D.C. Metro's Emergency Closure Tests New General Manager
Metro General Manager Paul Wiedefeld listens to a question during a news conference to announce that the D.C. Metrorail service will be shut down for a full day. Evan Vucci / AP Photo
A system-wide safety inspection will close the nation's second-busiest subway for at least 24 hours. "When I say safety is our highest priority, I mean it,” said Paul Wiedefeld, who aims to fix a troubled transit agency.
WASHINGTON — Less than four months on the job and Paul Wiedefeld faces a trial by literal fire, but so far the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority’s general manager and CEO hasn’t blinked.
After an early morning tunnel fire Monday, Wiedefeld—with the backing of the Metro Board of Directors—sanctioned the unprecedented closure of the Metrorail system Wednesday for emergency inspections of about 600 third-rail power cables. All tunnel segments will be covered.
For an official trying to restore honor to one of the most maligned transit agencies in the U.S., Wiedefeld may appear to have chosen the nuclear option. Yet the move is in keeping with his stated commitment to rebuilding public trust in safety and effective management.
"While the risk to the public is very low, I cannot rule out a potential life safety issue here, and that is why we must take this action immediately," Wiedefeld said in the announcement. "When I say safety is our highest priority, I mean it. That sometimes means making tough, unpopular decisions, and this is one of those times. I fully recognize the hardship this will cause."
The decision and subsequent press conference, in which Wiedefeld took questions, earned him the snark and outright vitriol of many metro commuters but also plenty of respect:
Virginia’s 8th District representative in Congress went on to call for WMATA’s overhaul and continued federal investment.
Conditions that led to the injury-free electrical fire just outside McPherson Square Station appeared “disturbingly similar” to those in a L’Enfant Station incident a year ago, Wiedefeld said, setting WMATA on a course of risk mitigation.
Severe crowding is expected on buses Wednesday, and the District’s alternative service options will be strained.
More service outages could come following the results of inspections, but Wiedefeld at least has some residents in his corner:
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Dave Nyczepir is a News Editor at Government Executive’s Route Fifty.
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