NTSB to release report into L'Enfant fire

[JDC]

If WMATA was an airline, the NTSB would be telling the FAA to revoke their operating certificate.

I did notice the FRA callout, but the issue there seems to be Foxx is not budging.

True, but Foxx's days are numbered once the current presidency ends.

[jkovach]

I really don't get this hangup over FRA regulation. Yes, the FRA has more teeth and can levy fines and shut down the system... but when it comes to actually fixing the system and moving passengers, how is that going to help?

In the case of a private railroad, any fines or shutdowns imposed by the FRA are a direct hit to profits. If the company screws up enough, they start losing money, and once you lose enough money, the shareholders start calling for blood and bring in a hedge fund to strip the company. Management would rather that not happen, so they fall in line and follow the regulations.

But Metro is a creature of the government. There are no profits. Every dollar paid to the FRA (or, under the current regulatory regime, withheld by the FTA) is a dollar that is no longer available to spend on moving passengers or fixing the system. Local jurisdictions may wind up having to contribute more to Metro not to fund operations or capital improvements, but to pay fines to the feds. How is that productive?

The issue begins and ends with Metro management (at all levels.) The only way to fix Metro is to get management (and the politicians who appoint management) interested in fixing Metro. Either that, or find someone to take over the system a la New York State and the NYCTA in the 1960s. Everything else is a half measure at best.

That being said, it seems that Widefeld & Co. are finally heading in the right direction. But only time will tell.

[farecard]

I really don't get this hangup over FRA regulation. Yes, the FRA has more teeth and can levy fines and shut down the system... but when it comes to actually fixing the system and moving passengers, how is that going to help?

Because the FRA has *experience* with actual rail hardware. They have people who get their hands dirty, and experience running inspection programs, and enforcing rules. The FTA does not, and forbids longer trains, etc.

The fines are not what matter; the forced shutdown's instant notice does.