WASHINGTON — Two weeks after Metrorail’s historic 24-hour safety shutdown, the agency’s new leadership continues to explore ways to boost safety and reliability and get the troubled transit agency’s fiscal house in order.
Metro General Manager Paul Wiedefeld told the Riders’ Advisory Council Wednesday night that he’s reaching out to all Metro station managers to get their ideas for improvements in an effort to raise the quality of customer service.
“I reached out to the front-line employees to understand their issues … what I found is a yearning to basically restore pride in this agency,” Wiedefeld said.
He relayed an encounter with a station manager at the Farragut North Station. Wiedefeld said the manager pointed out that the elevator to the station in an alcove on Connecticut Avenue is in a difficult spot to find. The station manager said a person in a wheelchair recently struggled in the rain to find it.
Pleased that the manager pointed out the deficiency, Wiedefeld promised changes.
“We now have signs going up there,” he said. “That’s what I’m looking for from all the employees.”
Wiedefeld also told the group, which represents Metro riders, that he hopes to have a game plan ready in four to six weeks, outlining concrete steps aimed at improving safety and reliability.
“I want to step back and think through [the question] ‘What is the approach we have to do to get this system in a true state of good repair,'” he said.
While Wiedefeld said he sees nothing now that would require any short- or long-term shutdowns of the rail system, he added that he won’t hesitate to stop the trains again if safety is an issue.
In response to concerns raised by the riders’ council, Wiedefeld conceded that two areas that require prompt attention for service improvements are the Blue Line and overall weekend rail service.
