Metro News Release

For immediate release: January 9, 2007

Metro Board Chairman Gladys Mack's statement on derailment

“On behalf of the entire Metro Board, I want reassure our customers, our employees, and our stakeholders that safety remains our top priority. Today we have experts in our railcar, track, and safety departments working side-by-side with the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) to pinpoint a cause of Sunday’s derailment and take any corrective actions that may be necessary.

“Fortunately, derailments are rare. Sunday was only the fifth time in our 31-year history that a Metrorail train has derailed, resulting in passenger injuries. Our Metrorail system remains one of the safest in the nation, and we take great pride in our safety record that now spans three decades. But even one injury is one too many, so we are committed
to doing whatever needs to be done to prevent this type of accident from happening again. We take Sunday’s derailment very seriously, and we are working closely with the NTSB, the Tri State Oversight Committee, ATU Local 689, and others to make our safe Metrorail system even safer.”

News release issued at 12:00 am, January 9, 2007.