A preliminary investigation by the National Transportation Safety Board into a Dallas Area Rapid Transit train fire last month says loose overhead cables were the likely cause.
The board’s review found the orange line train was traveling north through downtown Dallas when it came into contact with a catenary wire that hangs over the train and provides it with power. It created an electrical arcing, or discharge, that lasted 11 minutes and started the fire.
A review of video footage from trains that previously passed through the area found “multiple hangers which support the overhead catenary wire had become disconnected before the accident.”…