D.C. Metro Safety Will Be Placed Under Federal Oversight

However, the Foxx disagreed with the NTSB’s recommendation and ordered the FTA to assume safety oversight of Metro on the basis of there being a lack of an effective State Safety Oversight Agency.

U.S. Department of Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx has put the kibosh on the National Transportation Safety Board’s recommendations issued September 30 to bring Metrorail under the “direct oversight” of the Federal Railroad Administration, the Washington Post reports.

That would have meant stricter safety regulations for Metro – and even tougher sanctions for violations. The newspaper said the move marked the first time a US subway system had been placed under direct federal supervision for safety lapses.

The NTSB said last month that an investigation had found little improvement in WMATA’s safety oversight since a 2009 Metrorail accident that killed nine people.

“WMATA must also immediately hire a capable General Manager who is able to correct the course at the transit agency and aggressively manage the implementation of the Corrective Action Plan, which has been approved by the FTA”, Foxx writes.

“We agree that the TOC, as now established, is ineffective”, Foxx wrote in a letter to NTSB Chairman Christopher Hart.

The capital-area subway system is now overseen by a Tri-State Oversight Committee composed of officials from Washington, D.C., Maryland and Virginia.

Say goodbye to the most recently proposed solution for Metro.

Emmerling said that the department agreed that urgent action is needed, but she said transportation officials believe “there is an even more effective and faster way to achieve the safety goals we all share”.

“Without adequate oversight, accidents and incidents will continue to place the riders of the WMATA system at risk”, the agency continued.