House panel lambasts ‘unsafe’ DC Metro

by Austin Yack - 07/21/15 10:14 PM ET

Lawmakers on Tuesday grilled Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA) officials over recent safety issues, saying the Metrorail system is currently “unsafe for passengers and employees.”

The Subcommittee on Transportation and Public Assets met to discuss the ongoing investigation of an incident at the L’Enfant Plaza metro station where heavy smoke caused one death and 80 injuries, as well as other safety concerns.

{mosads}Subcommittee Chairman John Mica (R-Fla.) pressed WMATA Interim Chief Executive Officer Jack Requa on whether officials have reached an agreement with cell phone services to fix the communications problem in the tunnels. Requa admitted there is still no written agreement.

“Not only did I write you, but other members asked you that you move forward with that,” said Mica. “I want an agreement. I’m really tired of this.”

Mica called the system “unsafe for passengers and employees” and told Requa that if “this nonsense communications and lack of management” continues, he would push in September to take the system’s management away from WMATA.

The National Transportation Safety Board has conducted an ongoing investigation of January’s incident at L’Enfant Plaza, and Vice Chairman T. Bella Dinh-Zarr on Tuesday said WMATA “still has ongoing challenges in improving its safety culture.”

“We did find there was a miscommunication because of this lack of communication between,” said Dinh-Zarr, noting to the difficulty that Metrorail employees face when attempting to contact one another in the tunnels.

“When there are different responses to a fairly factual question, it shows that there is a lack of communication that can effect safety.”

Rep. Mark Meadows (R-N.C.) also criticized WMATA, saying that “the last six months has had more than 79 delays that have lasted 30 minutes or longer.”

“When you have that, it doesn’t sound like you’re making progress,” he added.

WMATA says it has made drastic steps to improve safety, but one obstacle the agency still faces is the absence of a permanent CEO and general manager. Rep. Bonnie Watson Coleman (D-N.J.) questioned Requa on the qualifications for that position.

“The person does not have to have transit or governmental experience,” said Requa.

Tags John Mica WMATA