Metro: In Worse Shape Now Than in the 1990s

In January, I rejoined the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority Board of Directors. Almost immediately, I realized that Metro was in worse shape than when I previously served on the board during the 1990s.

Last week, however, was truly troubling. Jack Requa, WMATA’s interim general manager, announced that the cause of a train derailment on Aug. 6 was essentially that a section of the track had become too wide. The biggest problem? The track issue was discovered in early July, but not fixed.
This is unacceptable. Quite frankly, I’m furious.

I’ve been calling for months for WMATA to encourage employees to be looking constantly for problems in the system, reporting problems when they are discovered, then getting them fixed. This is the type of culture and these are the types of people we want working for Metro. It’s a critical piece of making the system better: constant improvement and commitment to safety.

Requa said as much in his announcement. He, unfortunately, didn’t know about the rail deformity, but someone did. The board demanded an immediate and rapid investigation into the incident and reiterated Requa’s call for the agency, following the investigation, to undertake “organizational changes or any appropriate personnel actions — and that may include termination.”

This maintenance issue was a failure plain and simple. It has appropriately received substantial media attention.

Another issue of concern that I want to bring to your attention is WMATA’s financial condition.

I was elected by my colleagues on the Metro board to chair WMATA’s Finance Committee this summer. I will be in charge of overseeing the agency’s budget process during the coming year. To those of you who know my record as Finance Committee chair on the D.C. Council, it may not come as a surprise to hear that I’m already making substantial changes to restore responsible financial management to WMATA.

WMATA just finished its 2014 fiscal year audit nine months late. This past year, the agency’s credit rating was downgraded and its pension liabilities became unfunded to an even greater extent. I’ve instructed WMATA’s CFO and inspector general to ensure that we have enough resources to get our audit done in a reasonable amount of time. I told management that any budget presented to the Metro board must indicate our total actuarial pension responsibilities for the year and our unfunded maintenance needs. I’ve put the CFO to work evaluating the total cost of making Metro a first-class system and funding its pension and operating obligations. A rough estimate is in the range of $25 billion over the next 10 years.

These improvements on the operating and budgeting side are things we must do. The jurisdictions — D.C., Maryland, Virginia and the federal government — have to step up to the plate with the required funding if they want the system that so many politicians are now demanding and that riders deserve.

This won’t be easy, but for those of you who remember the mess the District was in 20 years ago, you know that the hard work and laser-focus that I and others committed to rebuilding our government paid off. I intend to bring that same focus and leadership to WMATA.