Photo by Rolenz.

WMATA is down one of its top officials. Rob Troup, Metro’s deputy general manager, resigned yesterday.

In the memo that was sent to the agency’s employees, General Manager Paul Wiedefeld thanked Troup for his six years in service. “During his tenure and applying three decades of rail and transit design, construction and maintenance expertise, Rob played an invaluable role in the rebuilding and expansion of Metrorail,” he said. “Under his leadership, Metro launched the Silver Line, introduced new rail cars, and began the tough work of rebuilding the Metrorail system.”

The news broke hours after a Metro board meeting where Troup came under fire for an incident last week in which two trains nearly collided. Meanwhile on the Metro yesterday, an Orange Line train broke down, putting some Metro riders in a similarly displeasing situation. And earlier this week, a report showed that the transit agency has an even bigger problem with riders: there are fewer of them.

Wiedefeld said he’s assigned two other officials to take over Troup’s duties until a replacement is announced, effective immediately.