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A Metro train derailed Monday in Arlington, temporarily stranding about 400 people in a tunnel and causing major delays that were expected to stretch into Tuesday morning's commute, officials said. No one was injured.

The third car of a six-car train derailed about 2:45 p.m. between the Rosslyn and Court House stations, transit agency officials said. The National Transportation Safety Board was investigating the accident.

There were no injuries, but Metro General Manager John Catoe said a pregnant woman who described "a strange feeling in her stomach" was taken to a hospital as a precaution.

The derailment occurred when a wheel of the third car came off the track, Catoe said. Most of the 400 people on board chose to continue traveling to their destinations on a rescue train that linked up to the derailed train.

Passengers who got off the train at the Court House station said the process of loading them onto another train was orderly.

"Basically, we heard a real loud screech" and a burning smell from the brakes, said Jack Lambert, who was visiting the area from China. Lambert said he and fellow passengers waited about 45 minutes, without electricity, to be taken off the train.

Orange line delay forces other trains to be filled

"It was hot, but if I was outside it would've been worse," Lambert said.

The accident led to major delays on the orange line, as trains traveling in both directions shared a single track between Clarendon and Foggy Bottom, Metro spokeswoman Lisa Farbstein said. Free shuttle buses were taking passengers around the scene of the derailment.

Farbstein said trains would continue single-tracking Tuesday morning while repairs are made to tracks and equipment damaged by the derailment. Some of the equipment is responsible for ensuring that trains maintain a safe distance between each other as they move through the rail system, she said. Passengers were urged to add at least an extra 30 minutes to their commute.

Metro workers would begin removing the train after investigators finished examining the scene.

It was unclear whether Monday's high temperatures were a factor in the derailment, officials said. The tracks where the accident occurred are underground and less likely to be affected by the heat.

In January 2007, A subway train derailed near the underground Mount Vernon Square station, which serves two lines beneath the Washington Convention Center. Twenty people were hospitalized.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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