WMATA unveils three-year construction plan

The Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA) has announced plans for major capital construction work over the next three years to modernize the Metrorail system, improve safety and reliability and maintain a state of good repair.

The planned work along the Red Line includes upgrading the signaling system, installing communication and train control cables, and repairing an interlocking near Takoma Station in Washington, D.C.

The work is being planned in coordination with the Maryland Department of Transportation/Maryland Transit Administration's Purple Line project, which in part involves the construction of a new mezzanine on the platform at WMATA's Silver Spring Station in Maryland to provide easier access between WMATA and the future Purple Line.

Additional work over the next three years on Metrorail includes leak mitigation, automatic train-control system replacements, traction power cables installation, drain pumping station and tunnel standpipe replacements, and elevator and escalator maintenance.

Meanwhile, as it faces an unprecedented $750 million budget shortfall in the coming year, WMATA officials are seeking public input on a proposed fiscal-year 2025 budget that includes "drastic" service cuts, fare increases, layoffs and other severe cost-cutting measures, according to a press release. The authority is proposing a fare increase up to 25% and a parking rate hike up to 20%.

The $4.5 billion capital and operating budget proposal provides a worst-case scenario; however, WMATA's funding partners are working through legislation that could reduce some of the most detrimental fare and service changes as proposed, WMATA officials said.

The budget shortfall is the result of several factors, including the end of federal pandemic relief funds, historic inflation that's driven costs up and slower than expected ridership recovery, they said. WMATA has taken steps to close the funding gap by reducing administrative costs, using capital funds to cover operating maintenance expenses and decreasing fare evasion.