FTA Gives Metro Safety Orders After Finding Dozens Of Red Signal Overruns

by Christina Sturdivant in News on Aug 16, 2016 10:19 am

The Federal Transit Administration handed WMATA a list of orders yesterday, following an investigation into more than five dozen instances where train operators ran through stop signals.

Metro had 68 red light signal overruns between January 2012 and July 31, 2016, according to an FTA report. This averages out to more than one violation per month that “occurred at all times of day, throughout the year, by both new and veteran passenger train and rail maintenance machine operators, on all types of track and at locations across the Metrorail system," the report says.

While Metro General Manager Paul Wiedefeld has recently fired two train operators for the offense, the FTA is directing WMATA to take 11 additional actions to address the systemic issue. The mandates are based on three areas of concern related to the overruns: “a lack of WMATA train operator familiarity with mainline and yard territory, train operator inattention or confusion when departing from a station or terminal or moving under zero speed commands, and deficient communications between the train operator and the Rail Operations Control Center.”

Among the 11 directives, Metro needs to create retro-reflective signals, begin using video or simulation technologies during training programs, update information systems, provide the FTA with quarterly reports on radio quality, and more.