Story & Photos by MICHAEL SCHWARTZBERG

Early Sunday morning September 22nd, Virginia Railway Express, a commuter railway serving the Commonwealth of Virginia, conducted a disaster drill simulating a crash and fire involving one of its double-decker passenger trains and an Amtrak passenger train in Springfield, Virginia.

Known as "Common Corridor 2002," the exercise was hosted by the Fairfax County Fire and Rescue Department and sponsored by the Washington Metropolitan Council of Government.

More than a dozen fire volunteer and paid departments and emergency service squads from the metro Washington, DC area, including the states of Virginia and Maryland, participated in the drill.

The exercise was designed to prepare firefighters and rescue workers for future rail crashes and derailments.

The drill also offered participating agencies and responders a greater understanding of operating together under a single incident command system.