This article is from the source 'washpo' and was first published or seen on . It last changed over 40 days ago and won't be checked again for changes.

You can find the current article at its original source at https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/trafficandcommuting/metro-chief-and-federal-transit-officials-face-grilling-before-congressional-panel/2016/04/13/ab9f9174-0184-11e6-9d36-33d198ea26c5_story.html

The article has changed 7 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.

Version 1 Version 2
Metro chief and federal transit officials face grilling before congressional panel Metro chief and federal transit officials face grilling before congressional panel
(about 2 hours later)
Metro’s general manager told the region’s Senate delegation Wednesday that he will release a comprehensive plan for addressing the myriad problems facing the system in the next four to six weeks, but emphasized he has no plan for extended shutdowns. Top Metro officials and members of Congress squared off at a contentious hearing Wednesday on the beleaguered transit agency’s myriad problems, with Metro’s board chairman shouting that the federal government is short-changing the agency and a House member lambasting Metro as a “screwed-up mess.”
“I am not talking about a six-month shutdown,” Paul J. Wiedefeld assured the delegation. Metro board chairman Jack Evans, who has long argued that the federal government should contribute money to the transit’s system’s operating budget, pounded the witness table at a House subcommittee hearing to make his point.
But Wiedefeld said he could not rule out shutdowns that would be disruptive. While the plan will not involve extended shutdowns, “it will involve difficult choices.” “All I’m asking you for is $300 million, which is your fair share” Evans shouted, meaning he wants Congress to approve a contribution to Metro’s $1.7-billion annual operating budget. “Given the fact that we transport 50 percent of your workforce every day.
In a cordial but pointed question-and-answer session before he was scheduled to appear before a House oversight committee, Wiedefeld said Metro’s current approach toward maintenance has not worked. “You want there to be safety? You want this to be reliable? Or do you just want to leave here and do nothing?” Evans said. Raising the specter of yet another safety-related subway calamity, he declared: “Next time something happens, I’m blaming you guys. Because we need your help.”
Rep. Gerald E. Connolly (D-Va.) agreed with Evans, saying that while the region pays Metro’s expenses, everyone else gets a “free ride.
But Rep. John Mica (R-Fla.) wanted to hear none of it, calling Metro “the most screwed-up mess I’ve ever seen in business or government.” Although the federal government does not contribute to Metro’s operating budget, it does chip in money for capital improvement. And much of that money has gone unspent.
“I’m not here to make up for bad management,” Mica declared. “I’m not here to make up for a poor safety record. I’m not here to make up for a lack of action.”
Saying, “I’m not going to bail you out,” he added: “You sure as heck aren’t going to get it out of my folks,” apparently meaning federal taxpayers in his home state of Florida.
And addressing Metro General Manager Paul J. Wiedefeld, Mica said, “You need to get in there and fire people and get that place in order.”
Wiedefeld, Evans and others appeared at a joint hearing of the House subcommittees on Government Operations and on Transportation and Public Assets. Wiedefeld told the House members that he was committed to finding solutions for the problems plaguing the nation’s second-busiest subway.
Wiedefeld, on the job for just four months, said that in the next four to six weeks, he will present a comprehensive plan for addressing the transit agency’s problems and restoring rider confidence.
He said that for too long, Metro has been lurching from problem to problem with no clear strategy for making the needed fixes. He will present a plan that will fix that.
Earlier in the day, Wiedefeld met with the region’s Senate delegation in a gathering that was described as cordial but pointed. He emphasized he has no plan for extended shutdowns but said his plan will “involve difficult choices.”
“I am not talking about a six-month shutdown,” Wiedefeld assured the delegation but could not rule out shutdowns that would be disruptive.
Wiedefeld said Metro’s current approach toward maintenance has not worked.
“We’ve been lurching from crisis to crisis,” he said.“We’ve been lurching from crisis to crisis,” he said.
