WASHINGTON 鈥� What can riders expect from Metro after several months of round-the-clock track work and additional safety problems highlighted by a series of federal investigations?
Metro General Manager Paul Wiedefeld has cited actions taken to improve the personnel and management side of the transit system, saying, 鈥淲e are not dodging any of these issues. We鈥檙e going to go after them, and 鈥� unfortunately 鈥� it does mean, as we鈥檝e seen, it鈥檚 going to have an impact on customers at times.鈥�
He聽cited unscheduled track work that led to single-tracking on the Orange Line on .聽In the past, he said, they聽might have gone with a more聽temporary fix instead, putting聽a permanent fix on hold. But that mindset has shifted.
At a , Wiedefeld said his focus on getting聽safety front and center at Metro is workers’ 鈥渋ndividual responsibility.鈥�
Following , Metro Transit Police have also聽.
鈥淸There is] just conflicting information: We鈥檙e asking questions, and we should be getting, you know, similar answers, and we鈥檙e not,” Wiedefeld said.聽鈥淭he procedures and the standards are there. They haven鈥檛 been followed, and in some cases, they haven鈥檛 been followed for decades 鈥� why weren鈥檛 they being followed? Well, that鈥檚 one of the reasons we鈥檙e doing the investigation.”
Metro is also bringing in outside contractors to do their own inspections to establish a baseline for repairs and maintenance.
Three separate Federal Transit Administration reports found track inspectors and maintenance crews , repeated problems with trains or , and a 鈥渨idespread lack of compliance鈥� with , which can allow trains or equipment to roll off unattended.
鈥淭hat seems to be throughout the system 鈥� there are standards that are just not followed,鈥� said聽Jim Corcoran, Metro Board member and Northern Virginia Chamber of Commerce CEO.
Robert Lauby, chief safety officer at the Federal Railroad Administration and Metro Board member, said he had similar concerns. He feared that if track inspection procedures had not been rigorously followed, there could be an issue with inspections in other areas of the system.
Metro officials and the system鈥檚 expanding quality assurance group will have to look at every part of the bus and rail system to find answers.
鈥淭his is an organizational problem that we need to address,鈥� said Pat Lavin, Metro chief safety officer.
Metro leaders have promised to change the 鈥渟afety culture鈥� before, but Wiedefeld hopes the emphasis on , retaliation and harassment policies will help聽make more of a change this time.
鈥淓ither we follow the standards, or you just do not work here,鈥� Wiedefeld said.
David Strickland, Metro Board member and former National Highway Traffic Safety administrator, said Metro needs a more specific plan to fight against an “embedded culture” and “a lack of faith in the system.”
鈥淚 know individual accountability鈥檚 important, [but] there鈥檚 only so many hammers and so many nails to go around,” Strickland said. “At the end of the day, there鈥檚 going to have to be a crosscurrent of responsibility built into, frankly, every employee at WMATA, and it鈥檚 just not there.”
As members of Metro鈥檚 largest union looked on, other Metro Board members raised concerns about supervisors and whether each individual worker understood their role in the system鈥檚 safety. Wiedefeld said employees should understand that they were “equal participants” in Metro’s safety overhaul and that they will also be held accountable.
鈥淎gain, it鈥檚 not a union issue, it is an agency-wide issue that we鈥檙e addressing,鈥� Wiedefeld said.聽鈥淚t鈥檚 not just the track walkers 鈥� this is track walkers, supervisors, that entire part of it 鈥� everyone has to understand that they are all part of the solution.鈥�
Joseph Leader, who took on the role of Metro chief operating officer about a month ago, added聽that聽oversight could be better.
Malcolm Augustine, a Metro Board member from Prince George鈥檚 County, linked the current problems to last summer. That derailment聽had been聽tied to track problems that were ignored.
鈥淎lmost literally one year ago, we had this very same meeting. Three different gentlemen over here 鈥� all three of you are new 鈥� but we had the same meeting 鈥� and we had the same kind of discussion about ‘we should have done this, we should have done that,’鈥� he said.
As Wiedefeld, Lavin and Leader sat at the front of the room, Lauby alluded to the fact that Metro riders have .
鈥淚 congratulate the three of you, you know, right now, the fresh eyes, you鈥檙e part of the solution, and maybe in four or five years, you might be part of the problem again 鈥� I don鈥檛 know,鈥� Lauby said. The room filled with nervous laughter.
鈥淵ou鈥檙e doing the right things, and I want to congratulate you,鈥� Lauby finished.
