D.C. Metro to Fix Safety Problems

Federal transit officials said Thursday they have approved a plan by Metro to correct numerous safety-management problems in its subway and bus operations, including poor training of employees, outdated information technology and inadequate staffing and procedures at the rail system’s central control facility.

Metro “must demonstrate a renewed commitment to set a higher standard of safety for its riders and employees,” Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx said in a statement, adding, “This plan is an opportunity for [Metro] to make lasting changes and restore public confidence in the system.”

Metro’s 643-page “corrective action plan,” submitted to the Federal Transit Administration this month, was in response to a highly critical FTA report issued in June. The report painted a troubling picture of Metro, saying the agency had failed to follow through on many promised safety improvements after nine people were killed in a 2009 crash involving two Red Line trains near the Fort Totten station.

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