The Low-Tech Times

The Washington Post reports:

A train control system that should have prevented Monday’s deadly Metro crash failed in a test conducted by federal investigators, officials said yesterday, suggesting that a crucial breakdown of technology sent one train slamming into another…

The findings suggest that the oncoming train in Monday’s crash might not have received information that a train was stopped ahead on the rails north of the Fort Totten Station.

1996

This is not the first time the system has failed.  This 1996 NTSB (National Transportation Safety Board) report explains factors leading up to an earlier accident that killed a metrorail operator.  Here is an excerpt from page 67:

Metrorail management failed to fully understand the design features and limitations of the automatic train control system, which led to unjustified management confidence that the system could ensure safe train operation under all operating conditions.

1982

The first deadly metrorail accident on January 13, 1982 was not caused by the computer system, but rather is blamed on human error following a derailment.  The accident did not receive as much attention at the time due to the tragic Air Florida plane crash into the icy Potomac River after clipping the 14th Street Bridge.