In the News

Congressman Gerry Connolly released the following statement on today’s NTSB findings regarding the July 29^th Metro train derailment:

"Today’s NTSB briefing has, once again, highlighted unacceptable shortcomings in Metro’s safety culture. It is not enough to simply have standards on the books. In this case, Metro had more stringent standards than required by the federal government, but those standards are useless if they are not carried out each and every day and enforced from top to bottom. The failure to remedy deteriorating track conditions, some identified as far back 2009, led to the wide-gauge that caused last week's derailment. 

“General Manager Wiedefeld has shown a commitment to safety over service, and he is now authorizing employees who see troublesome conditions to act immediately. He also is holding employees accountable, as evidenced by two train operators being terminated for running red signals. We need accountability at every level of Metro. Public safety demands it."