This wreck reminds me of the 1950 LIRR collision, but that was far worse then that one. My prayers to all the familys of the victims. Hopefully this was not a wreck caused by the operator being destracted.
cpamtfan-Peter
DC Metro is fully automated. So unless they were having some problem prior to the crash, the operator would not have been in control of the train, the computer would have been in control.
That of course begs the question of what did actually happen? Was the train for some odd reason operating with manual control? Or did something go wrong with the computers?
Although Metro typically runs with both automatic train operation and automatic train control, the operator still has immediate override capability to take over operation or put the train into emergency.
It is way, way too early to speculate about cause, but a failure of the train detection circuitry, rendering the stopped train invisible to the system, has to be a consideration. And to clarify about computer control, the trains are not operated by a central, remote system. Each train has the control system on board. That on board system controls ATC compliance and station stops. Door openings and closings, and station departures are controlled by the train operator.