WASHINGTON 鈥� One year ago Tuesday, a Yellow Line train sat engulfed in smoke outside the L鈥橢nfant Plaza station, and one passenger, Carol Glover, died. A year later, Metro has a long road ahead as it works to address dozens of safety changes ordered by federal regulators and to deal with a new round of lawsuits tied to the incident.
The Federal Transit Administration is now conducting daily and unannounced inspections of the Metro system in its temporary role as Metro鈥檚 direct safety oversight agency, and expects to add more safety orders to the list soon.
鈥淔TA will soon close the first batch of accident investigation reports assumed from the TOC [Tri-State Oversight Committee] and expects to issue additional safety directives to WMATA during 2016 resulting in more corrective actions,鈥� FTA Acting Administrator Therese McMillan said in a statement.
The FTA took over from the locally created TOC last聽October, after D.C., Maryland and Virginia leaders failed for years to implement a more powerful and independent Metro Safety Commission that would have more teeth to enforce penalties for safety violations. Local leaders have this year.
New Metro General Manager Paul Wiedefeld sees any enforcement as helpful to efforts to turn things around.
鈥淩ight now, the FTA is playing that role and, as you may or may not know, they鈥檙e here daily both inspecting on our tracks and in our facilities. And so, basically, that is the hammer and that鈥檚 the hammer that鈥檚 going to remain into the future,鈥� he said in an interview with WTOP Monday.
鈥淚t鈥檚 not just, 鈥極K, just say that you鈥檙e going to do it, but don鈥檛 worry about it,聽they never come back.鈥� Well now, guess what? They鈥檙e here,鈥� he says.
Even before more safety directives from the FTA, Metro has more than 700 checklist items to address. from status reports and fan system upgrades to to ending red-signal running.
鈥淭he anniversary, as sad as it is, it鈥檚 an opportunity for me to reinforce throughout the entire agency how important the work is that we do here for the safety of our customers,鈥� Wiedefeld says.
鈥淢y goal here is not to meet any standard of safety, but basically to really create the culture of safety. What that means is making sure that any employee, if they feel that something鈥檚 unsafe, they can say, 鈥榃ait a minute. I feel this is unsafe.鈥� There鈥檚 no retribution. There鈥檚 no fear of retribution. And that鈥檚 a culture shift here, so that鈥檚 what I鈥檓 trying to convey to all employees,鈥� he says.
A group of more than 80 people who were affected聽by the smoke incident last year against Metro.
Glover鈥檚 family has over her death.
The incident happened just as the previous permanent Metro general manager, Richard Sarles, was retiring. Sarles had come in after the 2009 Red Line crash promising reforms to聽the system.
After a tumultuous search, Wiedefeld was finally hired in November with a similar task.
鈥淲hat I鈥檓 proud of is the line people. The more I meet them, there is a sense of pride in them. There is a sense that they want to do more. They are, I think, excited now —聽鈥極K, we鈥檙e turning a page here鈥�,鈥� Wiedefeld says.
鈥淚鈥檓 working to get that buy-in and I think they understand that I鈥檓 serious that this is the way that we鈥檙e going to be.鈥�
However, it could hit a roadblock in the spring and summer as Metro鈥檚 largest union negotiates a new contract.
Jan. 12, 2015: A timeline of events
The afternoon that smoke filled the Yellow Line train near L鈥橢nfant Plaza, trains were running normally.
Although a full report on the investigation is not expected for a few more months, the National Transportation Safety Board said in June that the known as arcing, tied to third-rail power in the tunnel just before southbound Yellow Line trains go up and over the Potomac River toward Virginia. The arcing, about 2,000 feet south of the L鈥橢nfant Plaza station, filled the tunnel with smoke, setting off a smoke alarm at 3:05 p.m. The train pulled into the tunnel a few minutes later, and passengers were stuck there for more than 30 minutes.
A total of 380 people were taken off the train through the thick smoke in the tunnel after firefighters eventually arrived. Several others had decided to earlier through an emergency exit.
By 4:27 p.m., everyone was off the train, including Carol Glover.
The 61-year-old grandmother was among the first people taken off the train. She was unconscious but alive when she was carried to the platform. By the time firefighters carried her outside, her pulse was gone. Only once she was at the surface without a pulse did rescuers call her an ambulance. They continued CPR and the ambulance left for the hospital at 4:28 p.m.
In all, 86 people were taken to the hospital. Nine others got medical attention outside the station. All but Glover survived.
What鈥檚 changed?
Other issues identified in a series of reports include the failure of D.C. Fire radios and the failure of first responders from different agencies to work together.
D.C. Fire and Metro have since worked to expand testing of radios throughout the system to ensure first responders can communicate in an emergency. Metro has also funded a firefighter position inside the troubled Rail Operations Control Center to increase coordination and communication.
While Metro Transit Police Chief Ron Pavlik to continue that program beyond spring, Wiedefeld says he is certain it will continue.
鈥淭hat鈥檚 been a tremendous help, I think,鈥� he says. 鈥淚鈥檓 not concerned about it; we鈥檒l figure that out.鈥�
Metro has hired, and is training, more staff for the Rail Operations Control Center.
