Norton Statement on WMATA Inspections and Scheduled Reopening

Statement

Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC), who was among four House leaders who recently wrote the new surface transportation bill, released the following statement today after Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA) General Manager Paul Wiedefeld announced that the transit system is scheduled to reopen at 5:00 a.m. tomorrow morning. Single tracking will be used if all necessary repairs are not completed.

"No one wants to second guess a new general manager who shuts down the entire Metro system on a safety call, but that call sent a message that Metro is in even worse shape than most had believed. This unprecedented shutdown leaves no doubt that routine preventative safety maintenance has not been a part of how Metro operates. Particularly considering that defects were found, the safety call may well have been necessary, but it can only yield another no confidence vote in Metro. With financial irregularities and daily inconveniences added to safety concerns, Metro has been its own worst enemy, virtually driving riders away from the system. General Manager Wiedefeld deserves a chance put Humpty Dumpty back together again, but with a 5 percent loss in riders over the past five years and an operational deficit of $500 million, he has had no honeymoon. I have already asked for a regional congressional meeting, which I expect Representative Steny Hoyer (D-MD), the senior leader in the region, to call soon. The parties that cannot operate without Metro--the federal government, the District of Columba, Maryland, and Virginia--have an obligation to the public to find their respective roles in quickly restoring confidence and reversing the downward spiral of Metro."

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