A driver who managed to crash onto the Metro tracks from I-66 in Dunn Loring has been taken to a hospital.
Fairfax County Fire and Rescue Department units were dispatched around 11:24 a.m. today (Wednesday) for a crash off I-66 prior to the Cedar Lane bridge.
One man was killed this morning (Friday) after being struck by a train in Burke.
Shortly after 9 a.m., the Fairfax County Police Department responded to the 10400 block of Premier Court — near Burke Centre station — after the collision was reported.
While regional leaders continue to discuss a path forward for funding transit, Metro is turning to the public for help on deciding a look for its newest trains.
The Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA) unveiled three options today (Monday) for the exterior design of its incoming 8000-series rail fleet, which is expected to arrive next year.
The Washington & Old Dominion Trail’s history as a rail line was on full display yesterday (Monday) during the latest 50th anniversary celebration organized by the Northern Virginia Regional Park Authority (NOVA Parks).
After listening to local elected leaders, park officials and advocates reflect on the trail’s importance to the region, ceremony attendees could pore over old photographs of train stations and touch a rusted railroad spike, just steps from where the W&OD tracks once ran through the heart of the Town of Vienna.
In the D.C. area, the summer solstice has brought a reminder that heat doesn’t just make people sluggish. It can affect transportation infrastructure too.
Metro has instituted a systemwide speed restriction, limiting all trains to a maximum of 35 mph when they’re above ground due to rail temperatures exceeding 135 degrees Fahrenheit. The limit took effect today (Thursday) at 2 p.m.
Three people were killed last night (Wednesday) after being hit by a cargo train near Lake Accotink, police say.
Two adults and a child appear to have been walking on the train tracks above Accotink Creek near the Accotink Park Road crossing, according to the police and the Norfolk Southern Railroad Company, which operates the tracks.
“All were declared deceased on scene,” the Fairfax County Police Department said.
A Norfolk Southern spokesperson confirmed that a crash involving a northbound train occurred around 8:20 p.m. yesterday on the bridge over Accotink Creek. There were no reported injuries to the train crew, they told FFXnow.
Per scanner traffic on Open MHz, Fairfax County Fire and Rescue Department units were dispatched for a “medical emergency” on the train tracks at 8:25 p.m. By 8:38 p.m., responders reported that they had located all three victims on the creek banks under the railroad bridge.
The train tracks were shut down by Norfolk Southern, a dispatcher said at 8:38 p.m.
The FCPD initially described the victims as one adult and two children, but after further investigation, officers and detectives have identified the victims as 28-year-old Annandale resident Diego Arriaza, 28-year-old Lincolnia resident Yeraldin Pardo, and Pardo’s 8-year-old child.
Police believe the three people were walking on the northbound elevated train tracks when they “encountered a travelling freight train.”
“Detectives believe Arriaza was struck by the train, and Pardo and the child fell from the bridge,” the FCPD said.
Based on a preliminary investigation, police don’t believe speed or alcohol factored into the crash for the train engineer, but detectives are still determining whether alcohol may have been “a factor” for the pedestrians.
Norfolk Southern operates about 19,500 miles of cargo railroads in the eastern U.S. that transport fuel, agriculture, construction equipment, and other goods. In April, the company reached a $600 million settlement with residents affected by a toxic chemical spill that resulted from a train derailment in East Palestine, Ohio, on Feb. 3, 2023.
Screenshot via Google Maps
The Fairfax County Board of Supervisors has asked CSX Transportation to share the load when it comes to moving sewer infrastructure affected by its plans for a third passenger rail line connecting Franconia and Lorton.
Last week, the board unanimously approved a letter to the North American rail company urging it to assist with relocating several sanitary sewers at risk of contamination during the construction of the Virginia Railway Express rail line.
(Updated at 6 p.m.) A project to enhance the capacity of a key rail line through Fairfax County is chugging along, thanks to a major infusion of federal cash.
The Virginia Passenger Rail Authority has been awarded $100 million in federal funds to design and build a bridge that will allow Virginia Railway Express and Amtrak trains to cross over tracks approaching the Franconia-Springfield station (6880 Frontier Drive), Sens. Tim Kaine and Mark Warner announced yesterday (Thursday).
The last train out of the Vienna Metro station for the next month will depart at 12:20 a.m. tomorrow (Saturday).
After that, the Vienna, Dunn Loring, West Falls Church and East Falls Church stations will all shut down, as the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority begins to replace a 40-year-old steel rail extending to Ballston.
(Updated at 4:55 p.m.) A man has died after being pulled by a Metro train at the Dunn Loring station this afternoon, prompting a suspension of service between Vienna and West Falls Church.
The Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority’s Rail Operations Control Center and Transit Police Department received a report shortly before 1:30 p.m. that a person was being dragged by a train.
