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Latest Federal Investigation Finds DC Metro Workers Regularly Ignore Safety Protocols

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Steve Birr Vice Reporter
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Officials with the D.C. Metro are in hot water again with federal investigators who issued another report scolding the transit agency for ignoring safety rules and improperly storing trains.

The latest report from the Federal Transit Administration (FTA) criticizes the safety culture of the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA) and the ongoing issue of officials and supervisors encouraging workers to flout safety procedures. The report focuses on train car storage, after several incidents between 2014 and 2015 where train cars unintentionally rolled, reports WJLA.

Despite rules mandating train operators to use a hand break when storing vehicles to avoid accidents, investigators found rail supervisors actually encouraged workers to ignore the handbrake rule.

“Preventing unintended movement of rail vehicles is fundamental to safety and WMATA needs to do more to eliminate these types of incidents from happening,” Anthony Foxx, U.S. transportation secretary, said in a statement. “Verifying that a train has been properly secured is a common sense solution to prevent accidents.”

The report notes that unsecured trains can move and cause collisions and accidents with other train cars, track equipment and workers. Investigators also uncovered that the current train operator manual is outdated, providing no information on the newest 7000 series trains. (RELATED: DC Metro’s Plan To Make System Safer Rewritten After Inspectors Find Its Not Safe)

“These incidents at WMATA amplify the need for the proper use of safety and securement devices to prevent unintended train movements that can cause accidents,” Carolyn Flowers, acting administrator for the FTA, said in a statement. “WMATA must revise, and its employees must observe, its operating rules to ensure proper and safe securement of rail vehicles.”

The FTA gave Metro officials six new safety directives to deal with the latest safety lapses. D.C. Metro officials have 30 days to comply with the mandated reforms.

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