What is so different about the Washington system to make these problems possible?
Repairs to Washington’s aging subway could require the closure of entire rail lines for months at a time, the system’s chairman, Jack Evans, said Wednesday. At the very least, Mr. Evans said, riders should expect the closure of segments of individual lines for extended periods.
His remarks were the latest indication that the system, known as Metro, will be facing significant service disruptions as its management confronts financial and safety problems.
“If we are going to fix the infrastructure, we can’t do it three hours at night,” Mr. Evans, who is also a member of the D.C. Council, said at a symposium marking Metro’s 40th anniversary.
“There may be decisions where we have to close down whole lines and repair them, which are going to be very unpopular,” Mr. Evans added. “But the only way that we are going to get this system fixed is to make unpopular decisions.”
Metro officials already closed the system for a day earlier this month for an emergency safety inspection.
Mr. Evans called the system “maybe safe, somewhat unreliable, and being complained about by everybody,” and said that its health long-term requires increased — and a permanent — source of financing, like a regional sales tax and annual federal contributions.
Paul J. Wiedefeld, Metro’s general manager, will announce a systemwide maintenance plan in four to six weeks, a Metro spokesman, Dan Stessel, said Wednesday.
Mr. Wiedefeld, in his own remarks at the Wednesday meeting, said the scale of the transit agency’s woes required drastic measures.
“What we have been doing has not been working,” he said. “We cannot Band-Aid, we cannot paper over some of these issues.”
Both men’s remarks were first reported by The Washington Post.
A version of this brief appears in print on March 31, 2016, on page A15 of the New York edition with the headline: Lengthy Shutdowns in Metro System Are Possible.
Gross neglect in to 40 years the system has been operational. Deferred maintenance presents a high price when it comes due.
Never too old to have a happy childhood!
Wish there was a really nasty congressional accounting with past manageent on the hot seat. Among others Downs. Make it so bad that they take the 5th.
Hope this event will make all heavy rail operators realize the importance of continuing preventative maintenance but that may be too much to hope. Like all infrastructure it is " out of sight out of mind ". Amtrak's NEC is a perfect example.
I suppose we need to wait for them to produce their long term plan. It is an indication of the past practices of this organization that they don't have one.
However, every time they mention maintenance, it is coupled with a plea/threat regarding the need for a long term funding source. That may be a legitimate issue, but it also could be a form of bureaucratic blackmail. I'll await the report, but I'd be more comfortable if we had comparisons of their maintenance effort with the operators of other systems.
Our community is FREE to join. To participate you must either login or register for an account.