Metro Operator Disciplined For Texting

Metro officials say a train operator has been disciplined after video showing him apparently texting on the job was posted online.

Metro spokeswoman Lisa Farbstein says the operator was suspended for a week without pay after officials learned of the June 5 incident. A passenger on the blue line in Alexandria apparently recorded the incident with a cellphone camera, then posted it online.

Farbstein says Metro the operator has already served the suspension. It was first reported by WUSA-TV.

Trains can run in normal service on the highly automated system, but Farbstein says operators are prohibited from texting or using cell phones.

Officials say no evidence has been found that the operator killed in last month's crash on the red line was texting.

The following text was posted by the YouTube poster:

It looks like he's sleeping, but he is actually holding a Blackberry between his legs. The train is moving under automatic control but no one is watching out for what is in front of it! Track workers are frequently out walking the tracks, and if there had been any present, no one would have seen them in front of this train.

This was on the Blue Line towards Franconia-Springfield between King St. and Van Dorn St. on 6/5/09 around 3:55pm.