WMATA Board Heads Need to Roll

[Antozilla]

and I answered it.

That siad I find it very odd that in the end of the budget battle Metro can always make its budget by trimming the fat internally.  Always, must be a lot of fat because its not bus operators and train operators that get cut.  its management and contractors.

[Antozilla]

What they could have done with the ROhr cars is what thye are suddenly doing which is put them in the middle or at least put them on the end.  That could have and should have been done ages ago but no and sadly no one is being held accountable.

The Metro Board is responsible for everything that goes on over there.  AS for oversight, you think soemone would know that the PTC had been turned off and heck I knew nothing has happened wth the Rohr cars so if I knew thye knew.  So much for effective oversight.  Bottom line, the buck stops with the Metro Board, its their job and their responsibility and they did not carry it out properly.

So any guesses on how long Catoe is around before they throw him under the bus? 

[WMATAGMOAGH]

Uh, the car at the back of the train becomes the front at the other end of the line...

You seem to be basing most of your arguments on hindslght.  That is wonderful now, but I highly doubt you would have said these things Monday at 4:30 PM.

[Tristan]

I actually haven't yet seen any change in train consists and ... haven't heard anyone really suggest putting Rohrs mid-train, except for in here.

You obviously don't know anything about how Boards of Directors work, but Metro's in many ways is not different than corporate boards.  They represent the legislative branch, not the executive branch.  Responsibility for these things is with the GENERAL MANAGER who GENERALLY MANAGES things.  There is a difference between DIRECTING and MANAGING.  Go do some research and come back with your findings...until then, you're only belligerently refusing to accept the fact that you could be WRONG.

[Tritransit Area]

What they could have done with the ROhr cars is what thye are suddenly doing which is put them in the middle or at least put them on the end.  That could have and should have been done ages ago but no and sadly no one is being held accountable.

The Metro Board is responsible for everything that goes on over there.  AS for oversight, you think soemone would know that the PTC had been turned off and heck I knew nothing has happened wth the Rohr cars so if I knew thye knew.  So much for effective oversight.  Bottom line, the buck stops with the Metro Board, its their job and their responsibility and they did not carry it out properly.

So any guesses on how long Catoe is around before they throw him under the bus?

Disclaimer: Acknowleding what Tristan said as I was typing this, I may duplicate some things...but I don't feel like going through this post to find the small things I may be repeating.

With all due respect, with the recent media outlash about the Metrolink Disaster, MBTA Trolley Crash, and any driver/operator/engineer operating a vehicle with a cell phone, not to mention the mandate by the FTA that EVERY rail system must have some sort of PTC in place by 2015, how do you think the nation's capital's mass transit system (affectionately known as the metro) would get away with deliberately turning the system OFF in the middle of RUSH HOUR?!

I believe the trains were in automatic mode.  I believe that deferred maintenance was taking place because of the funding woes (that's a way transit systems cut costs), and because of that a critical train detection circuit failed, and the emergency brake function failed on some of the cars of that train.  Put that in with limited visibility due to the curve and underpass, and you have the perfect storm.

As was stated earlier, the board only knows what the organization wants them to know.  They aren't paid my metro, nor are they WMATA staff.  They just make sure that WMATA isn't some sort of dictatorship...a check/balance type of thing, with votes and stuff.  So, they may have been completely in the dark about some of the specific details that you have outlined in your posts.   I'd redirect your attack from the board of directors and focus it on the middle management in charge of making sure inspections were held to WMATA standards...as stated in a policy somewhere.  Also, whoever "turned off PTC" should be investigated as well.

Even the big bosses of companies don't always know everything...they just get all of the blame or all of the credit.

[Antozilla]

SO the buck stops no where and this is why Mero does not desrve a dedicated funding stream and why there is no accountability at Metro.

[Perry]

I guess the board should just recommend paving over the entire subway and creating one hell of a Quickway/Busway!!

[smithavechuck]

Washington Post article on Metro's request for additional funds and the problems contained therein.

