Skip to main content

Local leaders say Metro safety report troubling, not surprising

By Nick Iannelli

WASHINGTON — The Federal Transit Administration may have issued a new report about Metro safety this week, but the findings are raising the same concerns that have dogged the rail system for years, local officials say.

“Candidly, there are no surprises for me,” said Montgomery County Council member Sydney Katz. “We all know that there are tremendous problems.”

“They’re obviously in great need for many, many things to be done to make this a safe and reliable service,” added Katz.

The FTA blasted Metro for lax maintenance, saying it fails to properly train track inspectors and does not give them enough time to make repairs.

“It again highlights what has been painfully obvious for years: Metro’s safety culture is lacking,” said Rep. Don Beyer, D-Va., in a statement.

The “report is alarming, but not surprising,” he said.

One of the more troubling aspects of the report relates to a derailment last month near the East Falls Church station. The FTA says Metro knew there were track problems in that area, but kept trains running through there anyway.

Audit: Metro put millions of federal dollars at risk in failed Buy America program

By Max Smith
WASHINGTON — Oversight and contracting failures at Metro risked an immediate loss of millions in federal funding, a new audit report from Metro’s Office of Inspector General found. The audit of Metro’s Buy America contract award and oversight process found $68 million in bus, paratransit or rail car vehicle and parts purchases did not meet federal contracting requirements, and $517 million of the $1.4 billion in contracts reviewed did not follow the Federal Transit Administration’s nonbinding suggested best practices.
Read Next Story