WASHINGTON — A Metro train ran a red signal this week, putting it too close to a train with passengers on it.
Metro says the train was moving relatively slowly at about 10 mph as it passed the red signal near the Smithsonian Station on the Blue, Orange and Silver lines just after midnight Wednesday.
NBC Washington, which was first to report the incident, reports the train stopped only 150 feet from a train that was unloading passengers at the Smithsonian station.
Metro says the train that ran the red signal “was brought to a controlled stop.”
The train operator and the controller in Metro’s Rail Operations Control Center who were involved in the incident will not be working in those roles while the incident is investigated.
Metro says the Federal Transit Administration, which is in a temporary safety oversight role, has been notified.
The FTA said in December that Metro has serious issues that need to be addressed when it comes to trains running red signals and speeding in the rail system.
Metro has challenged some of those findings as part of the back-and-forth with the oversight agency on what changes need to be implemented.
