D.C. Metro Superintendent is Reassigned

June 29, 2009 by Suzanne Conlon

Matthew Matyuf, Superintendent of the Automatic Train Control Division for Washington D.C.’s Metro transit system, has been temporarily assigned to a "special project," Metro officials said. The reassignment is not an indication of any wrongdoing, spokeswoman Candace Smith said. "It's not meant to be a negative reflection on him at all," Smith said. "It's just a precaution until the investigation is complete."

Metro officials would not elaborate on what Matyuf’s special project was. Matyuf has worked for the transit agency for more than 20 years.  He did not respond to messages at his Loudon County home.

In a crash last Monday, one Metro train slammed into the back of another train that was stopped at a platform. The accident was the deadliest in Metrorail's 33-year history; six people were killed and over 70 were injured. The moving train was operating in automatic mode, which means it was primarily controlled by a computer.

Investigators from the National Transportation Safety Board conducted simulations that recreated the crash conditions.  They positioned a train in the same location as the train that was rear-ended, but Metro's signaling system failed to detect the test train.

The results suggest a malfunctioning circuit would have set the speed of the striking train at 59 mph, sending it hurtling into the stopped train. Investigators said that steel rails show evidence that train operator Jeanice McMillan activated the emergency brakes right before her train plowed into the other.  McMillan was killed in the crash.

Metro’s General Manager John B. Catoe Jr. said at McMillan’s memorial service in Washington D.C. that she was a hero and that her actions "ultimately saved lives."

Jackie L. Jeter, president of Amalgamated Transit Union Local 689, which represents most of Metro's front-line employees, including train operators, said she sees the test results as proof that the system failed.

The agency took several steps yesterday to assure the public that its trains are safe.  Metro personnel began inspecting all 3,000 track circuits. Trains will be operated manually instead of by onboard computers until the completion of the inspection and trains on the Red Line will also be restricted to 35 mph.

The operator of the idling train, who was hospitalized after the crash, told investigators that he saw a train in front of him at the metro station and stopped, officials said. While stopped, he felt a "hard push" from the impact.