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[CNJRoss]

The Washington Post, 8/25:

Metro leaders field questions on summer’s mishaps and embarrassments

 

It was about this time last year that Metro board members gathered after a worrisome derailment, demanding answers from the agency’s leaders in light of a series of damning federal reports that questioned the safety of the system.

 

By the end of the meeting, board members had expressed their profound dissatisfaction with the lack of answers and the agency’s leadership. Hours later, Metro’s chief safety officer resigned.

 

Thursday’s emergency board meeting was deja-vu all over again — except for the outcome. At the end, board members were cautiously optimistic, largely because of General Manager Paul J. Wiedefeld’s most recent hires: Chief Operating Officer Joseph Leader and Chief Safety Officer Patrick Lavin. Leader and Lavin, both alums of New York’s Metropolitan Transportation Authority, fielded the bulk of the board’s questions.

 

“Night and day,” said board member Malcolm Augustine, who represents Maryland and Prince George’s County, adding that it was like the “exact same meeting” with new players and a key difference: tone. “There was ownership from all three people.”

 

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[CNJRoss]

WTOP radio, 8/27:
 

After federal investigations, what has changed for Metro?

 

WASHINGTON — What can riders expect from Metro after several months of round-the-clock track work and additional safety problems highlighted by a series of federal investigations?

 

SNIP

 

At a special Metro Board meeting Thursday, Wiedefeld said his focus on getting safety front and center at Metro is workers’ “individual responsibility.”

 

More here.

[CNJRoss]

Greater Greater Washington, 8/26:
 

Reports of Metro track defects sat in a database without action for years. One reason: Poor training.

 

A Silver Line train derailed last month because rail ties had deteriorated and the tracks had moved apart. Metro track inspectors had noticed years earlier, but it was "misclassified" in WMATA's database and never got fixed. Meanwhile, inspectors weren't checking all the places they were supposed to. One big reason for all these failures: bad training.

 

As we've found out since the derailment, track inspectors weren't properly inspecting interlockings in the rail system, the spots where trains cross over from one track to another. Just like the main tracks, these are supposed to be inspected twice per week.

 

However, WMATA's top managers don't believe that was occurring, General Manager/CEO Paul Wiedefeld and Chief Safety Officer Pat Lavin explained at a special WMATA Board meeting on Thursday.

 

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