Metro Close to Back Up Train System

Metro is wasting no time to fix what may be fatal flaw in its automatic train control system. It's the focus of the investigation into last month's train crash that killed nine people. Metro is moving forward to get a back up alert system that could prevent this from happening again.

Metro's general manager, John Catoe, called this an emergency situation and says he will fast-track the process. Federal investigators have not determined the root cause of the crash, but they urged Metro to develop a back up that would detect failures or anomalies similar to what investigators have found in the trackside signaling system.

No such system exists. A back up system used by San Francisco's BART system, Metro and the National Transportation Safety Board have said would not work in Washington's transit system. Catoe says a number of companies have already contacted him, saying they can build what Metro needs.

"I received dozens of e-mails from vendors, some who specifically say they can develop a system for us. We're going to review those but we're not going to go through a long review process," Catoe said.

In the meantime, the crash site remains under investigation. Between the morning and evening rush hour Thursday, the tracks were closed between Fort Totten and Silver Spring while federal investigators conducted signal testing at the crash site.

"It's inconvenient for everybody, simply because you've got to get off the train, come through the metro station, then get onto the bus to go to another station," said a frustrated Frank Kenner.

Investigators are also trying to determine what the striking train operator saw and when as she came around a curve. Saturday investigators will do "sight line" tests with similar trains, closing the tracks between the Fort Totten and Silver Spring stations from 7 am-7 pm, again.

"As long as they get to the bottom of it and it's safe, it's not that big of a deal," said Gloria Flanders.

The back up system is Metro's top priority. Catoe expects to choose a company within a month but its unknown how long it would take to build.

"I'm not sure the complexity that's involved in developing this. We must make sure that whoever works on this has the skill set and resources to be able to get this done quickly, and correctly," Catoe said.

Metro is hoping to use federal stimulus money or federal matching funds, close to approval in Congress to cover the cost of a back up system. It's likely to run millions of dollars for what has been a cash-strapped agency.

"I will move monies around. We do not have monies. Again I have no idea what this is going to cost. We do not have money set aside but what I will do is reprogram dollars," Catoe insisted, no matter the cost.

Red Line delays are expected to continue for the time being while the crash site remains under investigation. Federal authorities expect to know how much longer that will last after this weekend's testing.