WASHINGTON — A Red Line train’s doors opened on the wrong side Wednesday morning at the elevated Rhode Island Avenue Station exposing riders to the sheer drop to the street below the tracks.
Metro spokesman Richard Jordan said no one was hurt.
The train operator will not run trains while Metro investigates.
The six-car train was taken to a rail yard to be inspected. Investigators also downloaded data from the train about door operations.
Video and a photo of the incident posted by riders shows the doors on both sides of the train open as the train stopped at the station platform just before 9 a.m. The images show pedestrians and cars crossing underneath the tracks on the street below.
@Metrorailinfo @wmata This morning train opened doors on wrong side of RI Ave station. Long fall is someone stepped out. pic.twitter.com/ab4RRQVTqr
— Ryan (@TweetSmooth) May 10, 2017
Wmata dis tew much @Metrofailinfo @wmata pic.twitter.com/ZcWcQriWj7
— Kelsey (@kelseyhami) May 10, 2017
Train operators are supposed to wait 5 seconds after stopping to open the doors and to make a visual check to be sure they open the doors on the correct side of the train.
While the issue is not common, in other past incidents, train doors have mistakenly opened while the train was moving or the doors have opened before a train reached the platform.
