Questions swirl over whether DC Metro inspection report was falsified

Washington Metrorail board members are questioning whether transit workers falsified an inspection report of a track area that caused a train derailment.

{mosads}During a special Board of Directors meeting convened in the wake of a string of safety lapses this summer, members pressed Metro officials about whether and how track inspections were performed prior to last month’s Silver Line derailment near the East Falls Church platform.

The incident, which occurred on July 29 in a “crossover” area where trains switch tracks, was caused by deteriorating rail ties that led the tracks to become too far apart.

Federal investigators found that Metro workers were only inspecting the area once a month instead of the required twice-weekly inspections.

Metro officials said Thursday that the last detailed inspection was done on June 17, while a walking inspection was completed on the first track involved in the accident on July 27 and on the second track on July 11.
 
But Board Chairman Jack Evans asked why Metro inspectors did not catch the rotting rail ties or if the workers did not actually perform the inspection in the first place. Evans questioned whether the June report was legitimate.

“I can’t speak to the falsification,” said Patrick Lavin, Metro’s chief safety officer. “But there was a report that was submitted.”

Further stoking speculation that a report was falsified or another crime was committed is that the Metro Transit Police Department launched their own investigation into the derailment.
 
Metro General Manager Paul Wiedefeld said the decision to loop in Metro police was made after hearing “conflicting” and “disturbing” information from employees in the course of their internal investigation.

Wiedefeld emphasized that he doesn’t know whether a crime was committed, and said the investigation is still ongoing.

“I don’t know what, if any, crime was committed,” Wiedefeld said. “But we’re going to get to the root of these issues.

Lavin told board members that he believes inspections were not being done in compliance with Metro’s safety protocols.

Keturah D. Harley, first vice chairman of the board, asked officials if they are concerned that the supervisors who are reviewing the inspections may be “part of the problem.”

“We’re looking at the entire organization,” Wiedefeld said.

A senior mechanic was fired for allegedly falsifying an inspection report following a deadly incident near L’Enfant Plaza last year.

Wiedefeld was hired last fall to help overhaul Metro, but continued safety lapses under his watch could cast doubt on his ability to transform the agency’s safety culture.

The train derailment is just the latest in a string of bad headlines for the beleaguered transit agency this summer.

Board members called the special meeting to be briefed on federal reports that found Metro doesn’t properly store rail cars overnight or work to prevent red signal violations, as well as receive updates about a Metro transit police officer who was arrested for allegedly working to help the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS).

–This story was updated at 12:55 p.m.