Adam Tuss, wtop.com
WASHINGTON – Metro says it will inspect 464 train cars after a brake part fell off an Orange line train Friday afternoon.
The incident comes just weeks after a frightening episode left riders in the dark when a friction ring fell off a Blue Line train and hit the electrified third rail.
Friday’s incident — also caused by a faulty friction ring — was not nearly as dramatic, but it still leads to questions about Metro’s aging fleet of rail cars.
Metro spokesperson Dan Stessel says the incident happened around noon on Friday near the Stadium Armory Station. Stessel tells WTOP it was not the exact same type of failure as last month’s incident — Friday’s malfunction involved a 2,000-series rail car, which were put into service in the 1980s and 1990s.
Following the December 20 incident, Metro sidelined 16 5,000-series rail cars.
Sparks and smoke filled the tunnel between L’Enfant Plaza and Smithsonian stations during that incident before riders had to evacuate by walking along dark tracks.
Follow “>WTOP on Twitter.
(Copyright 2011 by WTOP and the Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
