Anyone read or watch on the news, the breakdown of a D C Metro train, in a tunnel, 900 ft outside a station. It was a smoky mess and there was a death, apparently from respiratory distress. Rescue didn't arrive for about an hour. Many passengers self evacuated down the track , to a vent shaft and up 3-4 flights of stairs. The balance were led back to the station, by FF's, out of a darkened tunnel. The power had been cut to insure 3rd rail was "off".

Living in N Y Metro area, this is a real concern. Same re tall building evac. It's why even my small urban kit has Xcaper mask, swim googles, light Nomex/ Kevlar gloves and the smallest Pietzl button cell head lamp. It has finally dawned on me that I should know a bit more regarding where the third rail is located , testing to see if it's live ( throwing my SS pen on it, fom a few feet awy?) and how far apart escape points are located. NOTE TO SELF FOR IMMEDIATE ACTION.

Note; off does not mean it's safe. There is residual power due to the condensator effect after the power has been taken off the rail, which can still kill you.

Powerlines/rails need to be grounded before it's safe.

(not sure if my terminology is correct)

There is no equipment you can EDC that will safely test if the third rail is live.

I've never ridden the DC metro. In an NYC subway train, if it's safe to remain on the train your best bet is to do so until escorted off by MTA personnel or first responders. If you have no choice but to exit, if it's safe to do so head into a connecting car until you find one that's safe to wait in until MTA or first responders get you out.

If you have no choice but to exit the train, look before you leap. The third rail will be on one side of the two regular rails. Be very, very sure to not touch it.

Don't pee on it either!

I've been following this story. I'm not hugely knowledable about the Metro, though I get down to DC every few years, and I've ridden the DC metro on those trips. The Washington Post seems to have the best coverage.

In most cases, one is probably best off by staying in the car and waiting for rescue. However, there are times when an immediate life threat may make it advisable to self evacuate. This appears to have been one of those instances. WaPo has published a Metro Emergency Guide. See page 4 about the anatomy of a tunnel. There is a very narrow walkway. The "Third Rail" (touch it and you die) is identified by a white cover plate.

It will be very interesting to read the NTSB report on this incident when it comes out. I get the feeling the response was not as good as it should have been, even allowing for the usual confusion in this kind of situation. Washington Metro seems to have a rather poor safety record. EDIT: There seems to be a serious issue with safety oversight of the Metro.

Hopefully, one of our ETS members from the DC area can give further insight on the Metro.

This will not work. You need something that makes contact with both the rail and something with a different voltage (e.g., electrical ground). For the same reason, you can often see birds landing safely on a live electrical wire. Don't try to test the third rail especially if you have to ask how to test it. Even if it's not hot right now, it could be hot a second from now. It's best to treat the third rail like a gun and assume it's loaded.

Well, I guess I should share my negative opinions on Metro. . .

It has been a very long while since I routinely rode Metro, but it sounds like things have not improved since I did, and one or 2 trips in the past year or so are consistent with that.

The local news reports on this incident all refer to the "lack of a culture of safety." And we hear the usual "we have to study what happened...etc" from the Metro officials.

From my experiences, I always thought Metro failed to look at it's operations from a "customer" point of view, or care about "the customer experience."

One example that always bothered me was that lack of clear, audible announcements of the next station; although they were made, the audio almost always so bad, you were lucky if you could hear and understand it. A minor annoyance if you know your way around; just lucky that DC doesn't have a lot of tourists who don't (sarcasm intended). Of course, if announcements are inaudible, this is going to be a problem in an emergency.

A second example is that in my observations and experiences, Metro employees (if you could find one) always seemed annoyed or put upon if someone had a question or problem with one of the fare card machines or readers, or even simply asked for directions.

Third, it was not unusual for a train to stop in a tunnel-- and just sit there-- without an announcement as to why or for how long-- being made by the driver. So you waited and hoped.

IMO, such non-customer centric attitudes feed into (or maybe result from) the larger "lack of a culture of safety" the news reports are talking about.

Now, if I do have to go into DC, I drive and risk the tickets and pay the parking fees.

irecokon, point and advice taken re SS pen and assuming charged status of the third rail. I know to always avoid the third rail, but I was clearly off re the test idea. Many thanx. AKSAR, thanx also for the link to the DC Metro safety guide. Useful reading and some good general advice. I'm going to search for a similar guide for the NYC subway and NY NJ PA PATH trains. Chaosmagnet, thanx also, albeit I knew that and was concentrating my post on the " need to evac" scenario.

Details are starting to emerge.

News reports that the new Fire Department radios did not work in the tunnel, and that they had to use "runners" to communicate with the surface. See:

http://wtop.com/local/2015/01/fire-department-source-radios-werent-working-metro-smoke-incident/

It's good to hear DC went to encrypted radios, but it's hard to understand them not having tested those radios in the tunnels prior to now. Doh...