Washington Metro to close at midnight every night beginning June 3

Trains Magazine General Discussion
1

The above headline is posted on the TRAINS Newswire of this date.

This is the latest in a recent number of headlines concerning problems within the Washington (DC) Metro Rail- Commuter- System

The problem I have is understanding… WHY Do they { METRO } have these problems? Particularly, in these times, with the existance of modern, mechanized M.O.W. equipment, and highly competent work forces capable of the work they do on railroads with high traffic patterns and periods of ‘work windows’.

There is a lot of past MOW work experience, and currently knowledgable MOW professionals who post around here on these FORUMS; maybe, they might be able to shed a little light for those of us ‘interested by-standers’?

It seems strange that the current systems in, and around New York City, Philadelphia, and Chicago do not have to go through such arcane processes as shuitting down their entire systems for periods for what is stated as months, {and in some cases, with many Government Projects, possibly, much longer, and constantly mounting costs$$$}

Does the METRO SYSTEM in D.C. lack planning staffs?

Are they not making provisions for on-going, regular maintenance items?

It would be easy to understand if they were using manual labor gangs with just hand tools to manage their upkeep, but They should be able to budget, and pay for regular maintenance items.

Anyone here have any ideas as to what, and why the Metro System seems to have gone down ‘the drain’? Even during the Civil War The Union maintained rail traffic, while the Confederates were destroying as much as they were able…[banghead][2c]

2

I would opine that it’s because nothing in DC escapes the hand of the federal government, funding-wise.

Kinda like Amtrak…

3

The Metro doesn’t even have the excuse of being old, by NE standards. The stories describe neglect of basic things, down to manholes that haven’t been resorted to in so long that they are “clogged” and unusable.

Dare one cite this as another example, if we needed one, of a one-party city – ala Atlantic City, Jersey City, Detroit, Flint, etc. – that is run into the ground by incompetent grafters?

Statehood for D.C., anyone? (An idea that is still kicking around.) If so, why?

4

Metro is a mess, with a lot of serious problems-

  1. Management: Metro is used as a dumping ground for political appointees, (note their famous 20-person board of directors) and so as a result is ineffective at planning, ensuring maintenance, budgeting, etc.

  2. Funding: as with other systems, Metro needs outside funding. However, they do not have a dedicated funding source, relying on various appropriations. Combined with waste/misallocation, this situation has led Metro to defer maintenance for close to 2 decades. They’ve now reached the point where all that deferred maintenance needs to be done, and NOW.

  3. The regulatory situation. This is where it gets really insane. Metro gets to create its own rules and regulations. The FTA can provide recommendations, but Metro is free to ignore them at will. This self-regulation is predictably a failure and is why many are calling for the FRA to take over. And management apparently doesn’t create effective punishments for breaking Metro rules, as recent incidents have shown…

5

Thanks, Guys! Northwest pretty much described some of what I was suspecting, as did dakotafred and tree68. I just was hoping to spark some positive discussions as to some answers.

It seems like the problems in Washington, D.C. in regards to the ‘local’ government are as endemic there, as they are in the Federal Government…

Competence in Government, these days is almost oxymoronic, with the emphasis on the last sylable. WE seem to have arrived at a place where our society rewards mediocracy in elected/appointed office (?) [#oops]

Better get back on topic [sigh] Anyone have any suggestions as to how to ‘fix’ the ‘problems’ with Washington’s Metro? It seems that, maybe, the &#

6

The solutions are simple, if not easy-

Replace management with competent individuals from within the industry.

Provide a reliable yearly source of constant funding.

Transfer Metro to the FRA, so there actually is regulatory oversight.

7

The solution is to let railroaders run the railroad, if you will.

Having MARC (or any other operator) take over Metro will only work if MARC is allowed to actually run the operation, without political interference.

8

MARC does not ‘RUN’ their railroad operations, they have hired Bombardier to staff, operate and maintain their trains. CSX and Amtrak dispatch, operate and maintain the railroad MARC operates their trains over, with the exception of the Frederick Branch from the Wisner Street Station to Frederick Jct on CSX’s Old Main Line. Experience has shown that MARC doesn’t respond to issues on the trackage they own with any real sense of urgency. How they compare to WMATA is an open question.

9

Going to have to take Uber home after Midnight

10

MARC is the commuter rail operation of the Maryland Transit Administration. Given the performance of the MTA’s slow, unreliable, and dysfunctional bus operation in and around Baltimore, and the cancellation of the Baltimore Red Line transit project for political reasons, I wouldn’t count on the MTA being able to do a good job with Metro.

Metro’s problems are related to cumbersome governance from being in three jurisdictions, irregular funding, and lack of funding from the federal government. Even though the system carries a huge number of federal employees daily in a federal district, the federal government, which is the fourth (overlapping) jurisdiction in the Metro service area, does not contribute to its operation.

It’s unfortunate that Metro has come to this, because it’s a great system when it works, and has an immense (but dissipating) reserve of good will from the people who use it.