The program teaches a variety of safety measures, including how to locate the emergency ladder available in all rail cars and how to contact train operators or rescue workers. Additionally riders are taught the safest and best exit method from the train, as well as how to avoid the 750-volt third rail.
The training is being offered to members of the Community Emergency Response Team (CERT), a U.S. Department of Homeland Security program that has trained hundreds of volunteers to help fire and rescue workers in case of a disaster. The three-day, nine-hour Metro program is available only to those who are already certified CERT members. Information about CERT, which is available across the U.S., is at www.citizencorps.gov.
Metro also has a program for its 1.1 million daily rail and bus riders who are not CERT certified. An animated program on the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority's Web site details step-by-step instructions for an emergency situation (www.wmata.com/riding/safety/evac.cfm).
The program is less ambitious than the training provided for CERT volunteers. According to Captain Jeff Delinski, commander of the training division for Metro, "This is about customers helping customers in the event of a natural or man-made disaster."
