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The Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA) ended fiscal-year 2012 on June 30 with a $28 million operating surplus, thanks to "aggressive cost management measures," agency officials announced yesterday.

"We anticipate applying the surplus to offset budget challenges we foresee in the coming fiscal year," said WMATA General Manager and Chief Executive Officer Richard Sarles in a prepared statement.

In a financial report to the agency's board, WMATA managers said they are working to reduce the early forecast for additional funding for FY2014 from $76 million to between $25 million and $30 million.

In addition, management is focused on continuing safety initiatives to meet "all recommendations by oversight agencies," as well as address fatigue management, WMATA officials said. Next year's budget will continue expanded rail and bus services that started in FY2012.

WMATA also announced that its investments in projects designed to rebuild and modernize its railroad, trains, stations and buses grew by 26 percent to $770 million in FY2012, an increase of nearly $160 million from the previous fiscal year. The investment is on track to ramp up to nearly $1 billion this year, "following years of underinvestment in maintaining the system," WMATA officials said.