Metro’s Red Line trains will drive themselves starting in December, and the self-driving trains will be used across the rail system by spring 2025, according to a Metro document released ahead of Thursday’s board meeting.
The Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority used to use automation to operate trains, but pulled the system after the 2009 Red Line crash at Fort Totten that killed nine riders. Since then, operators have manually stopped and started trains.
Metro said that the safety concerns after the 2009 crash have all been addressed, including the faulty track circuits that failed to show a stopped train on the tracks ahead before a second train slammed into it going nearly full speed.
The transit agency implemented automated door operation systemwide this summer, something Metro said was critical toward bringing back fully automated trains.
According to Metro, a 2022 American Public Transportation peer-reviewed study found system safety is enhanced with automatic trains.
The change should speed up commutes, too, according to Metro. The agency said run times would improve by nearly five minutes on the Orange, Silver and Blue lines, by nearly four minutes on the Red Line, and by more than three minutes on the Yellow and Green lines.
The change to automated doors on Metro trains has already saved riders up to 10 seconds per stop, Metro said.
As the transit agency continues to further automate its rail system, Metro said it’s evaluating all its rail infrastructure to ensure it can also return to peak design speed, which would further speed up Metrorail trips.
Because of a 1986 rule, all but one of Metro’s six lines currently top out at 59 miles per hour. But the system is designed and certified for trains to hit 65 to 75 miles per hour on certain parts.
WTOP’s Jacob Kerr and Luke Lukert contributed to this report.
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