Just days after Metro shut down subway service in the nation’s capital to conduct emergency inspections of electrical cables, inspectors from the Federal Transit Administration launched their own “safety blitz” of the troubled transit agency Monday.
FTA officials said the inspections would continue for the next several weeks with a final report expected by early summer. As a result of the inspections, the agency, which now temporarily oversees safety of Metro’s rail system, may require the transit agency to make additional fixes to any problems that are identified.
Monday’s announcement makes good on Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx’s pledge that he will continue his push to ensure the safety of hundreds of thousands of riders who use the system daily. Foxx announced on March 16, during testimony before a Senate budget committee, that the new inspections would begin as early as this week. His announcement came the same day the system was shut down for the emergency inspection of its electrical cables.
Here are the questions FTA officials will be seeking to answer:
Why are Metro train operators running so many red lights?
According to FTA officials, there have been 50 red signal violations since 2012, including five since October. In 2015, there were more red signal overruns than in the previous two years. And the problems have continued in 2016.
The hope is that by reviewing all 50 incidents, inspectors can get a better sense of how Metro’s train operators and its Rail Operations Control Center can avoid future problems.
Does Metro have a quality system for inspecting its tracks?
FTA inspectors will examine Metro’s program for inspecting, maintaining and repairing track issues throughout the system. Last Monday’s early morning fire near the McPherson Square station prompted General Manager Paul Wiedefeld to shut down the entire system so that crews could conduct emergency inspections and make repairs to damaged electrical cables systemwide. The section of cable that burned in last week had previously been inspected and passed – raising questions about how thorough last year’s inspections had been. In their announcement, FTA officials also cited an August derailment on the Green Line that involved a section of track that Metro officials had know for a month was faulty but failed to make the necessary repairs. Like the work the FTA will do with red signals, the goal is to prevent future problems.
Are Metro’s rail cars being properly secured?
The third area that FTA inspectors will examine is how well rail vehicles are being secured. FTA officials said they have found several instances where Metro employees failed to follow the proper procedures for securing rail cars. As a result some have rolled away and struck other equipment or infrastructure.