Chuck

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/06/24/AR2009062403429.html

[MetroLinerXLZ]

Wow, a lot of heated discussion here, but lemme chime in though....

Would there be a possible issue with mixing the cars in a pattern format, like a Breda as the cab, then a Rohr, then Breda, then Rohr (and so on)?

I'm only curious as into how that would work, if it could possibly work as well as a "sandwiching" (seeing that I'm not all keen on the workings of the trains and the couplings and the black boxes and the jello with the pudding and the POP blaaaoooo).

[WMATAGMOAGH]

Would there be a possible issue with mixing the cars in a pattern format, like a Breda as the cab, then a Rohr, then Breda, then Rohr (and so on)?

The cars are in married pairs.


John A: You've made so many assumptions in your post, it isn't worth responding to.

[Perry]

I don't think you can do an A as one type and B as something else.  I know they typically keep cars as married pairs for probably a lot of different reasons.

[MetroLinerXLZ]

Would there be a possible issue with mixing the cars in a pattern format, like a Breda as the cab, then a Rohr, then Breda, then Rohr (and so on)?

The cars are in married pairs.


John A: You've made so many assumptions in your post, it isn't worth responding to.

Oren and Perry, thanks for your answer. So it seems like a "sandwich" is the best way to handle it. But again, I just had to be curious.

John, please, just stop it. The Metro Board isn't (and shouldn't IMO) gonna get held at the stake. TriTransit Area hit the nail on the head; who/whatever turned off that PTC is where all eyes, fingers, and lawsuits should be fixated.

[WMATAGMOAGH]

I don't think you can do an A as one type and B as something else.  I know they typically keep cars as married pairs for probably a lot of different reasons.

It might theoretically be possible, perhaps with some modifications.  That said, separating out the As and Bs and remating them would be very time consuming and expensive.

[Sand Box John]

Tristan
John,

If replacement is the option, can you identify a list of capital projects started since 2004 (effectively 2005, when we got NTSB's recommendations) that total $900 million dollars, so we are justified in lynching the current Board of Directors, many of whom have not even been around since 2004?

No.

WMATA has spent something in the neighborhood $250 million increasing maintenance facility capacity in the last 4 years (New shop building Shady Grove, New shop building New Carrollton, expanded shop building Brentwood, and New back shop Greenbelt), something under a $100 million on various other smaller enhancements (Navy Yard entrance and entrance escalator canopies).

Procuring more cars has been an argument that I have been making for more then 20 years. WMATA has had a rolling stock shortage sense service on the C Route was extended to Huntington back on 12 17 1983. WMATA built and extend lines but gave no more then just lip service to budgeting the procurement of rolling stock to run on those extensions. The only extension that considered rolling stock an issue over the last 15 years was the G Route Blue extension to Largo. Most of 5K cars were procured to increase the overall fleet size some were for the Largo extension. The 6K cars were procured to increase the overall fleet size. WMATA to this day sill doesn't, in my opinion, have an adequate number of cars in their fleet. A number of the 7k cars (128) are for the full N Route Silver line.

It my opinion that WMATA should expedite the procurement of the 7K cars so they can be put in to service before the N route Silver line comes on line.

[Antozilla]

I amazed that few of you choose to put the balme for thsis accident on the Metro Board and in stead are content to blame some little guy in the signals department.

Is there no accountability in Metro?  Does not the signals guy report to a boss who ultimately reports to Catoe and to the Board?

Maybe this is the problem, the inmates are running the asylum.

Does the Board not have the responsibility to ask hard questions and get answers?

In every board I have served on and that has been many, we were not only legally responsible but morally respoinsible fro everything that goes on under our chanrge to include things we did not know about?

Now do I expect them to know who changes the TP rolls at CET, no, but if it is not getting done it is there responsiblity and they need to fix it, and if they were told in the past it is not getting done, they damn well better be sure it is being done and maybe even do it themselves.