Metro News Release
For immediate release: May 10, 2006
Metro, FRA and ENSCO Unveil the Nation’s FirstEmergency Evacuation Simulator
Safely evacuating passengers from a commuter train that has toppled on its side will be easier for first responders now that a new device that rotates a train upside down has been developed.
The Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (Metro), along with the Federal Railroad Administration, (FRA) and ENSCO, Inc., today unveiled the nation’s first passenger rail emergency evacuation simulator in
The emergency evacuation simulator is a passenger rail commuter car designed to roll 180 degrees in 10-degree increments, simulating railcar positions after derailments or other rail incidents. The device can roll a train upside down in 2 ½ minutes.
“This new emergency simulator or “rollover rig” greatly enhances Metro’s Emergency Response Training Facility, which opened four years ago today,” said Dan Tangherlini Metro’s Interim General Manager. “Our training tunnel enables us to train first responders on how to rescue people from burning, smoking trains in a transit tunnel. Now we will be able to train them on how to rescue passengers from a train that has rolled over.”
The emergency evacuation simulator will assist the FRA in evaluating interior design safety of intercity and commuter passenger rail cars. Metro will use it to train fire, police, and other first responders on the complications associated with an intercity or passenger rail car that has rolled over on its side or even upside down.
“Enhancing railcar interiors and their layouts for the purpose of making evacuations easier during emergency situations is a priority at the FRA,” said Cliff Eby, FRA Deputy Administrator. “The emergency evacuation simulator will aid in our research efforts, and minimize the level of injury to intercity and commuter rail passengers.”
Metro agreed to maintain the simulator and to provide training for emergency responders from around the country, the same as it does in the adjacent Metro training tunnel. To date, Metro’s emergency management team has trained more than 8,000 federal, state, and local emergency personnel using this unique facility.
“This state-of-the-art emergency evacuation simulator is our latest initiative to support the passenger rail community in its efforts to maintain a safe and secure intercity and commuter rail travel,” said Kevin Kesler, Rail Division Manager for ENSCO, Inc., which designed the “rollover rig.”
Metro shares 33 miles of common corridor, right-of-way with the Virginia Railway Express, MARC, and Amtrak, and the emergency evacuation simulator to Metro’s Emergency Response Training Facility will better prepare the region’s first responders for various emergency incidents near Metro’s right-of-way.
“The combination of the emergency training tunnel and the emergency evacuation simulator today makes Metro’s one of the premiere emergency preparedness training centers in the county,” said Mr. Tangherlini
ENSCO, Inc. designed and constructed the simulator; the Federal Railroad Administration provided the $450,000 necessary for the program; New Jersey Transit provided the railcar; and Metro will house the simulator and maintain the equipment at is Carmen E. Turner Maintenance and Training Facility in Landover, Md.
News release issued on May 10, 2006.