Direct safety oversight of the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA) Metrorail system was transferred from the Federal Transit Administration (FTA) to the Washington Metrorail Safety Commission (WMSC) at the close of Metrorail’s regular service hours March 18, 2019.
The transfer of WMATA’s safety oversight comes nearly three and a half years after FTA was given the responsibility and following FTA’s certification of WMSC’s State Safety Oversight (SSO) Program. FTA assumed temporary and direct safety oversight in October 2015. FTA says that in that time, it has verified that Metrorail has fully implemented 188 systemic safety improvements and made progress on dozens of others, advancing a safer Metrorail system.
“FTA is certifying the WMSC to perform the direct safety oversight of WMATA Metrorail," said FTA Executive Director Matthew J. Welbes. “FTA appreciates the diligent cooperation of the WMSC during the transition process, and especially the actions and resources of the District of Columbia, Maryland [and] Virginia in reaching this important safety milestone.”
The administration also noted that approximately $48.5 million in FTA grant funding, withheld due to the District of Columbia, Maryland and Virginia missing a prior SSO Program certification deadline, is now available to transit agencies across the three jurisdictions to invest in public transportation.
FTA says the certified WMSC SSO Program strengthens state safety oversight of Metrorail in several ways: It ensures that the program adopts and enforces relevant federal and state safety laws, has the authority to investigate and enforce safety plans of WMATA Metrorail, is financially and legally independent from WMATA, and has a well-trained staff.
While FTA will no longer have direct day-to-day safety oversight responsibility for Metrorail, it maintains its general safety authority for all State Safety Oversight Agencies and rail transit agencies across the country.
Mischa Wanek-Libman | Group Editorial Director
Mischa Wanek-Libman is director of communications with Transdev North America. She has more than 20 years of experience working in the transportation industry covering construction projects, engineering challenges, transit and rail operations and best practices.
Wanek-Libman has held top editorial positions at freight rail and public transportation business-to-business publications including as editor-in-chief and editorial director of Mass Transit from 2018-2024. She has been recognized for editorial excellence through her individual work, as well as for collaborative content.
She is an active member of the American Public Transportation Association's Marketing and Communications Committee and served 14 years as a Board Observer on the National Railroad Construction and Maintenance Association (NRC) Board of Directors.
She is a graduate of Drake University in Des Moines, Iowa, where she earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in Journalism and Mass Communication.
