[Congressional Record Volume 157, Number 90 (Wednesday, June 22, 2011)]
[Senate]
[Pages S4019-S4020]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                    JUNE 22, 2009, METRORAIL TRAGEDY

  Mr. CARDIN. Mr. President, 2 years ago today the Washington 
Metropolitan Area Transit Authority experienced the most tragic 
metrorail accident the Greater Washington region has ever seen. With 
time, the wounds of this tragedy's survivors continue to heal, but the 
loss and pain will never be forgotten. My heart goes out to the 
families and loved ones of those who lost their lives in the tragic 
collision of two Metro trains on the Red Line at the Fort Totten 
metrorail station. My deepest sympathies remain with their families and 
friends whose lives will forever be affected having lost someone dear 
to them in this tragedy.
  Last summer, the National Transportation Safety Board, NTSB, and the 
Federal Transit Administration, FTA, concluded their investigations 
into the crash. The investigations revealed many troubling findings 
with the operation, maintenance, and management of the metrorail 
system, not the least of which is that the June 22, 2009, crash was 
entirely preventable and resulted from systemic failures to address 
ongoing track signal problems and a work culture that ignored safety.
  For several years WMATA failed to respond to or take adequate 
operational safety measures in response to repeated signal failures 
along the section of track where the accident occurred. During WMATA's 
efforts to fix the problem, Metro refused to heed warnings from the 
signal manufacturers about using third-party components to repair 
failed track signal equipment and in doing so prolonged and exacerbated 
the signal relay problems on the track.
  These findings coupled with an extensive Federal Transit 
Administration safety audit that revealed several shocking systemwide 
safety lapses, which include systemic failures to notify train 
operators about the presence of track maintenance workers on the right-
of-way in tunnels throughout the system, helped shed light on the 
inexcusable and tragic series of accidents that have taken 12 lives and 
injured more than 80 people in the last year.
  I am pleased to say that under new leadership in the general manager 
and CEO position as well as the placement of several new members of the 
board of directors that Metro is working hard to resolve the safety 
issues that were becoming commonplace in the headlines of area 
newspapers. Metro's new comprehensive safety plan outlines a number of 
procedures that are being put in place to improve worker training and 
safety preparedness and a zero tolerance policy for texting and cell 
phone use by vehicle operators. According to the general manager, every 
Metro employee, including himself, has gone through the safety training 
program. Management is clearly making an effort to establish a culture 
of safety that has been absent at Metro for many years. These are 
important steps in the right direction but developing safety measures 
for employees to follow is just one piece of making Metro safer for 
years to come.
  There are, however, encouraging and lasting developments at Metro to 
improve safety. A year ago, the Metro board of directors announced that 
it was placing an order for 428 new 7000 Series railcars. These new 
safer railcars are in the prototype development phase and when the 
order is fulfilled, all of the remaining 1000 series that have been in 
use since the system opened in 1976 will finally be replaced. The 1000 
series cars have always presented a safety hazard and it is the 1000 
series cars that buckled and sheared apart on June 22, 2009, 
compounding the seriousness and costliness of the Red Line crash. 
Retiring and replacing

[[Page S4020]]

