Federal oversight is not expected to change the transit agency’s day-to-day operations, however, and Metro’s current management team will remain in place. But officials with the Federal Transit Administration (FTA), who will oversee the subway system, say the public will see a more assertive response to incidents. Metro will be required to immediately inform the FTA of any significant crashes or problems, and the federal agency will determine what action must be taken.
“This is the strictest level of federal safety oversight,” said FTA acting administrator Therese W. McMillan. “Metro can no longer ignore safety orders from their oversight agency.”
The shift applies only to the transit agency’s rail operations.
Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx announced the unprecedented effort earlier this month, making Metro the first U.S. subway system to be under direct federal oversight for safety. The move marks a more aggressive approach to fixing the safety failures that have plagued the nation’s second-busiest subway system since a fatal smoke incident in January killed one rider and injured scores more.
