The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) is expected to recommend an increase in the federal government’s oversight of the Washington, D.C. Metrorail subway system on Wednesday, The Hill has learned.
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A regional committee now handles safety oversight for Metro.
“While today’s recommendation is not directed to WMATA, we are continuing to work every day to address recommendations we have received previously from the NTSB and other oversight agencies”, said Jack Requa, Metro’s interim general manager.
Metro commuters struggle with severe service interruptions at McPherson Square Metro stop after a train derails during early morning commute near the Smithsonian Metro stop in Washington, D.C., August 6, 2015.
The NTSB called the request “urgent” and asked the Transportation Department to respond within 30 days. “The TOC has no offices; the TOC staff participates in audits but has not conducted a single investigation into any accident or incident, because all investigations have been delegated to WMATA; and the TOC has no enforcement authority”. “The FRA has hundreds of highly trained professional railroad inspectors”, in contrast to none at the subway’s governing body, Hart said.
“Without adequate oversight, accidents and incidents will continue to place the riders of the (Metro) system at risk”, NTSB chairman Christopher Hart wrote in a letter to Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx.
As part of its ongoing investigation into the deadly L’Enfant Plaza smoke incident, the NTSB says it examined the safety oversight of the Metro system’s rail operations in a hearing on June 23. “I am disheartened by Metro’s seeming inability to get out of this quagmire of problems”, said Virginia Congressman Don Beyer (D8).
In a statement, U.S. Representative Gerald Connolly, a Virginia Democrat, said the NTSB recommendations “demonstrate that Metro is facing monumental challenges that it can not face alone”.
The fortunes of the federal government and Metro are inherently linked.
“Safety for rail passengers should be the number one goal of Metro”.
“For all of Metro’s history, that’s really been the key thing: Who’s gonna be the group that’s able to go in there, shake things up and make a change”, Tuss adds.
“The frequent safety lapses and subsequent service disruptions experienced by Metro riders are inexcusable and intolerable”.
WMATA officials welcomed recommendations from oversight agencies while working to improve safety.
“The NTSB found little improvement in WMATA’s safety oversight since the 2009 Metrorail accident in Fort Totten that killed nine people”, the board said in a statement.
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However, the NTSB’s move is just a recommendation; it will be up to congressional leaders to take action by putting together a bill.
