Metro rider recalls frightening situation on Red Line train

WASHINGTON - Several dozen Metro riders were stuck Tuesday evening when their Red Line train stopped in a tunnel moments after leaving the Farragut North station.

Metro rider Tom Lynch was on the train that stopped and he says that the train was stopped for at least 20-25 minutes and then he decided to turn on his stop watch app which then revealed they had been there for another 30 minutes. "There was actually a man that was standing next to me and he had got a little over heated once the air went off and had to sit down in order to not pass out," Lynch explained.

"The conductor walked in and announced he lost all communication with Metro and he couldn't get to them on his radio and he was trying to get us back to the station, so the operator came in and looked just as confused as us that he couldn't contact anyone," Lynch explained as he recalled the frightening situation.

Finally, the operator reached the back of the train and was finally able to communicate with other Metro staff. He was about to start reversing toward the Farragut North station when they spotted passengers walking the tunnel. "I've got a customer walking along the roadway right now from the train," the driver alerted Metro over the radio.

A Metro spokesperson said that the train had stopped because of a signal problem, and that the two people who self-evacuated made it safely to the platform, but that there is no excuse for their actions.

Spokeswoman Sherri Ly told FOX 5 that the third rail was live and had they touched it, they would have been electrocuted. Plus other trains were coming and going.

As for what caused the communication breakdown to begin with--- she says that's all under review.