鈥淎 bit of training has been done there, [and] it鈥檚 been very clear what they have to do,鈥� Wiedefeld says.
He visited the center again Monday afternoon.
Several findings from various investigations included a lack of discipline, overworked controllers, and a lack of clear checklists and policies for the center, which functions like an air traffic control center for Metrorail.
Wiedefeld says he wants an from all employees when there are disruptions,聽such as聽unplanned single-tracking, that can throw a major wrench in a commute.
Metro has asked the FTA to approve a corrective action plan that would include the Rail Traffic Controllers under those questioned in accident investigations on the rails. The other FTA directive fix that has advanced to the review stage would include bus operations control center and street operations managers under a fatigue management program that is designed to reduce risks and mistakes.
Overall, Wiedefeld says, getting a new chief safety officer in place and expanding are keys to continued progress.
The previous chief safety officer following a derailment outside the Smithsonian station that could have been avoided if warnings from track inspections were heeded.
鈥淢y focus is, going forward, we want to prevent anything from happening in the future, so that means we鈥檝e got to make sure the equipment鈥檚 there, it鈥檚 maintained and all that, that the equipment is the latest and the greatest that we can possibly have out there, and that we constantly train, and it鈥檚 not only training our own people, but it鈥檚 training with outside people,鈥� Wiedefeld says.
Getting that top-of-the-line equipment has been a problem, as the new 7000 Series railcars have been and .
鈥淲e don鈥檛 want to be redoing things that should have been done off the line, so that鈥檚 been the bit of the slowup on that,鈥� Wiedefeld says. 鈥淚 think in the very near future they will basically come off the line, ready to roll.鈥�
The new cars are needed both to expand the fleet and to replace the 1000 Series cars that the NTSB said, following the 2009 Red Line crash, should be retired for safety reasons.
After the interview Monday, Wiedefeld went into the next room to address the importance of safety with 73 new employees.
Like Acting FTA Administrator Therese McMillan, Wiedefeld emphasized that an overhauled safety culture is one of his top goals.
鈥淚t鈥檚 getting the entire agency to behave that way, to work that way, to think that way, and you know that鈥檚 what I鈥檓 trying to do,鈥� he says.
It鈥檚 something past Metro leaders have promised before.
鈥淚 don鈥檛 know what you have heard or haven鈥檛 heard, but there鈥檚 another thing that鈥檚 changed here a little bit is, as a nation, we realize that transit agencies across the nation haven鈥檛 had the same sort of standards that we鈥檝e had at aviation, for instance.鈥�
Wiedefeld is the former head of BWI-Marshall Airport.聽 He believes the FTA oversight will force some things to happen now that have not happened before.
鈥淚 think that is a major change. So now when we鈥檙e talking about this and when I鈥檓 focusing on it, it has a different meaning, I think, than in the past it may have been: 鈥榊eah, yeah we鈥檝e heard this before, but there鈥檚 nothing at the other end,鈥� Well, now there is something at the other end,鈥� he says.
Some of the things on Metro鈥檚 to-do list from the FTA that could take the longest to come up with actionable fixes for include ensuring that there is evidence that train operators are recertified every two years, and that employees get proper training to protect workers on the tracks.
Other direction from the FTA includes getting more time for track work, which could mean single-tracking for an entire week or more extensive shutdowns.
Metro has moved to to ensure water does not get inside. That can create electrical problems, especially since Metro deals with about 2 million gallons a day 鈥� 3 Olympic-sized swimming pools-worth 鈥� throughout the rail system.
The water has been a particular problem on the Red Line through the Bethesda area, where Metro at one point it might need to shut down the entire stretch for weeks. Instead, Metro shut the .
Metro has also been directed to come up with new plans to get rid of smoke in the system when it happens. One of the FTA directives includes an engineering assessment to find ways to improve the fan system and an order to document and schedule fan testing. All of the directives can be tracked on . It tracks when Metro鈥檚 fixes are proposed and then approved. Actually following through on the plans is up to Metro.
鈥淎lthough FTA is fulfilling a critical safety oversight function, responsibility for performing the actual work of making Metrorail safer for passengers and employees rests squarely on WMATA,鈥� McMillan said in a statement.
Asked on Monday, Wiedefeld says he is willing to fire people if needed, although he has no plans to do so.
鈥淚f anyone doesn鈥檛 perform, yes, they will be let go; that鈥檚 not in debate. I haven鈥檛 seen that yet but, obviously, if I do see that then that鈥檚 how we would handle that,鈥� Wiedefeld said.
Even amid concerns from some riders about crime and other issues, Wiedefeld says he believes Metro is safe.
鈥淚 ride it every day; my children, my wife ride it. It鈥檚 a very safe system. Believe me, it is a very safe system. Will there be occasional things? Yes. Look at any transit system in the country 鈥� these are big complex systems so things occasionally do happen, but that does not mean that we shouldn鈥檛 try to eliminate them all,鈥� he says.
Wiedefeld says the investigation is still ongoing into what caused a into two parts last week. He says a smoke incident over the weekend caused the evacuation of聽riders from the Federal Center SW station was tied to a problem聽with a railcar, not an insulator.
