In the wake of infrastructure-related service disruptions on the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority’s Metrorail system—and a highly critical National Transportation Safety Board report on a fatal 2015 electrical-system incident—the agency plans to launch next month an intensive, system-wide rehabilitation program, aimed at restoring safety and reliability by mid 2017.
The proposal, which WMATA General Manager Paul Wiedefeld announced on May 6, seeks to carry out three years’ worth of work within one year on the 117-mile network in the District of Columbia, Maryland and Virginia. “This is a massive undertaking—no doubt about it,” he said.