Tuesday morning’s commute for riders of Virginia Railway Express went from bad to worse as first an engine failure then a brake malfunction stranded 1,600 commuters 20 miles outside of Washington and caused at least a two-hour delay for Manassas Line riders. It all started when Train 328 broke down between the Manassas Park and Burke Centre stations around 8 a.m. The following train, No. 330, was coupled to it and its engine began hauling both trains roughly 45 minutes later, according to VRE.
But the aging engine wasn’t powerful enough to push the 14-car load up a hill heading into Burke.
So in a scene straight out of the children’s tale, “The Little Engine that Could,” the chained-together trains backed up and “throttled up at a higher speed to get over the ridge,” according to spokesman Mark Roeber.
After pulling into the station around 9 a.m. the coupled train’s warning system signaled a brake failure. Cabs and buses were dispatched to the station to take riders into Washington or to a nearby Metro station, while some passengers opted to wait for the problem to be fixed. Others simply gave up and went home.
Meanwhile, Train 332’s passengers were stuck on the tracks behind all the action because a disabled Norfolk Southern Railroad freight train was blocking the way around.
Passengers on the affected trains Tuesday morning posted comments on Facebook calling their commute “disastrous,” “hellish” and “very frustrating.”
VRE CEO Dale Zehner sent an e-mail to customers Tuesday afternoon apologizing for the incident and vowing to “get to the bottom” of the mechanical issues. He plans to update riders Monday.
“Rest assured that I am personally involved in correcting this problem,” he said.
Roeber said that while VRE was speedy in sending alternate transportation, it was not a good morning.
“We’re deeply disappointed we were unable to fulfill our mission statement to get everyone to work in a timely fashion,” he said.
The incident highlights VRE’s issues in recent months with mechanical failures and an aging fleet. On Monday, The Examiner reported that Manassas Line’s on-time performance is among the worst in the area, averaging delays in roughly one of every seven trains.
Last Thursday two Manassas morning trains were cancelled and three afternoon trains were delayed with one train pulling in 86 minutes late to the Broad Run station.
The rail line has plans to replace all its engines within the next eight months, with the first coming next month. The engine charged with hauling both trains Tuesday was 50 years old and had been refurbished several times, according to Roeber.
He said this “never” would have happened with a new locomotive.
“They can carry that type of load,” he said. “It wouldn’t have broken down.”
