The Washington Post - USA (2022-05-25)

B2 EZ RE THE WASHINGTON POST.WEDNESDAY, MAY 25 , 2022

properly, training all these per-
sonnel and the necessary [tech-
nology] changes to carry out this
plan,” he told commissioners.
The wheel problem with the
Kawasaki Rail-built cars — the
last of which was delivered in
2020 — has been discovered in
inspections nearly 50 times over
four years. It came to light during
a National Transportation Safety
Board investigation into an
Oct. 12 derailment, where investi-
gators found that the wheels of
one car had moved two inches
apart.
The defect progresses slowly,
opening the way for Metro to put
the series back to work as long as
the transit agency proves to the
safety commission that it can do
so safely. In December, transit
officials received permission to
bring back the cars, but the safety
commission found that the agen-
cy was deviating from the plan it
submitted and reimposed the
suspension after about two
weeks.
Metro said at the time that it
couldn’t get precise-enough mea-
surements with its tools. After

METRO FROM B1 months of research and trials, it
put together a new process of
screening cars that uses digital
instruments, while limiting the
number of cars it is initially
putting back into service to 64 —
or eight eight-car trains.
The primary measurement
tool that inspectors will be using
this time includes a digital read-
out that makes it easier for tech-
nicians to determine whether
wheels have shifted.
“The only allowed movement
is 0.036 inches beyond the base-
line measurement for that wheel
set,” safety commission Chief Op-
erating Officer Sharmila Sa-
marasinghe said.
The limit includes an allow-
ance for weather, she said, which
can cause tiny contractions of the
metal.
“We definitely are talking
about very small numbers,” May-
er said. “And that’s been one of
the reasons that Metro has come
back in this plan to use digital
instrumentation that should be
more accurate, more precise.”
Metro’s second attempt at a
manual screening process in-
cludes separate teams responsi-
ble for the inspections and the

data entry, oversight and quality-

control checks, safety commis-

sion officials said. Inspections

will be conducted each day before

a 7000-series car can carry pas-

sengers. Metro has safeguards to

ensure that a rail car won’t leave

the yard until it has passed in-

spection.

Eight trains is all Metro offi-

cials say they can handle when

considering staffing and time re-

quired to conduct the daily man-

ual inspections. The rail network,

currently operating with trains of

six cars from older series, will see

an immediate capacity boost with

each returning 7000 -series train.

The 7000s run eight cars and

hold more people.

Metro still needs time to get its

inspection process set before the

first trains return. According to

the safety commission, Metro

plans to bring eight cars back a

day over eight days.

“Metro is working to imple-

ment our plan, which includes

training our inspectors, modify-

ing and testing our electronic

system of records and conducting

a number of reviews to assure

readiness,” Metro spokesman Ian

Jannetta said in a statement. “We

anticipate that this process will

take a minimum of two weeks to

complete. While the use of the

digital dial gauges greatly en-

hances the accuracy and preci-

sion of our measurements, it does

not reduce the time required to

complete the manual inspec-

tions.”

The agency is simultaneously

working to complete installation

of three wayside inspection ma-

chines that could automate the

daily screening process and allow

for the return of all 748 suspend-

ed rail cars. If testing proves

successful, Mayer said, Metro will

have to again provide a detailed

plan on how the screening proc-

ess will shift to automation be-

fore it can start.

Safety commission officials

also updated commissioners on

Metro’s progress in recertifying

about 250 train operators.

On May 15, top Metro officials

said they had discovered that

about half of the rail operators

had not taken refresher training

courses and tests that are re-

quired for recertification. Transit

officials said they had not kept

track of waivers the agency began

handing out at the start of the

coronavirus pandemic. Safety

commission officials said Metro

canceled its training program —

despite the agency being cited by

regulatory agencies for inad-

equate refresher training since at

least 2015.

Metro pulled 72 operators

from work for recertification, and

Mayer said the agency is required

to submit a plan early next week

that will include how the transit

agency is getting operators

trained and tested.

“This is an issue of manage-

ment and scheduling, assigning

and designating the resources

needed to carry out the safety

training and certification,” he

said. “It’s not an issue caused by

the operators themselves.”

Commissioners voiced worries

about operator fatigue, as the

ranks will be stretched thin over

the next few months while people

are pulled out of work for train-

ing. Jannetta said the transit

agency is closely monitoring fa-

tigue issues and is averaging

more than five recertifications a

day.

The safety commission last

week issued an order limiting

when and where controllers

could shut down and turn on

track power for maintenance or

emergencies. The commission

has repeatedly cited Metro for

not following such safety pro-

cedures, which it says put work-

ers who might be on the tracks at

risk. Violations to procedures oc-

curred even after the agency cre-

ated a “power desk” in its rail

operations control center this

year charged with safely han-

dling power to the electrified

third rail.