these cars is a major step in the right direction towards improving the 
safety of the system.
  It is also worth noting that for the first time Metrorail cars will 
be built here in the United States at a rail car manufacturing facility 
in Lincoln, NE.
  Still, funding shortfalls hinder Metro's ability to make lasting 
infrastructure repairs and replacements throughout the system. I have 
visited the Shady Grove Station and witnessed firsthand how they 
literally are using wood planks and iron rods to prop up crumbling 
station platforms. Metro is forced to make improvised accommodations to 
keep the system running in the safest way possible on a diminished 
budget.
  Seeing these unaddressed safety issues firsthand, combined with each 
passing revelation of management missteps and safety lapses, has grown 
my frustration with how Metro handles safety issues, but has also 
hardened my resolve to improve Metro safety.
  On this somber day of remembrance we as Federal policymakers and the 
Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority need to take inspiration 
from this tragedy and remember our responsibility to work to improve 
the safety of the transit system that serves Greater Washington area 
residents, tens of thousands of Federal workers, and members of the 
staff of nearly every Senator in this body every day.
  Last year's Metro tragedy has caused many of us, including the 
President, to address the safety crisis that looms at transit 
authorities across the country. I am confident that we will find a way 
forward through: increased Federal regulatory authority and oversight, 
as called for by the Federal Transit Administration; and increased 
openness and transparency at WMATA.
  While the FTA has an established national transit safety program and 
is responsible for setting minimum program safety requirements for the 
States, the FTA is prohibited by law from establishing enforceable 
national safety standards, requiring Federal inspections, or dictating 
operating practices. In response to this lapse in public safety policy, 
last Congress Senators Dodd, Menendez, Mikulski, and I introduced 
legislation requiring the Transportation Secretary to establish and 
implement a comprehensive transit public transportation safety program. 
Our legislation from last year would have given the FTA the ability to 
take decisive actions such as conducting inspections, investigations, 
audits, and examinations of federally funded public transportation 
systems.
  It makes sense for public transit systems that receive Federal 
funding to meet Federal safety requirements set by the FTA. It makes 
even more sense to grant FTA a degree of Federal authority to establish 
safety guidance over WMATA given Metro's unique relationship to the 
Federal Government.
  The Washington metrorail system is the second busiest subway system 
in America, carrying as many as 1 million passengers a day. It carries 
the equivalent of the combined subway ridership of BART in San 
Francisco, MARTA in Atlanta, and SEPTA in Philadelphia each day.
  Every workday, Metro provides tens of thousands of Federal employees 
rides to work. During peak ridership, more than 40 percent of riders on 
Metro are Federal employees and 10 percent of the overall ridership 
serves Congress and the Pentagon alone. Metrorail's alignment was 
designed to serve the Federal Government, with more than half of the 
system's stations located at or near Federal buildings. GSA has also 
established guidance that requires all new Federal facilities in the 
Greater Washington area be metrorail accessible.
  Traffic congestion in the DC metropolitan area is tied with Chicago 
for the worst in the Nation. Some may wonder how, or even if, 
Washington could function without Metro. Sure enough, in the winter of 
2010 we learned that the Federal Government, in fact, cannot function 
without Metro. The Office of Personnel Management based its decision to 
shut down the Federal Government on WMATA's inability to operate above 
ground rail lines during the February snowstorms. This not only points 
out the Federal Government's reliance on Metro, but also highlights 
Metro's lack of resources to operate under weather conditions that 
other city transit systems like Chicago, New York, or Boston manage to 
do so.
  More than three decades after the first trains started running, the 
system is showing severe signs of its age. Sixty percent of the 
Metrorail system is more than 20 years old. The costs of operations, 
maintenance, and rehabilitation are tremendous.
  It is not just the responsibility of the local jurisdictions that are 
served by Metro--Maryland, Virginia, and Washington, DC--but it is also 
a Federal responsibility.
  Just like I believe that the Federal Government has a role in 
ensuring the safety of Metro for its riders and employees, I also 
believe the Federal Government has a responsibility to help fund the 
safe operation of the system since Metro provides the Federal 
Government and its employees vital transportation service.
  I was proud to work alongside Senator Barbara Mikulski and Senator 
Jim Webb and former Senator John Warner to pass the Federal Rail Safety 
Improvement Act, which was signed into law in October 2008. This law 
authorizes $1.5 billion over 10 years in Federal funds for Metro's 
governing Washington Metropolitan Area Transportation Authority, 
matched dollar for dollar by the local jurisdictions, for capital 
improvements. This arrangement will finally provide Metro with the 
dedicated funding the system needs.
  President Obama's fiscal year 2011 and 2012 budget requests to 
Congress included $150 million for Metro. This builds on the 
substantial down payment Senators Mikulski, Webb, Mark Warner, and I 
were able to secure for Metro in fiscal year 2010, and with the 
intrepid support of Chairmen Murray and Inouye we were able to secure 
this essential funding for Metro again in fiscal year 2011.
  While these are important investments, it is not nearly enough to 
fulfill all of Metrorail's obligations. Metro maintains a list of 
ready-to-go projects totaling about $530 million and $11 billion in 
capital funding needs over the next decade.
  Federal Transit Administrator Peter Rogoff, in testimony before the 
House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, made special note of 
the fact that WMATA does not have a dedicated revenue stream, rather it 
relies heavily on congressional appropriations which can fluctuate from 
year to year.
  Fortunately, Congress has taken an important step forward to remedy 
this situation. The Senate recently passed a new Metro Compact further 
advancing the final step in authorizing a 10-year $1.5 billion 
authorization providing Metro with a dedicated funding stream to ensure 
the safe and efficient operation of the system.
  For years, while Metro was a relatively new transit system, Metro was 
the epitome of safe, reliable, and modern public transit. After 35 
years of operation, the results of placing disproportionate resources 
towards expanding the system rather than attending to growing repairs 
and maintenance needs of the existing infrastructure, Metro's age is 
beginning to take its toll on the safe operation and functionality of 
the system.
  I am hopeful that with the opportunities we have to establish better 
and more consistent funding for Metro, improved and enforceable Federal 
safety requirements for transit systems across the country, and the 
establishment of firm, accountable, and transparent leadership at WMATA 
we will restore the public standing and reputation of ``America's 
Subway System'' as one of the safest and most reliable transit systems 
in the country.
  I find it unacceptable that the transit system in our Nation's 
Capital does not have enough resources to improve safety and upgrade 
its aging infrastructure.
  I would again like to extend my deepest sympathies to all those who 
were affected by this horrific accident, especially to the families and 
loved ones of those who have been killed on Metro. I hope my colleagues 
will join together with me in working to ensure that this body is doing 
everything it can to prevent similar tragedies in the future.

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