Mikulski Demands Update of Metro Safety Audit

“We need to focus, fix and continue our reform efforts on Metro,” Senator Mikulski says.

July 26, 2012

WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Barbara A. Mikulski (D-Md.) today announced that she has demanded Department of Transportation Secretary Raymond H. LaHood to direct the Federal Transit Administration (FTA) to update its 2010 safety audit of the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (Metro) to determine the progress made fulfilling the initial recommendations and identify what gaps remain.  

Senator Mikulski requested the original FTA safety audit following the deadly Red Line crash in 2009 when Metro denied the Tri-State Oversight Committee safety inspectors access to Metro's train tracks. The 2010 audit identified significant safety issues and made recommendations to address them. The results can be found here.   

"We need to focus, fix and continue our reform efforts on Metro," Senator Mikulski said. "Reforming Metro means putting safety and reliability mechanisms in place, and that's been my goal. To do that, I'm asking the Federal Department of Transportation to update the great audit they gave us two years ago that set us on the path to reform. We need to makes sure that we continue to make progress on safety, predictability and reliability on America's Subway."  

Senator Mikulski made her request following a number of computer failures that led to two system outages over the weekend of July 14th and 15th. Those outages came on the heels of a series of safety mishaps including train derailments, train doors opening while moving, blocked and locked emergency exits, brake pieces falling off trains, unacceptable operator communication leading to very dangerous passenger evacuations, and Metro worker injuries.  

New to this audit is Senator Mikulski's request for the FTA to examine Metro's system and equipment maintenance and procedures as well as the frequency of inspecting it including software.     

Senator Mikulski is a long-time advocate of safety reform at Metro. She was first to introduce legislation, the National Metro Safety Act of 2009, to establish national safety standards for transit systems. President Obama signed similar legislation, Moving Ahead for Progress in the 21st Century (MAP-21), into law earlier this month. It directs the Secretary of Transportation to develop safety standards for all Metro systems and take into consideration recommendations by the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB).   

The full text of Senator Mikulski's letter to Secretary LaHood follows:  

July 24, 2012    

The Honorable Raymond H. LaHood
Secretary
U.S. Department of Transportation
1200 New Jersey Avenue SE
Washington, DC 20590  

Dear Secretary LaHood:  

I urge you to direct the Federal Transit Administration (FTA) to immediately update its 2010 audit of the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (Metro) to determine the progress made fulfilling the initial recommendations and identify what gaps remain. This audit must include:  

·         Information on system and equipment maintenance;
·         Procedures for inspecting equipment and software;
·         Frequency of inspections and maintenance; and
·         The process for reporting this information to the public.  

Over the last several months, a string of alarming incidents at Metro has left me questioning the safety of the system once again.  There have been computer failures leading to system outages, train derailments, train doors opening while moving, blocked and locked emergency exits, brake pieces falling off trains, unacceptable operator communication leading to very dangerous passenger evacuations, and Metro worker injuries.    

I have also heard from constituents who are angry and frustrated with Metro's operations and becoming increasingly frightened to ride Metro.  They are worried about getting stuck in a tunnel, getting injured on an overcrowded platform, or not making it home.  The question of whether something will happen to them on Metro is on their minds each day.  I don't blame them.  

Metro has started to change its organizational culture to one that puts safety first.  The FTA and the National Transportation Safety Board have found that Metro has been making progress.  However, I now worry progress is not being made quickly enough and at all levels of the organization.   

We must have a fierce urgency of now when it comes to making Metro a safe and dependable form of transportation.  Thank you for your prompt attention to my request.  I look forward to continue working with you to make America's Metro a model of safety for all systems across our nation.  

Sincerely,    

Barbara A. Mikulski
United States Senator