“These events provide further

evidence that elements of Metro-

rail have a culture that accepts

noncompliance with written op-

erational rules, instructions and

manuals to conduct mainte-

nance, repair and rehabilitation,”

Mayer said.

The commission’s order limits

power removal and restoration to

a few places until Metro shows

the commission how it will en-

sure that the guidelines are fol-

lowed. Additional lapses were

discovered in April and this

month.

Jannetta said Metro is “aggres-

sively implementing additional

corrective actions as required by

the order.”

Metro aims to run some 7000-series trains this summer

BY MICHAEL BRICE-SADDLER

The D.C. Council on Tuesday
unanimously approved the city’s
fiscal 2023 budget while pushing
through some last-minute chang-
es, including more support for
workers who were ineligible for
unemployment benefits and other
programs during the pandemic.
The vote comes about two
weeks after the council gave initial
approval to the District’s $19.5 bil-
lion budget, which made several
changes to the spending plan orig-
inally proposed by Mayor Muriel
E. Bowser (D) in March. The coun-
cil added more per-pupil funding
for D.C. Public Schools and charter
school organizations, as well as
more money for permanent -
housing vouchers to cover rent for
low-income families.
On Tuesday, council member

Elissa Silverman (I-At Large)

pitched two amendments. One

would have taken away about half

of the $14 million allocated to

purchase the old Key Bridge

E xxon site in Georgetown and

used it to make the expansion of

paid leave benefits for private-sec-

tor workers — set to take effect

Oct. 1 — retroactive to July 1. But

the amendment failed on an 8-to-5

vote after several lawmakers, led

by council member Brooke Pinto

(D-Ward 2), expressed concerns

about passing on an opportunity

to buy the property.

Silverman successfully intro-

duced a second amendment that

sets aside $20 million for laborers

who were not eligible for tradi-

tional or expanded federal unem-

ployment benefits during the pan-

demic, such as street vendors.

That money, which she said

would provide about 15,000 ex-

cluded workers in the District

with cash payments of at least

$1,000, would be made available

in fiscal 2023 so long as the fiscal

2022 revenue estimate from the

Office of the Chief Financial Offi-

cer increases by at least $20 mil-

lion. (Silverman noted the CFO’s

estimates that come out quarterly

typically show annual increases of

much more than that.)

But Jenny Reed, director of the

D.C. Office of Budget and Perform-

ance Management, reminded the

council in a statement that D.C.

allocated $41 million for excluded

laborers during last year’s budget

process. “Today, employers are

scouring for workers, residents

want to get back to work, and the

Council could better support resi-

dents by helping us connect peo-

ple to these existing opportuni-

ties,” the statement said.

Silverman and other council

members disagreed, citing the ur-

gent needs of excluded workers:

“Many of these workers have no

economic safety net,” she added.

Megan Felix Macaraeg, orga-

nizing director for the Beloved

Community Incubator, a nonprof-

it that advocates for excluded

workers, praised the additional

funding but said the support still

falls short of the $160 million ad-

vocates had asked for this year.

During the council’s first vote

on the budget, lawmakers moved

to make all wage- and age-qualify-

ing workers eligible for the city’s

generous earned-income tax cred-

it, whether they have a Social Se-

curity number or an Individual

Taxpayer Identification Number.

Macaraeg supported that change

but said the credit “is not inter-

changeable with direct cash pay-

ments.”

The budget will now head to

Bowser’s desk for her signature.

The council on Tuesday also

took the first of two votes on newly

drawn boundaries for the city’s

Advisory Neighborhood Commis-

sions and the Single Member Dis-

tricts inside them. In December,

the council approved new ward-

level boundaries as part of the

decennial process that comes after

the U.S. Census Bureau offers new

data on population changes.

ANC redistricting is a required

step in the months leading up to

the Nov. 8 general election, when

ANC commissioners seeking elec-

tion must gather signatures to ap-

pear on the ballot. Silverman, who

chairs the council’s subcommittee

on redistricting, noted that draw-

ing ANC boundaries in Wards 3, 7

and 8 garnered the most ardent

feedback among residents.

But Council Chairman Phil

Mendelson (D-At Large) on Mon-

day offered a version of the maps

that included some last-minute

tweaks, notably in Ward 7, where

some residents in two ANC areas

that would stretch across the Ana-

costia River had raised concerns

about the subcommittee’s original

plan, which they said would effec-

tively divide communities in the

Hill East neighborhood between

two commissions.

Mendelson said his version

would allow for cross-river coop-

eration without splitting up east-

ern Capitol Hill neighborhoods.

That frustrated Silverman, who

said the alterations could upset

the balance of power in the two

commissions. She marked herself

as present during the vote.

THE DISTRICT

Council approves budget with money for workers excluded by aid programs

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