HokieNav wrote: The problem with trying [an evacuation] with WMATA is that they're two separate organizations, with no agreements in place for the use of their busses.
If the problem is MARC has no agreement with WMATA in case of an emergency I think the solution is pretty obvious.
A better example than Septa would be in New York when catenary was damaged on the New Haven Line and Westchester Bee-Line buses were used to bridge the gap. Two totally separate agencies yet the buses were moved in quickly, dispatched by radio. I was on one of the buses and heard the dispatcher moving equipment around.
Btw, I read the MTA report. It was stated that the major problem with the HHP-8 locomotive that failed was the failure of two key components. The #2 Advanced Generic Alstom Traction Electronic (AGATE) "which is one of five computer processors in the propulsion network" and the Remote Input Output Module (RIOM), "the electronic device that regulates power among the four traction motors and the head-end power."
No specific cause could be identified, largely I think because after about three hours the equipment began working again.
The report states, the "most likely cause [for the shutdown] was a combination of high ambient temperatures in the engine compartment and/or a momentary fluctuation in the voltage supplied by [Amtrak on] the overhead catenary system."
Corrective actions include, "more frequent cleaning of the filters and radiators that cool the engine compartment" and a separate project of "upgrading the substations that feed the catenary in the vicinity of Union Station." The substation upgrades are due to be completed next month.
Another action taken is to assign a second locomotive "on large trainsets during extreme weather." That's the kind of thing private railroads did routinely I think. An example would be a New York Central practice of assigning an extra diesel unit to long passenger trains to boost steam heat capacity in extreme cold weather.