Metro’s inability to respond to emergencies in a safe and organized way is putting first responders and riders at risk, according to an audit released Tuesday.
The Washington Metrorail Safety Commission, a regulatory agency that oversees safety on the transit agency’s rail system, issued five recommendations and 14 findings on issues it said Metro needs to correct. The report called on Metro to increase communication and coordination with transit police, clarify roles during emergencies, and ensure workers and first-responders who enter the track are properly trained on safety.
Wp Get the full experience.Choose your plan ArrowRight
The 74-page audit of Metro’s emergency management, fire and life-safety programs comes at a time when the agency also is the subject of a federal safety probe after a derailment in October. It’s the latest hit to Metro’s safety record as the agency tries to lure back riders lost during the pandemic while simultaneously hobbled by the suspension of 60 percent of its rail cars.
Advertisement
Story continues below advertisement
Metro has a history of emergency-response mistakes that have delayed evacuations and contributed to injuries or death, according to investigations, including a 2015 electrical fire near L’Enfant Plaza. In that incident, a stalled train filled with smoke, killing a 61-year-old woman while sickening more than 80 others. In response, the Federal Transit Administration took the unprecedented step of assuming direct supervision of Metrorail safety until Congress created the safety commission in 2017.
The commission’s audit pointed out more than 15 ways Metro has improved safety or maintained preparedness, including training firefighters on the Metro system and keeping defibrillators and first-aid kits on hand, but it also said Metro continues to struggle with communication and coordination among agencies — including Metro Transit Police.
“The audit demonstrates that Metrorail has made some improvements since the 2015 smoke accident near L’Enfant Plaza Station, including markedly improved training and system familiarization for local first responders,” the report said. “However, this audit also demonstrates that there are many critical areas where Metrorail is not meeting its own written requirements, does not have adequate procedures, processes or requirements, or does not have adequate training, coordination and supervision.”
Advertisement
Story continues below advertisement
Metro officials said the audit includes factual inaccuracies, but that the transit agency already is undertaking some of its recommendations, including expanding training and coordination, developing a checklist for use during emergencies, and making emergency signs in trains and stations consistent.
“Our new Office of Emergency Preparedness includes seasoned professionals and we are making good progress on enhancing Metro’s prevention, planning, and response to emergencies,” Metro spokesman Ian Jannetta said in a statement.
Metro commits to more stringent safety standards to protect track workers
The findings add to a list of troubles confronting Metro.
All 748 of Metro’s latest series of rail cars have been out of service under a safety commission order since Oct. 17. A National Transportation Safety Board investigation into a derailment that occurred days earlier discovered a defect in the 7000 series that pushes wheels outward, increasing their risk of slipping off the track. Metro is searching for a cause and solution to the defect, which has forced the agency to reduce service until at least April.
Advertisement
Story continues below advertisement
The train shortage comes as governments across the Washington region are lifting pandemic-related restrictions, coinciding with recent Metro ridership at levels not seen in mid-December. Ridership remains at about one-quarter of pre-pandemic levels as federal coronavirus aid substitutes for lost fare dollars until next summer.
Metro has been cited repeatedly by the safety commission in the past year for not protecting workers who go onto tracks.
The audit analyzed Metro’s safety-related equipment, signs and facilities, as well as its procedures, training manuals and records of past incidents and investigations. Safety commission inspectors interviewed Metro employees and visited stations as part of their probe, which took place last year.
Story continues below advertisement
The audit found that calls to 911 centers were inconsistent or incomplete, contributing to delayed emergency responses. It said the transit agency hasn’t clearly defined the authority and duties of its fire marshal and other fire prevention roles. Emergency equipment in station medical cabinets was expired and dirty, the audit said.
Advertisement
Metro also had no one assigned to maintain safety equipment, the safety commission said, adding that the transit agency’s minimum tunnel emergency-lighting levels are not compliant with National Fire Protection Association standards.
In its statement, Metro said the agency has restructured and streamlined emergency management responsibilities and leadership roles to “improve the urgency, consistency and flexibility of the agency’s management of incidents across all modes.” Some changes have been completed while others will launch in the fall, Metro said, noting that fire marshal and fire prevention roles have been clarified.
Metro’s rail control center a ‘toxic workplace’ where procedures put riders at risk, safety report says
Some of the most significant problems, according to the audit, involved transit police, who respond to nearly all agency emergencies but rely on the Rail Operations Control Center and other departments for safety from trains or electrocution from the system’s third rails.
Advertisement
Story continues below advertisement
The audit found police officers or personnel “routinely enter the roadway,” despite not going through the training and qualification required to be on the track, “exposing themselves and others to the risk of serious injury or death.” The police department’s general orders, a rule and guidebook for officers, don’t include information about Metrorail safety, the safety commission said.
The audit included an example of police failing to follow rail safety guidelines on Dec. 13, 2020, when two trains were stranded on the Green and Yellow lines between Fort Totten and the Georgia Avenue-Petworth stations after power to the tracks went down.
With passengers stranded on trains, police evacuated the riders onto the track without the required safety precautions, such as the use of warning strobes and alarm devices.
Advertisement
Story continues below advertisement
The audit says police took the action despite objections from D.C. Fire workers, who would not go onto the track with police.
“Due to MTPD not following safety procedures, D.C. Fire and EMS personnel remained on the platform for their own safety,” the audit said.
Safety commission orders Metro to improve standards and accountability
A safety commission report from the incident noted that an employee from Metro’s Office of Emergency Management and a rail transportation supervisor joined a police sergeant on the track.
While the audit pointed out communications and protocol problems with outside agencies, it noted the importance of coordination between Metro safety officials and police.
“Regardless of whether external agencies are involved in an emergency response, it is critical that both MTPD personnel and other Metrorail staff operate from a shared understanding and common procedures; however, this is not currently the case,” the audit said.
Advertisement
Story continues below advertisement
That shared understanding could be bridged with Metro making sure transit police officers go through track safety training, said David Clarke, director of the Center for Transportation Research at the University of Tennessee.
“Bring them into that process,” Clarke said. “Train them.”
The safety commission gave Metro 30 days to respond to each of the 14 findings in the audit and propose corrective action plans. The plans must be approved by the commission before Metro implements them.