On the first anniversary of his appointment as Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority’s (Metro) General Manager and CEO, Paul J. Wiedefeld has announced the next steps that will be taken by Metro to move beyond track work to get trains running safely and reliably.
Wiedefeld stated, “While we remain focused on track safety and reliability, we must tackle the fact that six of every ten train delays are due to issues with our railcars. Getting back to good means running trains safely and on time.”
The “Back2Good” plan includes a train reliability program that cuts rail car delays by retiring the oldest (1000-series) and least reliable (4000-series) cars in the fleet by the end of 2017. Metro also plans to convert all 8-car trains to new 7000 series railcars next year.
On November 1, the authority began a “Railcar Get Well Program” to repair and replace components for the legacy fleet. The 2000-, 3000-, 5000-, and 6000-series cars will undergo replacement and repair of HVAC, doors, propulsion systems and brakes. The program is being overseen by independent quality assurance teams at Metro.
Wiedefeld remarked that safety would continue to be his top priority and plans to use technology to prevent red signal overruns and strengthen protection for track workers and inspectors. New software on the trains will prevent train operators from passing a red signal by requiring the operator to perform certain actions before they can move their train. Stations that have the highest frequency of red signal overruns are having their signals upgraded to brighter LED bulbs to improve their visibility to operators and prevent overruns, a project that will be completed in early 2017.
“Our message to our customers is we know we need to do better to earn your trust, and we are working hard to do just that,” Wiedefeld added. “Before we can once again be a great transit system, we have to first be good, and we are committed to delivering safe and reliable service for our riders and the region.”