Metro’s drastic plan to overhaul its crumbling rail system received the endorsement of the the two U.S. senators representing Virginia Friday.
“We urge the WMATA Board to give this plan serious consideration and put in place an approach that yields tangible benefits in the coming weeks and months,” Sens. Tim Kaine and Mark Warner, both Democrats, said in a statement. “Only by showing results can we as a delegation step forward and advocate for a continued federal role in funding improvements to the system.
Warner and Kaine praised the “take-charge” management style of new General Manager Paul Wiedefeld.
Wiedefeld announced this week that the rail system will undergo a year-long repair project that will result in closures, single tracking and other major disruptions to service.
Sen. Ben Cardin, D-Md., also endorsed the plan as “absolutely necessary,” to correct safety problems that have plagued the system recently.
“Make no mistake, the ‘Safe Track’ plan unveiled today is going to be painful, and the severity of the remedy to what ails Metro is directly attributable to years of neglectful decisions and a failure to confront problems earlier,” Cardin said. “The losses in time, money and output will underscore just how important Metrorail is to both the federal government and Washington region, and will illustrate why Metro’s culture of safety and physical infrastructure should never have been allowed to erode to the crisis point we have reached today.”
“For years, we have been waiting to see a take-charge management plan to deal with Metro’s safety issues and we appreciate the General Manager’s release of a proposed repair plan today that grasps the urgency of the situation,” Warner and Kaine said. “This plan may not be welcome news for the hundreds of thousands of area residents whose daily commutes will be disrupted, but a bold and serious approach to improving Metro safety is necessary after years of neglected maintenance.”
Rep. Barbara Comstock, R-Va., called the plan, “aggressive but necessary.”
Metro officials were recently summoned before Congress to explain service disruptions that Wiedefeld said were needed to fix urgent problems.
D.C. Council member Jack Evans, who serves as chairman of the regional Metro board, wants the federal government to chip in $300 million to help pay for Metro’s operating expenses.
