Metrorail Routinely Skipped Safety Protocols, Putting Workers At Risk

WASHINGTON, DC — Metrorail put the safety of its own personnel at risk by repeatedly skipping established safety protocols for returning lethal electrical power to the third rail so passenger service could more quickly be restored, according to the Washington Metrorail Safety Commission, which provides oversight of the District's transit system.

Following multiple incidents in April and May, in which Metrorail employees failed to follow safety measures, WMSC ordered the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority to limit the number of Metrorail work locations requiring power shutoffs. Under WMSC's order, Metrorail would only be allowed to shut off electricity to no more than 30 locations per shift and no more than 10 per each Power Operations Desk.

WMSC also ordered Metrorail to re-emphasize to employees of Metrorail’s Rail Operations Control Center and Power Desk the importance of following all safety protocols in order to keep frontline personnel safe.

In order to make track repairs, Metrorail workers establish work zones during the overnight hours, when there is no passenger service. Part of the process is to remove high-voltage electrical power to the third rail, so workers can make the repairs without putting themselves at risk.

At 4:03 a.m., on April 26, Metro's button rail traffic controller had incorrectly turned a tag, which indicated to Metro's Power Desk that it was safe to restore traction power to a work zone near the College Park Station, according to WMSC's preliminary investigation. In fact, the Power Desk did not confirm that the tracks were clear until 4:27 a.m.

During that time, Metro personnel were still in the work zone and management at the Power Desk were instead focused on returning power to 12 other work zones in the Metrorail system.

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WMSC determined the Power Desk assistant superintendent had skipped three safety protocols when directing that power be restored to the College Park Station work zone. In addition, the Power Desk controller restored power even though they knew two safety confirmations had not been completed.

WMSC also investigated similar lapses in safety that occurred on April 3, May 1, May 6 and May 14, across multiple departments.

"Fatigue modeling indicates that the Power Desk controller's performance effectiveness on April 26 was impaired due to sleep debt, short sleep duration and the circadian effects of night work," WMSC's report says. "The Power Desk Controller also told investigators that they have difficulty sleeping."

Further investigation revealed that Metrorail was assigning 12-hours shifts and not filling some shifts due to staffing shortages.

WMSC first notified WMATA on May 12, 2020, that management at Metrorail’s Rail Operations Control Center rushed rail power restoration, prioritizing the return of rail service over the safety of its workers. In response, Metrorail put in place a corrective action plan to address the situation and implemented interim safety measures.

However, in January and February 2021, WMSC observed that Metrorail was bypassing the interim safety protocols and was again putting its personnel at undue risk.

Under a new corrective action plan, Metrorail shifted the focus from ensuring that ROCC management and leadership followed all of the safety procedures to expanding the responsibility of the Power Desk and having Rail Traffic Controllers confirm that all the proper steps were taken. Once that was confirmed, the controllers would notify the Power Desk that electrical power could be restored.

"Metrorail developed the revised Power Desk plan in place of its original proposed solution to prevent premature restoration of power based significantly on an assessment of practices at other agencies," WMSC says, in its report. "The WMSC provided detailed and specific feedback regarding Metrorail’s proposal. Metrorail decided to move forward with an expanded Power Desk. As Metrorail has moved forward with its preferred Power Desk plan, the WMSC has provided safety feedback that Metrorail could use to ensure its plan provided for the safety of Metrorail personnel and first responders."

As WMSC monitored this new process, it passed along feedback from Metrorail's frontline workers to WMATA.

Last fall, that feedback included safety concerns raised by workers that Metrorail chose to ignore. When WMSC pressed Metrorail on the safety issues, it postponed the implementation of the new Power Desk plan so that it could improve the safety procedures in that plan.

On Tuesday, WMSC ordered Metrorail to ensure that it had appropriate staffing in place and an evaluation process to confirm that employees were capable of safely handling the number of necessary power outages per shift. Metrorail also had to comply with fatigue policies and standards, as well assure that employees had regular time off and worked for appropriate periods of time.