Metrorail operator arrested on suspicion of operating train while intoxicated

A Metrorail operator was arrested on Friday, December 23, 2022, on suspicion of operating a train while intoxicated (DWI), according to a public Metro Transit Police Department (MTPD) document. The operator of the Blue Line train failed to stop at the Van Dorn Street Metro station platform and was unresponsive to Metro’s rail control center for about 45 minutes while the agency mounted a police and fire response to the train because they were unsure what was going on.

Blue Line train 406 was on its scheduled run, leaving Downtown Largo on time at 9:25 pm, and was set to arrive at Franconia-Springfield at 10:45 pm. The first outward sign of trouble was when the train operator failed to stop their train at Van Dorn Street and continued on towards Franconia-Springfield. The train then came to a halt outside of Van Dorn Street but before it reached Franconia-Springfield, according to Metro tracking website MetroHero and publicly-available Metro radio communications on OpenMHZ.

Update: After publication, a Metro spokesperson responded to an earlier request for comment with the following:

“On Friday evening, December 23, following a report of a Blue Line train bypassing Van Dorn Station and coming to a stop for more than 30 minutes before safely discharging customers at Franconia-Springfield Station, Metro officials and emergency responders found a train operator under the influence of alcohol. The operator, a Metro employee since 2017 and a train operator since 2019, was arrested by MTPD and charged with DWI. He will not be allowed to return to work per Metro’s rules, which strictly enforce drug and alcohol policies. Metro performs random testing in accordance with FTA requirements and is in compliance with all FTA drug and alcohol regulations. WMSC was notified and updated in real-time as the situation unfolded. We continue to investigate the incident and are reviewing any opportunities for improvement.”

Officials at the Metro Rail Operations Control Center (ROCC) began attempting to reach the train operator at about 10:44 pm, 12 minutes after the train passed through Van Dorn Street. Multiple attempts to reach the operator failed, including asking the operator of the train behind 406 to use their horn and grab the operator’s attention.

Both Alexandria and Fairfax fire responders were dispatched about 11 pm – an apparent lack of communication between the ROCC and MTPD, each of which called one agency, respectively – but the Alexandria crew was the group that was tasked to respond to the train. Fairfax fire was told to stand down about five minutes later.

The Alexandria responders boarded a train at Van Dorn Street with fire and medical equipment, working with the ROCC and the fire liaison. The fire/medical recovery train received permission to depart Van Dorn Street and come close enough to train 406 so that the personnel could walk onto it, up to the lead cab, and figure out what was going on with the train.

“We cannot raise the operator in the cab,” noted the ROCC Liaison when talking with Alexandria fire officials, stating that “they didn’t service the station, and they’re just stopped in the middle of the tracks about 1000 feet off the platform.”

But just about the time the fire and EMS officials arrived, the operator of the recovery train informed the ROCC that the disabled train was moving, still with no word from the operator. The recovery train followed 406 to Franconia-Springfield to ensure the train made it there safely. Metro staff on-scene reported that three passengers had been on the train.

The operator of 406 was interviewed at Franconia-Springfield by MTPD, before being escorted by a rail supervisor to Alexandria Yard. Post-incident drug and alcohol screening is a standard part of Metro’s incident investigation process and was initiated when the operator overran their train at Van Dorn Street.

Oversight agency aware

When reached for comment, Washington Metrorail Safety Commission (WMSC) spokesperson Tiffany Minor noted that the Metrorail safety oversight agency was aware of and investigating the incident. The WMSC was “not notified until the following morning, Saturday, December 24th,” Minor said, “outside of the two-hour notification requirement” that Metro must follow.

Since the WMSC was founded in 2019, the commission has produced audits including a Rail Operations Audit and a Fitness for Duty Audit and has found issues and inconsistencies with Metro’s drug and alcohol testing standards, as well as fatigue management. The WMSC found in August 2021 that Metro did not always perform required drug/alcohol screening after incidents, nor did the agency have procedures ensuring employees involved in incidents were removed for screening in a timely manner.

The WMSC’s investigation into the event “includes the entire context of the event, including communications and response, how this operator was put into service, and Metrorail’s overall train operator and supervisor availability.”

Reports of impaired operation of vehicles are significantly more common for motor vehicles than it is for trains. Nearly 16,000 car drivers were convicted of DUIs in Virginia in 2021, the most recent year this kind of data was collected.

This story has been updated to include additional information provided by Metro shortly after publication concerning the incident and the operator involved.