Regional Digest

Locomotive fire at New Carrollton

NEW CARROLLTON - Amtrak traffic was halted for about two hours this morning just north of Washington, D.C., after a locomotive caught fire at the New Carrollton station.

Amtrak spokesman Cliff Cole said smoke and a small engine fire was discovered on a train traveling from Washington to Boston this morning. Cole said there were no injuries and about 40 passengers got on another train and continued on their way.

Prince George's County fire department spokesman Mark Brady said the fire was reported around 6 a.m. and it took firefighters about an hour and half to put out what the electrical fire in the engine area. Meanwhile, all Amtrak and MARC Penn Line traffic through the station was stopped.

Muhammad to be executed Nov. 10

RICHMOND, Va. - The mastermind of the 2002 sniper attacks will die by lethal injection next month, Virginia officials said yesterday.

John Allen Muhammad declined to choose between lethal injection and electrocution, so under state law the method defaults to lethal injection, Virginia Department of Corrections spokesman Larry Traylor said.

Muhammad is scheduled to be executed Nov. 10 for the October 2002 slaying of Dean Harold Meyers at a Manassas gas station during a string of shootings.

The three-week killing spree in October 2002 left 10 dead in Maryland, Virginia and the District of Columbia.

Inmate alert system demonstration

HAGERSTOWN - Maryland's prison agency has a new system for alerting people to jailbreaks.

The Department of Public Safety and Correctional Services scheduled a demonstration today at the medium-security prison complex near Hagerstown.

Spokesman Mark Vernarelli said it will allow people in different regions of the state to sign up for alerts.

Vernarelli said earlier this month that the system involves several forms of communication.

Changes to SmartBenefits program

WASHINGTON, D.C. - Metro is making changes to its SmartBenefits program, which allows employers to set aside money for commuting on a Metro smart card.

As of Jan. 1, money for transit and for parking will be kept in separate accounts. The IRS is requiring the change.

That means employees will no longer be able to use their assigned parking benefit to pay for their bus or their train ride.

Another change is that any unused benefits will be credited back to employers at the end of each month. That has upset many riders who contribute a portion of their before-tax salary to the program. Metro says people should check with their employers about how they will handle any unused contributions.