WMATA appeals safety commission directives; granted stay

The Washington Metrorail Safety Commission (WMSC), which oversees the safety of the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority, has granted the transit agency a stay until Jan. 24 following appeals to multiple directives aimed at removing service operators.

WMATA conducted an internal investigation of its rail operator training program, which revealed recent training classes did not follow proper sequence, WMATA said in a press release issued Jan. 13.

However, the commission issued a safety directive Jan. 16 regarding the investigation results, which WMATA appealed, according to a separate press release published yesterday. The directive would “remove certified operators from service and [stall] the previously agreed-upon 7000-series Return to Service plan,” WMATA officials said.

WMATA initially said train service on the Blue, Orange and Silver lines would be reduced to 25-minute wait times beginning today, but because of the stay granted yesterday, there will be no impacts to train service.

“While we fundamentally disagree with the [commission]’s directives, we will comply,” said WMATA General Manager and CEO Randy Clarke.

The transit agency’s rail operator training program currently requires 17 weeks of combined classroom and on-the-job training for student operators with an instructor in the cab for at least 38 hours. A sampling of peer transit agencies suggested an average of 10 weeks combined training for student operators, making WMATA’s requirements 60% longer than its peers, WMATA officials said.

The internal investigation of the program revealed that all active operators have completed the requirements for safe operation of passenger service, but 64 operators from recent training classes did not follow the proper training sequence. Those operators will be given supplemental simulator training to reinforce safe operating practices, WMATA officials said.

"The WMSC identified and communicated to [WMATA] specific safety concerns regarding [WMATA] ignoring its train operator training requirements through our investigative process," the commission tweeted yesterday.

The commission issued a second directive Jan. 16 pausing the 7000-series rail-car return to service plan that would put more trains into service. The directive would prevent WMATA from moving onto the third phase of the plan — which extends back-to-back interval inspections from four to seven days — “even though [WMATA] satisfied all conditions in the plan, and has no documented 7K wheel movement since May 2022,” WMATA officials said. The transit agency also appealed that directive, which was included in the stay.

"The relationship between WMSC and [WMATA] is structurally untenable and does not advance the region’s mission of providing safe and reliable rail service," said WMATA Chair Paul Smedberg. "We are respectfully requesting assistance from the jurisdictions to help mediate a process to move the relationship forward and to meet our jointly stated goal of having the safe, world-class transit system that our region deserves."