Metro Mess: FTA Threatens Closure, Demands Safety Fixes Now

WASHINGTON, D.C. — The FTA has had it with Metro's slow progress and lax safety standards in the face of a crisis that has — shockingly — taken no more than one life.

Granted oversight of WMATA's progress in hundreds of needed Metro repairs, the Federal Transit Administration issued a new safety directive on Saturday demanding that WMATA address smoke and fire events and the seeming inability of employees to follow established safety procedures.

"WMATA must take immediate action… to train personnel in emergency preparedness and response, and prioritize safety over revenue operations," the FTA writes.

The directive demands the organization mitigate ongoing fire and smoke risks, improve emergency planning and conduct a safety stand-down meeting with employees to make sure every worker involved in an emergency situation understands protocols.

The final straw came Thursday, May 5, according to the FTA directive. Early in the morning, there was a third-rail insulator explosion at the Federal Center Southwest Station. The FTA claims WMATA employees were slow to respond and didn't contact the FTA, as required.

The FTA also notes WMATA refused to shutdown the track for hours until a second fire incident later in the day. This was the eighth smoke and fire incident on the Metro tracks in just the past two weeks, according to the FTA.

"These multiple failures demonstrate significant safety lapses by the Rail Operations Control Center, which controls access to the tracks, manages abnormal and emergency events and ensures the safety of trains and personnel on the right-of way," the FTA writes.

In January 2015, a deadly smoke incident at L'Enfant Plaza station caused a Yellow Line train to fill with smoke as passengers sat helpless inside. One passenger, Carol Glover, died and dozens were injured.

The FTA directive Saturday notes a backlog in needed repairs. One day earlier, WMATA general manager Paul Wiedefeld announced SafeTrack, a year-long "safety surge" in repairs that is expected to cause station closures and long-term delays in an effort to speed up a 3-year repair plan.

"We need to do something different," he said in a press conference Friday. "Dramatically different."

The FTA noted that, if WMATA failed to implement the items in its directive Saturday, there would be financial consequences — including withholding up to 25 percent of WMATA's federal funding. The FTA could also issue, "restrictions, closures or prohibitions on service as necessary and appropriate to address unsafe conditions or practices that present a substantial risk of death or personal injury."