Photo by Amber Wilkie.

Photo by Amber Wilkie.

The National Transportation Board definitely saw something(s). And now they are saying something. Namely that, in order to strengthen federal oversight of the agency, Metrorail should be directly overseen by the Federal Railroad Administration.

They write in an 11-page report that the Tri-State Oversight Committee (TOC), which is set up according to Federal Transit Association rules, has proven too toothless to effectively oversee the agency.

While things have gotten somewhat better since two trains collided near the Fort Totten station in 2009, killing nine people and injuring 80, the January smoke incident that left one woman dead proved major issues still exist that the TOC has been unable to remedy, the NTSB concluded.

“Testimony given at the investigative hearing demonstrated that although both the TOC and WMATA have made progress since the 2009 Fort Totten accident, significant safety, oversight, and organizational issues still exist in both agencies. The TOC has only three full-time employees, and each employee is paid by and accountable to a different jurisdiction: Maryland, Virginia, or the District of Columbia. The TOC has no offices; the TOC staff participates in audits but has not conducted a single investigation into any accident or incident, because all investigations have been delegated to WMATA; and the TOC has no enforcement authority.”

Over the past 33 years, the NTSB has investigated the rail system 11 times for accidents and incidents that led to 18 fatalities.

Their proposed solution urgent recommendation: shift federal responsibility for the agency from the Federal Transit Administration to the Federal Railroad Administration. “Without adequate oversight, accidents and incidents will continue to place the riders of the WMATA system at risk,” the report warns. To make that happen the U.S. Department of Transportation would have to ask Congress to designate WMATA a “commuter authority,” which would put it under the auspices of the Federal Railroad Administration.

Meanwhile. a safety inspection released by the FTA today, found that Metro needs to address 44 safety issues with the rail system and 10 with Metrobus. Among those: fix major problems with distracted and understaffed workers at the Rail Operations Control Center, a nerve center for the system.

After another frustrating week on the Silver, Orange, and Blue or —if you prefer the rather appropriate acronym—SOB lines, many seemed to welcome the NTSB recommendation.

“The NTSB’s findings and recommendations, coupled with those from other federal investigations, demonstrate that Metro is facing monumental challenges that it cannot face alone,” said Virginia Congressman Gerry Connolly in a release. “The fortunes of the federal government and Metro are inherently linked. The federal government must play a more active role in providing the necessary oversight and resources to address these challenges.”

A representative from the newly formed WMATA Riders’ Union tells us that they welcome additional oversight, given the “many failures” of the Tri-State Oversight Committee. “While concerned about the impact that FRA oversight and commuter rail reclassification might have on WMATA’s role as a regional transit system, we hope that the net outcome of this for riders will be to guarantee their safety without compromising the mobility that WMATA provides,” said spokesman Graham Jenkins via email.

But others were skeptical. Jack Evans, the Ward 2 Councilmember and D.C.’s representative on WMATA’s board of directors, tweeted that the real problem is in funding, and it doesn’t matter which federal agency says it.

Read the full NTSB letter

Filed Under: metro, wmata, wmata riders' union, wmataru,