Wednesday, January 14, 2015

As do so many government-run disasters

“Deadly subway malfunction leaves many unanswered questions”.

A follow-up on the “smoke incident” in the Washington Metro reveals much about the system’s levels of management and operational competence, if not about the incident itself. For example:
Rogers said he doesn't understand why passengers weren't allowed to leave the train sooner for the one- or two-minute walk back to the platform.

"It just kind of felt like, 'Why were we trapped on that train that long?'" Rogers said. "All we did was sit there and wait. Forty minutes seems like a long time.
In a smoke-filled train? Yes. Yes it does seem like a long time. Another observation from a passenger:
"We were not given any information that police or fire were en route or nearby," he said. "All we got was, 'Stay in place. Yes, I know there's smoke. Don't leave.' And that doesn't make a whole lot of sense when you're sitting there watching over some period, watching the subway cars fill up with smoke."
Maybe I’ll start thumbing a ride to work out on Arlington Blvd. One thing I know for sure: when I do finally retire (may it please God), one of the things I’ll most enjoy is never having to set foot in the Washington Metro again.

2 comments:

RebeccaH said...

They've never figured it out yet, have they?

Dan said...

Oh, we've figured it out. And it's amazing how the same problem reared its ugly head in a couple of places over the past few days -- DC and NYC come to mind.

But never mind. Nothing to see here. Move along.