escalator!
Danger! Crocs on the Escalator!
Sep 18, 2007 9:02 AM CDT

Danger! Crocs on the Escalator!

Accidents on the rise for kids wearing popular shoes

(Newser) - At rail stations, department stores and shopping malls from Washington to Tokyo, kids wearing Crocs shoes or similar footwear are getting their toes caught in escalators with painful and occasionally bloody results. The accidents have become so commonplace that the Washington Metro has posted ads—featuring a crocodile—calling for...

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