Metro General Manager Paul J. Wiedefeld, who was hired six years ago to stabilize an agency that was recovering from repeated safety failures, frequent delays and the death of a passenger stuck in a smoke-filled car, will retire this year, the agency announced Tuesday.

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       Wiedefeld, 66, leaves Metro after guiding it toward a period of greater reliability and ridership growth before the pandemic. But he leaves as the transit agency tries to navigate its way out of two crises that riders and government leaders have said is hampering the region’s recovery from the pandemic: a train shortage amid a federal safety investigation and a reduction in bus service.

       The three-month train shortage has forced the agency to cut back on rail service after a defect was found affecting the wheels of Metro’s 7000-series trains, its largest and newest fleet of cars. Meanwhile, there is a shortage of bus operators because the omicron variant has sickened hundreds at Metro, forcing the agency to cut a quarter of its bus service.

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       Wiedefeld, who served as the chief executive of Baltimore-Washington Marshall International Airport before joining Metro, informed transit officials of his decision Tuesday.

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       “Forty plus years in transportation teaches you that there is no set mile marker for this decision, but given the seismic shifts happening in transit and the region, Metro needs a leader who can commit to several years of service and set a new course.” Wiedefeld said in a statement. “This gives the Board time to identify a successor and ensures an orderly management transition.

       Wiedefeld said he will spend the next six months focusing on restoring bus and rail service to normal operations and on opening the long-delayed, nearly 11-mile extension of the Silver Line, which will connect Metrorail to Dulles International Airport. He will also help Metro move its headquarters from Judiciary Square to a complex at L’Enfant Plaza.

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       Wiedefeld was hired in November 2015, about 10 months after a passenger died and dozens were sickened after a stalled train filled with smoke during a track fire outside of L’Enfant Plaza. The event, which came after a string of incidents and federal investigations, was marred by delayed responses from first responders, emergency management mistakes and conflicting commands and actions, according to multiple investigations.

       Wiedefeld steered the agency through SafeTrack, a multimillion-dollar blitz of system repairs and overhauls, while also helping Metro to secure dedicated annual capital funding for system improvements and maintenance.