http://wtop.com/?sid=2013007&nid=93
Senator Mikulski, the WMATA board and the media are clueless !!!!
This is not a "safety" issue, This is a maintenance issue.
Though safety is an issue that need to be addressed. The route of the safety problem is WMATA's lackadaisical nonchalant way of dealing with maintaining thing that are critical to safe operation of the railroad.
The high frequency track circuit method of train detection work perfectly when maintained to designed specifications.
WMATA can spend all kinds of money designing a backup system to provide protection in the event that the existing signaling system fails. Federal, state and local governments can establish over site bureaucracies to regulate transit agencies. But that will not correct the route problem of not properly maintaining metrorail's existing train control and signaling infrastructure.
There is no logic in investing precious time a resources in building a backup system when that same time and those same resources would be better spent properly maintaining what they have.