Metro federal oversight proposal rejected

The Federal Transit Administration (FTA) will assume responsibility for safety lapses at the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA), according to a safety plan announced by U.S. Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx late last week. Officials could conduct surprise inspections and issue directives to Metro to immediately address safety problems in the system.

“Faced with serial accidents, it should relieve every Metro rider that the Federal Transit Administration will take direct oversight of Metrorail for now”, said Del.

But in a statement emailed to WTOP on Friday, Department of Transportation spokeswoman Suzanne Emmerling said the agency “does not believe that the NTSB recommendation is either the wisest or fastest way to bring about the necessary safety improvements”. “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”. That recommendation came as the NTSB is investigating an electrical malfunction in January that killed one passenger and sickened dozens. He said he remains concerned about FTA’s ability to oversee safety at Metro.

“I look forward to learning more about Secretary Foxx’s proposal to ramp up FTA’s safety oversight of the Metrorail system but remain concerned that immediate, effective oversight not be victim to bureaucracy”, he said. The FTA will also coordinate a robust level of funding from existing resources to carry out enhanced oversight. “The NTSB therefore proposes that the DOT seek the authorization under 45 USC Section 1104 to classify WMATA as a commuter authority, thus placing WMATA under the regulatory authority of the FRA”. “Clearly, the Tri-State Oversight Committee is ineffective and more federal oversight is needed”.

The NTSB’s prior recommendation stems from an ongoing investigation into the deadly arcing and smoke incident at the L’Enfant Plaza station in January. “Frankly, that is the single best thing that can be done right now to ensure the safe and reliable operation of the Metro system”.