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NTSB calls for federal oversight of WMATA
Seems necessary.
Maybe another dozen, or so, Committees, Agencies, Boards, and Administrations would help. That seems to be Washington’s all-purpose fix and keeps people employed, especially those that are ‘connected’. The old pork barrel will overflow with friendlies, nepotism, and the unqualified!
Sounds like a simple story. NTSB recommends FRA should provide safety oversight for WMATA, asks USDOT to urgently take necessary action to make it happen. Or did I read a different story than Mr. Hays?
Why the FRA not the FTA? The FRA does indeed have a lot of safety experience, but it’s also renowned for being somewhat confused and obsessed with transit-unfriendly regulations when it comes to passenger safety.
It should trouble anyone that this transit system, once touted as the most modern anywhere and paid for by all of the US taxpayers, is seen as mismanaged and unsafe. Trust the federal government to do things right, and you will be disappointed or worse. How about replacing all the management of WMATA, and finding real railroaders to run it? Nah, the federal government doesn’t do things like that now, and probably never did.
“…also asked for the transportation departemnt to implement…” new strata of gubmint operations???
The more I think about this, the more annoyed I get. The FRA’s “safety experience” when it comes to passenger rail has been largely to parrot whatever the NTSB says, then step back when it realizes, ten years later, all its done is kill a bunch of passenger projects by making them uneconomic.
And this is an entirely self-contained transit system. The Metro doesn’t carry freight. It’s just a bunch of a electric passenger trains running at low speeds. The current management may be poor, I don’t know, but the FRA isn’t used to regulating this kind of thing and isn’t likely to be any better.
To me, this looks like a power play. The NTSB knows the FRA will do whatever it wants, therefore it favors the FRA, no matter how unsuited they may be to regulating a local transit system. The NTSB is hoping that the fact “rails are involved” means most people won’t bat an eyelid.
I’d actually be in favor of the WMATA replacing their rail system with an underground guided trolley-pole-powered busway, just to thumb their collective noses at this proposal.
Oh boy, During one of he incidents that preceded this, some passengers, without help from WMATA employees evacuated the stopped train in a smoke-filled tunnel successfully without help of the WMATA employees. Therefore, this option was available and was not used and would have save at least one life. Additionally, nobody tried to operate the blue light station to allow the employees and firefighters to be quickly and safely evacuated. (Of course this would have probably also put out the fire which was due to shorted cables.)
Then last month, a wide rail was discovered during a routine inspection on a crossover. It was hot taken out of service or fixed. What we have here is a lack of training of employees in basic emergency operations. and repair procedures.
Management needs to step in, prepare and provide procedures for emergencies and repairs, then train employees in proper procedures.
I do not think a shift in the overall oversight agency is enough, This requires a management team that is willing to make safety a number one priority, and back it up with proper procedure, training s and planning. Will it cost money! Yes but what did the lawsuit cost. What did the emergency shutdown in rush hour cost after the derailment on the defective track?