Metro would like to replace its oldest rail cars, rehab the Red Line and install a safety signaling system for track workers, among other projects, with the first round of $300 million contributed by local jurisdictions and the federal government.
The transit agency recently outlined its wish list in a letter to the Federal Transit Administration, detailing how it plans to spend the first year of $1.5 billion that Congress pledged to Metro over 10 years, if the local jurisdictions also contribute $50 million each per year.
» $67.1 million to replace some Rohr 1000 series rail cars.
» $56.9 million for Red Line stations from Dupont to Silver Spring, including track work, canopy replacements, escalator rehab and upgraded public address systems.
» $44.4 million track rehabilitation, including special equipment called turnouts that the National Transportation Safety Board recommended for Metro after a derailment.
» $12.4 million to replace equipment such as brakes on about 225 rail cars.
» $4.1 million for a safety signaling system to alert track workers of approaching trains.
Source: Metro interim General Manager Richard Sarles’ letter to Federal Transit Administration
But Metro doesn’t have the money yet. And even as the agency outlines plans for the first installment, Metro officials are prepping for a Senate subcommittee hearing on Wednesday about why they need the second round.
Advocates had long sought a dedicated funding source. The federal commitment represented a windfall, even if not a permanent funding stream such as a toll or tax. But agency officials are realizing it came with strings attached.
Congress needs to appropriate the funding each year, as Wednesday’s hearing illustrates.
To the surprise of some Metro board members, the agency also needs to detail how it plans to use the funding each year. In March, FTA Administrator Peter Rogoff told members of the local congressional delegation that Metro will “need to present to us a list of the projects and only when we see that list will we hand over the dollars.”
Additionally, local leaders have grumbled that the federal fiscal year doesn’t jibe with Metro’s, pushing the federal contribution into Metro’s next fiscal year and leaving the money already set aside locally on the table.
Still, the yearly $300 million is a boost for Metro, which has identified more than $11 billion of capital needs over the next decade.
Among the items for the first round, the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority says it wants to use $67 million to help replace some of the 1000 series rail cars that have been called uncrashworthy for years. One of the rail cars crumpled to a third of its size during the June train crash that killed nine people.
Another $56.9 million would help rehabilitate the Red Line from Dupont Circle to Silver Spring.
“All of these projects would have a direct positive impact on the safety of the system and would support WMATA’s efforts to maintain our system in a state of good repair,” interim General Manager Richard Sarles wrote to Rogoff.
