Metro News Release
For immediate release: July 14, 2010
Metro general manager cites safety, state of good repair priorities at transportation panel
Details progress on NTSB recommendations, capital investments
Metro General Manager Richard Sarles today discussed the transit agency’s top priorities of safety, state of good repair and meeting future ridership demand during a panel discussion hosted by the U.S. Department of Transportation on the Surface Transportation Reauthorization Bill.
Sarles said that Metro has taken dozens of steps to improve its safety, including moving forward with many recommendations by oversight groups, such as the National Transportation Safety Board.
Among the steps taken to comply with NTSB recommendations are installation of rollback protection on rail cars, which will be completed on 1000 series railcars by the end of July; adding technology to support the train control system; installing guarded switches to decrease the risk of derailments; and replacing the agency's 30-year-old 1000 series railcars.
Sarles also noted that Metro has worked cooperatively with oversight agencies such as the FTA and Tri-State Oversight Committee to close 196 of 256 corrective action plan items over the last six years.
In his remarks, Sarles described efforts to change the safety culture at Metro. He referred to the recent removal of the 4000 series railcars, as an example of the agency’s shift to being more proactive with safety issues. Sarles also pointed out that more than 97 percent of Metro’s 10,000 employees completed the agency’s safety survey, to measure employee safety awareness and set a standard for improving Metro’s safety culture.
Metro has specifically targeted improving employee safety. The agency has revised its Metrorail Safety Rules and Procedures Handbook, which outlines the rules and procedures governing safety for the entire Metrorail system. Metro has also drafted a Roadway Worker Protection Manual that will provide guidance for employees working in track areas.
Sarles said that safety is tied to keeping facilities, vehicles and equipment in a state of good repair, which has suffered due to a lack of adequate funding.
“One of the most important things we can do to improve safety is to maintain our system in a state of good repair," said Sarles.
He praised the efforts of local and state governments that provided Metro with funding above amounts required to match federal dollars. Now, for first time since the early construction days of the Metro system, the agency has a spend plan for the upcoming fiscal year that exceeds $1 billion.
Metro has just finalized a six-year, $5 billion Capital Improvement Program that includes replacing the oldest railcars and buses, replacing and refurbishing bus facilities, and repairing old segments of the rail system. The agency has projected that its capital needs during the next 10 years total more than $11 billion.
Sarles cautioned that the job and population growth in the Metro service area over the next 15-20 years is projected to increase use of the Metro system beyond its current capacity and that planning for the growth needs to take place now. By 2020, ridership is expected to increase by 20 percent on Metrorail, between 10 and 25 percent on Metrobus, and 100 percent on MetroAccess.
Sarles said that Metro will continue to work with regional partners, the Obama Administration and Congress on passage of a reauthorization bill that will meet the needs of Metro and other transit systems.
News release issued at 11:59 am, July 14, 2010.