FTA to Assume Safety Oversight of Washington Metro - Not FRA

Secretary of Transportation, Anthony Foxx, announced on Friday that the Federal Transit Administration (FTA), would assume safety oversight authority over Washington's Metro rail operations  (i.e. the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority - WMATA).  Foxx's announcement was addressed to NTSB Chair Christopher Hart, whose agency had recommended USDOT's Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) assume oversight of Metro's transit rail/subway operations.  Foxx's letter to the NTSB explaining the FTA, not FRA, would assume direct safety oversight of Metro, is attached here. 

The NSTB's "Urgent Safety Recommendations" R-15-31 and R-15-32, which recommended FRA safety oversight, are also attached.

 

Until this breaking announcement,  responsibility for safety oversight of Metro's operations was held by the Tri-State Oversight Committee (TOC), a "State Oversight Agency" established under 49 CFR 659, whereby transit rail safety oversight is devolved from the FTA to state oversight organizations. Like the WMATA itself, which is a tri-partite compact of the governments of the District of Columbia, Maryland & Virginia, the TOC is comprised of representatives from those jurisdictions, and collectively charged with overseeing Metro's rail transit system.

 

Following recent mishaps, including a January 2015 tunnel fire which caused one fatality, both Metro's safety practices and the TOC were audited by the FTA.   Calling the current TOC "ineffective" and lacking the "technical capacity and enforcement authority to provide the level of oversight that is needed," Foxx nonetheless concluded the federal FTA had the capability and authority to assume safety oversight for Metro, rather than the FRA.  FTA now takes over direct oversight of Metrorail, which includes the ability to address safety deficiencies, and require WMATA to correct safety deficiencies and address an existing Corrective Action Plan between Metro and FTA.  

 

According to Foxx's letter, the direct FTA safety oversight of Metrorail will exist until a more effective and "fully capable" State Safety Oversight organization (than the current TOC) is established by DC, Maryland & Virginia.

 

Foxx and 11 Former DOT Secretaries Call for Long Term Infrastructure Funding

With a short-term fix to the looming expiration of funding for the Highway Trust Fund expected shortly, USDOT Secretary Anthony Foxx, and 11 former USDOT Secretaries, have issued an "open letter" to Congress, urging a long-term solution to transportation infrastructure funding. The open letter is attached here.

Foxx and his predecessors emphasize that the expected short term funding does not "fix" America's transportation system. Noting that the USDOT Secretaries have lead the department for 35 years under 7 presidents, they write: "Suffice it to say we've been around the block. We probably helped pave it." The Secretaries also stated, "So it is with some knowledge and experience that we can write: Never in our nation's history has America's transportation system been on a more unsustainable course."

Other highlights from the open letter:

"This is no way to run a railroad, fill a pothole, or repair a bridge. In fact, the unpredictability of when, or if, funding will come has caused states to delay or cancel projects altogether."


"America needs to break this cycle of governing crisis-to-crisis, only to enact a stopgap measure at the last moment. We need to make a commitment to the American people and the American economy."

"Until recently, Congress understood that, as America grows, so must our investments in transportation. And for more than half a century, they have voted for that principle -- and increased funding -- with broad, bipartisan majorities in both houses. We believe they can, and should, do so again."

Foxx, Rockefeller, Manchin & Rahall Call for Infrastructure Funding at W.Va. Transportation Summit

Yesterday I had the opportunity to attend the West Virginia Transportation & Infrastructure Summit, hosted by the Discover the Real West Virginia Foundation, in Charleston. I'm not quite up to "live blogging" but here is a "within 24 hours" post on the event. The DRWV Foundation was created by Sen. Rockefeller in 1988 to promote West Virginia as a viable business environment nationally and internationally.

Speaking at the Transportation Summit were U.S. DOT Secretary Anthony Foxx, West Virginia's U.S. Senators (Rockefeller, Manchin) and Ranking Member of the House Transportation Committee, Nick Rahall. Not surprisingly, all endorsed breaking the political logjam in Washington in the interest of regular funding of transportation infrastructure.

Here are some highlights by speaker:

Secretary Foxx:

Secretary Foxx described transportation infrastructure as a legacy to leave to future generations, asking the question whether we will leave behind a stronger transportation system? He referred to 27 "band aid" funding measures in last 5 years in Congress, preventing states from planning long-term projects and maintenance. Referring specifically to the imperiled Highway Trust Fund, the Secretary warned that unless funding is restored, the Department will implement "cash management measures" by August 1, which likely means most states will receive only a half of their allocated highway funds.

The Secretary, with a nod to the West Virginia audience, reminded everyone, the song does not go "country road, can't take me home," and emphasized the solution as the infrastructure package proposed by the President in the Grow America Act. Here is a link to DOT's summary of the Act.

Rockefeller:


After receiving awards from W.Va.'s aviation community, Sen. Rockefeller continued his habit of frank comments since his announced his retirement. He lamented he was "profoundly frustrated" and noted "Today we cannot even fund yesterday's needs."

Manchin:


Sen. Manchin encouraged West Virginia to leverage the current energy boom in the state to work cooperatively with its energy producing neighbors, Ohio and Pennsylvania, much like Texas and Oklahoma have.

Regarding the Highway Trust Fund impasse, he regretted that "politics outpaces policy now" and that a stop gap measure is probably the best that can be expected.

On a humorous note, in referring to the cost of reconstruction in Iraq and Afghanistan, he quipped that if we build roads and bridges in W.Va., "we won't blow them up or burn them down."

Rahall:

Rep. Rahall predicted cooler heads will prevail and likely pass a stop gap measure to save the Highway Trust Fund. He stated there was hope for a longer term bill in the lame duck session after the 2014 election, and emphasized the importance of not letting the HTF go bankrupt.