Safety watchdog: Metrorail needs to do more to make sure operators are fit (and awake) for duty
The Washington Metrorail Safety Commission outlined incidents that led to close calls and several of the investigations found Metro workers reported being fatigued at the time.
The commission that keeps a watchful eye over safety concerns at WMATA’s Metrorail system said the transit agency needs to do more to make sure employees are trained, get enough sleep and are fit for duty.
During a Tuesday meeting, the Washington Metrorail Safety Commission (WMSC) outlined incidents — from running red signals, to improper rail switches — that led to close calls. Several of the investigations found Metro workers had reported being exhausted at the time of the incidents.
The commission also criticized Metro for not doing enough to screen workers who might not be fit for duty. WMSC cited an incident from last September when a train operator who admitted to drinking the night before came into work on little sleep, then failed to let passengers off the train and stopped in between stations.
“I’m reading between the lines here, but essentially, for two hours, we had the risk of a collision — if the operator didn’t respond, didn’t stop, (and) continued to operate the train erratically, as he was,” said Commission Vice Chair Robert Lauby, reacting to the findings of the investigation.
According to the WMSC report, “inefficient duty checks” played a role in the incident and Metro is taking corrective actions.
Following the report, Metro issued a statement saying safety is one of its core values.
“As part of our commitment to safety, we value the observations made by the Washington Metrorail Safety Commission (WMSC) and opportunities for improvement,” the transit agency said in the statement.
Metro also defended its record on screening for alcohol and drugs, saying its program is in compliance with the Federal Transit Administration (FTA) and includes random and post-accident testing. Over the past three years, Metro’s positive test results have been below the industry average of 1.09%, the transit agency said.
“We are troubled by some of the misleading language surrounding this topic as it has led to sensational headlines that do not accurately describe the safety risk of the rail system and undermines the incredible work the 13,000 Metro team members do every day to deliver safe service for our region,” Metro said in its statement.
WMSC also looked into red signal running, and found that it’s on the rise at Metro. In 2023, it happened nine times. Through July of this year, there have been 11 cases of train operators not stopping when they should.
In another case, a train operator accidentally opened doors that were not near a platform when the train stopped to pick up Metrorail employees at an Alexandria rail yard.
“The investigation identified fatigue risk for this operator who had worked 12 consecutive days with a mix of shifts, which led to sleep debt,” WMSC investigations program manager Adam Quigley said.
The commission expressed concerns about the number of days a Metro train operator and other employees can work consecutively, since in one incident report an operator had worked more than 15 days in a row. According to the WMSC, to limit that, Metro and the union that represents workers would need to make a deal, which hasn’t happened.
“There’s nothing in place that restricts a train operator from working as many consecutive days as he wants. Is that what we’re hearing?” Lauby asked Quigley, with Quigley answering yes.
The FTA has indicated it plans to make rules that could put limits on how many hours and days in a row that train operators are allowed to work, but that will take time. Metro said it’s encouraged by the FTA’s plans and has provided formal comment to the administration to that end.
“Metro has also worked to lead the industry in the proactive identification and management
of fatigue risk,” the transit agency said in its statement.
WTOP has reached out to Metro’s union, ATU Local 689, for comment.