WASHINGTON — The day after Metro's outgoing CEO and COO both resigned suddenly, there's new trouble for Metro. The agency's independent safety overseer is ordering the transit system to do something about it.
Between Saturday and Sunday, Metro Transit Police officers were out on the tracks at Columbia Heights station multiple times when Metro re-energized the third rail without following its own written safety procedures, according to the Washington Metro Safety Commission (WMSC).
Now, WMSC is ordering Metro to reduce the number of worksites where they energize and re-energize the third rail to 30 per day until it can do a full safety standdown and reinforce written safety protocols.
The safety of crews on the tracks -- including Metro crews and contractors, first responders like police and firefighters, and even passengers who might have to evacuate -- is obviously critical, the commission says. But over and over again, WMSC says Metro has failed to follow procedures for re-energizing the 750-volt third rail.
On April 26, at College Park, the Safety Commission says a whole chain of supervisors and staffers surged power back to the tracks while a work crew was out on them.
"Luckily no one was hurt, but every time you bypass these safety procedures, you're putting these people who are out there...at risk of serious injury or death," said WMSC Spokesman Max Smith.
On Sunday, Metro admitted it had fallen years behind on getting train operators re-certified. Then on Monday, Metro's outgoing GM Paul Wiedefeld resigned a month earlier than planned, along with Chief Operating Officer, Joe Leader.
Metro's board chair insists Wiedfeld resigned voluntarily.
"It was entirely Paul's decision," chairman Paul Smedberg said about Wiedefeld.
The safety board says some fiefdoms within Metro have failed to raise safety as job one.
"Safety and culture change doesn't happen overnight," Smedberg said. "It takes time and it's being addressed."
Smith said everyone in the organization has to adopt a safety culture and accept responsibility, "Or no one does." But he says ultimately responsibility rests with the CEO.
"Yes, the general manager and CEO is designated as the accountable executive," Smith said.
An interim GM -- Andy Off, Metro's former vice president for capital projects -- will take over immediately. A new permanent CEO, Randy Clarke, will take charge later this summer. Smedberg said Clarke has a long and distinguished career in rail safety.
"I would hope this new GM will get safety as the number one priority," said Rep. Gerry Connolly, (D-Virginia). "It's key to winning back public confidence. It's key to winning confidence here in Congress. And it's key to returning Metro to some standard that starts to approach excellence."
