In the News

Shannon Ryan

“It seems like we probably derailed leaving the Farragut North station. We might of hit some rails, some loose rails. We are obviously stuck in the tunnel. There's no radio transmission on my radio,” according to officials.

Officials discussed smoke and communication issues that were factors in the 2015 fatal incident at L’Enfant plaza.

We have activated the fan...in the exhaust mode … to keep the smoke in the tunnel going up through the exhaust,” stated officials.

Various politicians have long advocated that metro funding is a public safety issue.

When asked about other proposals on the table, Rep. Gerry Connolly (D- Va.) said he's introducing his own bill in two weeks that would pump more federal money into the system.

“It doesn't provide any operating subsidy that's left up to the localities and I don't think that's fair. The largest single daily beneficiary of metro is the federal government. 40% of the federal government workers in this region use metro and rely on it.” he explained.

“I want to see board reform but I don't want a rigid formula that says 5 is better than 12 and no politicians need apply I think that's a silly formula,” said Connolly on other funding proposals.

“What we do is provide substantial federal resources partnered with state and local resources but in exchange for these very extensive reforms,” Rep. Comstock (R- Va.) said on her own bill.

Fairfax County Board of Supervisors Chairman Sharon Bulova called former Virginia Governor Terry McAuliffe’s metro funding proposal a “vehicle” she’s “hopeful” about.

However, she then stated that it is imperfect because it takes a large share out of Northern Virginia Transportation Authority funds.

https://wtop.com/local/2018/01/derailment-called-a-red-flag-as-md-lawmakers-debate-funding-for-metro/