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Metro looking to reintroduce automated trains
FOX 5 has learned that WMATA is considering a move to bring automation back to Metro Rail for the first time in 15 years. FOX 5’s David Kaplan is going through what leaders are expected to hear during a meeting this week.
WASHINGTON -
Fifteen years after two trains collided on the Red Line, killing nine people, WMATA is considering a move back to automated trains.
Investigators determined it was not automation that caused that accident but WMATA suspended automation.
There are several reasons Metro is considering this now. They think it’ll deliver better, more efficient, reliable service and that it’s safer: A next, modernizing step to have WMATA on par with something transit systems across the globe have.
FOX 5 spoke with passengers about this: one who has experience with automation and another prefers the idea of a person starting and stopping the train.
"I lived in London for a while and I know the Tube system there is also automated but has a human in the pit, so I think the Tubes is great, too. It works as well," Metro rider Vedika Mahey said.
"I always felt comfortable having a person actually in control of the train," rider Jack Stashower said. "I know there’s been a lot of problems with Metro in the past, but it’s nice to know that there’s a person instead of automation controlling the train and stuff like that."
Under this plan, there would be a person still in the cab. However, they would be focused on everything but driving the train, including looking for potential issues on the tracks or the trains.
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The transit agency will brief the WMATA Board’s safety committee on Thursday.
The full board will take a look, then the Washington Metrorail Safety Commission, who is planning to give this all an in-depth review, will give it a close look, too.
Operators will have training, and the plan is to roll this out on the red line by December and systemwide by spring.
Automation is part of transit in 2024.
Carl Berkowitz is a transit expert who understands why some passengers may have concerns but said this about automation technology.
"We’ve made a lot of progress. It’s taken a long, long time. The technology gets better, the technology gets proved, not with changing the equipment so much but with updating software," Berkowitz said.
A spokesperson for the transit workers union says they’re meeting with management about this Wednesday and want to make sure it’s implemented in a way where safety is at the forefront.
The WMATA Board’s safety committee will get a briefing on all this Thursday.