OCT 17, 4:01 PM

Metro Names New Director For Its Embattled Rail Operations Control Center

Colleen Grablick https://twitter.com/colleengrablick

Metro has selected Edward Donaldson, a veteran Federal Aviation Administration official, to oversee the transit agency’s troubled rail operations control center beginning in November. ... The Washington Post first reported the news.

The new hire comes after a September audit by the Washington Metrorail Safety Commission (WMSC) revealed a “toxic workplace” filled with racist, sexist, and unprofessional behavior. The audit pointed to safety issues within the Rail Operations Control Center, which is the nerve center for monitoring the entire rail system.

The WMSC is an independent safety watchdog, created in 2017 following the deadly L’Enfant Plaza smoke incident in 2015. The September audit follows a report from December 2019 that found “dysfunction in the [Rail Operations Control Center] during unplanned events and emergencies that includes yelling, conflicting instructions, and the failure to use checklists.” ... Donaldson will replace interim ROCC director Allison Hall-King, marking the latest leadership change in the control center that for years has been working to improve with little success.

This past June, then-director Deltrin Harris was replaced after WMSC said the agency had made little progress in addressing serious safety oversight issues that resulted in incidents like a 2019 fire (where passengers were trapped on a train for nearly an hour) and the 2015 smoke incident. Harris was reassigned to oversee the Silver, Orange, and Blue lines, while Hall-King became interim director during the agency’s search for a permanent replacement.

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