Sen. Barbara A. Mikulski (D-Md.) scheduled the 1 p.m. session, with fellow Maryland Democrat Ben Cardin and Virginia’s two Democratic senators, Mark Warner and Tim Kaine, after Wiedefeld last month ordered a 24-hour emergency safety-related shutdown of Metrorail, an unprecedented step in the subway’s 40-year history.Sen. Barbara A. Mikulski (D-Md.) scheduled the 1 p.m. session, with fellow Maryland Democrat Ben Cardin and Virginia’s two Democratic senators, Mark Warner and Tim Kaine, after Wiedefeld last month ordered a 24-hour emergency safety-related shutdown of Metrorail, an unprecedented step in the subway’s 40-year history.
Wiedefeld is appearing before House members where he will face congressional scrutiny into his agency’s troubled finances, repeated safety breakdowns and chronic service woes. Wiedefeld then headed to a joint hearing before the two House subcommittees where he faced congressional scrutiny into his agency’s troubled finances, repeated safety breakdowns and chronic service woes.
Wiedefeld, along with Metro Board Chairman Jack Evans, the chairman of the National Transportation Safety Board and a senior official of the Federal Transit Administration, were scheduled to testify. Wiedefeld and Evans were joined by Christopher A. Hart, the chairman of the National Transportation Safety Board, and Carolyn Flowers, a senior official of the Federal Transit Administration.
This is the third time Metro officials have appeared before the committees. This is the third time Metro officials have appeared before the committees but the first time Wiedefeld has been in the hot seat.
“Several recent high-profile accidents and incidents on Metrorail — including two fatal accidents — have been attributed, at least in part, to long-standing and systemic safety deficiencies,” the House subcommittees on Government Operations and on Transportation and Public Assets noted in a statement. “Several recent high-profile accidents and incidents on Metrorail — including two fatal accidents — have been attributed, at least in part, to long-standing and systemic safety deficiencies,” the committees said in a statement announcing the hearing.
The deadly calamities include a Jan. 12, 2015, incident in which a stalled train was enveloped by smoke in a Metro tunnel and a 2009 crash that killed a Metro train operator and eight riders. The smoke crisis, in which one passenger died, was caused by an electrical malfunction near the L’Enfant Plaza station. The 2009 disaster, near Fort Totten, resulted from a failure of computerized track circuits.The deadly calamities include a Jan. 12, 2015, incident in which a stalled train was enveloped by smoke in a Metro tunnel and a 2009 crash that killed a Metro train operator and eight riders. The smoke crisis, in which one passenger died, was caused by an electrical malfunction near the L’Enfant Plaza station. The 2009 disaster, near Fort Totten, resulted from a failure of computerized track circuits.
In prepared testimony, Wiedefeld noted that in his short tenure as head of the transit agency he has found that, “Metro and the region has some hard truths to confront.”In prepared testimony, Wiedefeld noted that in his short tenure as head of the transit agency he has found that, “Metro and the region has some hard truths to confront.”
“Our current approach to dealing with these issues, lurching from crisis to crisis, is not working and we need a plan going forward to come at these issues more holistically,” Wiedefeld said. He added that within the next four to six weeks, he will release a plan focuses on restoring confidence in the agency.“Our current approach to dealing with these issues, lurching from crisis to crisis, is not working and we need a plan going forward to come at these issues more holistically,” Wiedefeld said. He added that within the next four to six weeks, he will release a plan focuses on restoring confidence in the agency.
He noted that as part of the action plan he released last month, Metro has created a Customer Accountability Report that will allow the public to monitor the transit agency’s progress toward making the system safer, more reliable and financially sound.He noted that as part of the action plan he released last month, Metro has created a Customer Accountability Report that will allow the public to monitor the transit agency’s progress toward making the system safer, more reliable and financially sound.
