A Washington Metrorail train derailed at a Northern Virginia station on Friday morning, causing major delays that will continue through the evening rush hour.
{mosads}The train derailed 100 feet from the East Falls Church Metro stop but remained upright. All of the 74 passengers on board were escorted to the platform.
Service has been suspended on the Silver Line between the McLean and Ballston stations and on the Orange Line between the West Falls Church and Ballston stations.
The East Falls Church station will remain closed for the rest of the day in order to investigate the incident, Metro General Manager Paul Wiedefeld said at a press conference.
“Clearly, give yourself more time coming home tonight,” he said.
The National Transportation Safety Board has also dispatched two investigators to the scene.
The derailment is yet another blow to the transit agency’s safety reputation, even as it works to implement a massive, yearlong repair effort.
The cause of the derailment remains unknown, but Wiedefeld emphasized that it was not the fault of the ongoing SafeTrack project. He said the incident underscores long-standing safety and maintenance issues at the agency.
“For decades, we have not been on top of maintenance,” Wiedefeld said.
The derailment comes one day after a Metro safety official told board members that a train operator who ran a red signal earlier this month — nearly hitting an oncoming passenger train and two track workers — was in a rush to take his lunch break and had his radio turned off.