RobotRisk › Alstom Signaling Inc. › 22 Jun 2009
Fort Totten crash traced to failed GRS/Alstom Signaling track circuit module
S5 · 22 Jun 2009 · Alstom Signaling Inc. · Washington, DC, USA
Record
| Company | Alstom Signaling Inc. |
| Industry | Rail suppliers |
| Type(s) | fatality |
| Date | 22 Jun 2009 (day precision) |
| Time of day | 16:58 |
| Location | Washington, DC, USA · Fort Totten station |
| Severity | (fatality or catastrophic loss) |
| Scale | 1 failed track circuit module / systemwide ATC design |
| Confidence | high |
| Verified flag | Yes - independently re-checked against the cited source |
Summary
NTSB found the probable cause of the fatal WMATA Fort Totten Red Line collision was a track circuit module manufactured by GRS/Alstom Signaling that suffered parasitic oscillations and failed to detect a stopped train, causing the automatic train control system to allow a following train to collide with it; 9 dead, 80 injured.
Primary source
Publisher: NTSB · Retrieved: 2026-09-16
Supporting source rows (1)
| Date | Supporting source row | Publisher | Link |
|---|---|---|---|
| 22 Jun 2009 | Fort Totten crash traced to failed GRS/Alstom Signaling track circuit module | NTSB | NTSB |
Rail suppliers context
fatality context
Alstom Signaling Inc. industry position
Related incidents
Other Alstom Signaling Inc. entries
- None on file.
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