[Here’s what Paul J. Wiedefeld is expected to say to Congress] [Here’s Paul J. Wiedefeld’s prepared testimony to Congress]
The March 16 shutdown followed a fire two days earlier on tracks near the McPherson Square station. Inspectors determined that the tunnel fire had been caused by faulty power cables, a problem dangerously similar to what sparked the 2015 electrical meltdown near L’Enfant Plaza, according to Metro.The March 16 shutdown followed a fire two days earlier on tracks near the McPherson Square station. Inspectors determined that the tunnel fire had been caused by faulty power cables, a problem dangerously similar to what sparked the 2015 electrical meltdown near L’Enfant Plaza, according to Metro.
As for Metro’s finances, the subcommittees said they will examine “chronic underfunding.”As for Metro’s finances, the subcommittees said they will examine “chronic underfunding.”
Unlike other major public-transit agencies in the nation, Metro does not receive money from a “dedicated” source, such a sales or gas tax levied on consumers who live in the region served by the system. Instead, to pay its daily operating expenses, Metro depends on financial subsidies from the Maryland, Virginia and D.C. governments. Unlike other major public-transit agencies in the nation, Metro does not receive money from a “dedicated” source, such as a sales or gas tax levied on consumers who live in the region served by the system. Instead, to pay its daily operating expenses, Metro depends on financial subsidies from the Maryland, Virginia and D.C. governments.
But calls from Metro Board Chairman Jack Evans that the jurisdictions as well as the federal government increase the amount of funding they provide Metro have received a cold reception. But calls from Evans, who also is a D.C. Council member, that the jurisdictions as well as the federal government increase the amount of funding they provide Metro have received a cold reception.
[Va. Sen. Mark Warner has no plans for push for a tax to fund Metro ][Va. Sen. Mark Warner has no plans for push for a tax to fund Metro ]
Wiedefeld will be joined at the House hearing by Evans, who also is a D.C. Council member; NTSB Chairman Christopher A. Hart; and Carolyn Flowers, a senior FTA adviser. In prepared remarks, Flowers said since assuming temporary responsibility for the safety of Metro’s rail system last year, officials have conducted 107 inspections focused on a variety of Metro’s operations including tracks, traction power and its rail operation control center, which manages trains as they move through the system.
Flowers said since assuming temporary responsibility for the safety of Metro’s rail system last year, officials have conducted 107 inspections focused on a variety of Metro’s operations including tracks, traction power and its rail operation control center, which manages trains as they move through the system.
As part of that work, inspectors have found 229 defects, including issues with track gauge (the distance between rails) in two areas of track between Huntington and Metro Center. Wide gauge is significant because it can cause derailments.As part of that work, inspectors have found 229 defects, including issues with track gauge (the distance between rails) in two areas of track between Huntington and Metro Center. Wide gauge is significant because it can cause derailments.
Secretary of Transportation Anthony Foxx announced the safety blitz last month on the same day Metro officials took the unprecedented step of shutting down rail service so that crews could conduct emergency inspections of power cables. The renewed safety push is focused on three areas that have raised concerns among federal officials – Metro’s track system, the reasons why the agency’s train operators continue to run through red signals and Metro’s system for ensuring rail cars are properly secured when they are parked in rail yards. Robert McCartney contributed to this report.
The safety blitz is the most high profile action the FTA has taken since assuming temporary responsibility for the safety of Metro’s rail system last year. The agency also has conducted surprise inspections, investigations into issues including platform crowding and has created a list of safety fixes that Metro must address or risk losing federal funding.
Not everyone is convinced that the FTA is capable of providing the type of oversight that will address the long-standing problems at Metro. Last year, Hart urged Foxx to make the Federal Railroad Administration, an agency with a longer history of overseeing rail systems, responsible for safety at Metro. But Foxx rejected the call saying that oversight was best left to FTA.
However in testimony he is expected to deliver to the House subcommittees on Wednesday, Hart noted the safety board is closely watching FTA’s efforts.
Metro is the first transit agency to be under federal oversight. FTA’s work with Metro will provide a template for how it may use its new authority in the future. It also will be a test of whether Foxx made the right decision in keeping FTA the main safety oversight agency for Metro.