Skip to main content

Norton to Get Early Hearing on Metro Seeking More Funds This Year (6/23/09)

June 23, 2009

Norton to Get Early Hearing on Metro Seeking More Funds this Year

June 23, 2009

WASHINGTON, D.C. - Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC), chair of one of the Transportation and Infrastructure subcommittees, offered her deepest condolences to the families of individuals who died in the Metro crash yesterday and to those injured. This morning she formally requested a hearing by the Subcommittee on Federal Workforce, Postal Service, and the District of Columbia on the crash for the week after next week's July 4th congressional recess.

Norton was briefed by National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) Member Debbie Hersman and John Catoe, general manager of Metro. "What was striking about my conversations with these two top officials was their agreement that the most seriously damaged car, the striking car, was part of the ‘1000 series' that had received an NTSB ‘urgent safety recommendation' for phase-out or retrofitting, according to Ms. Hersman, and that Metro had ranked the placement of this series as its number one priority, according to Mr. Catoe," Norton said.

The urgent safety recommendation followed the roll-back of a car in a Woodley Park accident in 2004, Norton said, but this series had been found un-crashworthy by NTSB even earlier at the Shady Grove Metro accident. Although Metro had not been funded to replace the series it has been very gradually buying new cars. Norton said that the ‘1000 series' cars were only 300 of Metro's 1,100-car fleet, and Catoe told her that replacing the ‘1000 series' cars was Metro's priority for the first $600 million of the $1.5 billion authorized for Metro over a ten year period. "Nevertheless, most of Metro's cars are not old 1000 series," Norton said, and she has confidence in the system in light of its safety record, excellent and well-trained employees, and constant work to maintain its fleet.

Norton and other Members of the Washington region in March wrote President Obama asking him to put the first $150 million of the authorized amount in his budget for Metro this year. When that was not done, they wrote a joint letter in April to the Transportation subcommittee asking for these additional funds. Norton is writing a new letter to the Transportation Appropriations Committee for sign-off by regional members requesting funds in this year's appropriations to begin buying more new cars before being in touch with appropriators.

"We must not let our response to yesterday's tragic and preventable accident end with the outpouring of our sympathy for the irreplaceable loss to these families, to whom I offer my deepest condolences," Norton said. "The time to act is overdue. Our work to authorize $1.5 billion for Metro came after compelling testimony that the maintenance problems of the system have fallen into the danger zone. Yesterday compelling testimony became compelling and tragic evidence. With Metro cars crowded with regional residents and dominated by federal employees, Congress had the ultimate wake-up call yesterday. The only appropriate response is to begin to eliminate the crash-unworthy cars with this year's appropriations."