[RP TownTalk] Metro F4 bus to bypass RxR crossing - temporarily (news release)

[Alice Ewen Walker]

For those interested, I was just discussing this issue w/ Mayor Archer. We
expect that there will be a representative from Prince George's County DPW
at the work session this evening regarding the bus incident and rerouting if
people are interested in attending. The Town is very concerned about
maintaining service levels for riders. The work session is at 8 pm tonight.
Alice

Alice Ewen Walker


On Sun, Mar 29, 2009 at 3:04 PM, Dwight Holmes <dwightrholmes at gmail.com>wrote:

> Change in route follows Thursday s incident in Riverdale
>
> Metro officials this morning, (March 29) have temporarily detoured the
> Metrobus F4 route (New Carrollton-Silver Spring) as Metro continues to
> investigate Thursday’s incident involving two Metrobuses and a MARC
> train at a highway-rail crossing in Riverdale, Md.
>
> Under this detour, Metrobuses will no longer operate across the
> highway-rail crossing at Queensbury Road and Lafayette Avenue where
> last week's accident took place.
>
> All trips westbound will run their present routes to Riverdale Road
> and Taylor Road, then turn right at Taylor Road, turn left at East
> West Highway, turn left at Baltimore Avenue, turn right at Queensbury
> Road and onto its regular route.
>
> All trips eastbound will run their present route to Queensbury Road
> and Baltimore Avenue, then turn left at Baltimore Avenue, a right onto
> East West Highway, a right onto Taylor Road, a left onto Riverdale
> Road and then on its regular route.
>
> “While we are in the early stages of our investigation, out of an
> abundance of concern for the safety for our customers, we have decided
> to temporarily change the route of the F4 to avoid the railroad
> crossing,” said Gerald Francis, Metro’s Deputy General Manager and
> Chief Operating Officer. “Over the next few weeks, we will monitor the
> performance of the route, and if it’s successful, we will make this
> change permanent.”
>
> To communicate this temporary service change, Metrobus officials will
> post signs at 11 bus stops affected by the detour and will also deploy
> street supervisors to communicate this change to bus customers who use
> this portion of the F4 route.
>
> Last Thursday afternoon, a Metrobus was involved in a collision with a
> MARC train and another Metrobus at Queensbury Road and Lafayette
> Avenue in Riverdale, Md. At the time of the incident, Metrobus 6040,
> which had 30 to 35 passengers on board, was traveling eastbound on
> Queensbury Road and attempting to cross the railroad tracks when it
> was delayed by a second Metrobus attempting to make a left turn. The
> second Metrobus, number 9731, was traveling westbound on Queensbury
> Road. While bus 6040 waited for bus 9731 to complete its left turn,
> the railroad crossing gate hit the rear of bus 6040 and it was unable
> to move. The impact of the train collision with bus 6040 caused it to
> spin and strike the driver’s side mirror of bus 9731. Seven passengers
> on bus 9731 were taken to an area hospital with minor, non-life
> threatening injuries. Approximately 12 people were on board the bus.
> The bus operator of bus 6040, which was struck by the train, was taken
> to a local hospital with non-life threatening injuries.
>
> Prince George’s County police and fire authorities along with Metro
> Transit Police and Riverdale Police are investigating this incident.
> It is Metro’s standard procedure to remove bus operators involved in
> accidents and to conduct its own internal investigation.
>
> --
> “[I]f these factors are not related to the quality of education, why
> are the richer districts willing to spend so much for them?”
>                                --New Jersey Supreme Court in Abbott v.
> Burke
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-- 
Alice Ewen Walker
Councilwoman, Ward 1
Town of Riverdale Park
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