Feds appoint safety experts to Metro board

The Department of Transportation is appointing three new members to the board that oversees Washington’s Metrorail system to improve safety at the beleaguered transit agency.

The announcement on Thursday comes amid heavy frustration with Metro’s continued safety problems and rail disruptions, including an unprecedented shutdown of the entire system for emergency inspections last month.

{mosads}Joining Metro’s board of directors are Carol J. Carmody, who served for five years on the National Transportation Safety Board; David Strickland, former National Highway Traffic Safety Administration administrator; and Robert Lauby, the Federal Railroad Administration’s associate administrator for railroad safety and chief safety officer.

“Building a safety culture is not easy and requires relentless focus at every level,” said Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx in a statement. “These three new Federal members will build on our promise to bring a laser-like focus on making the transit system of our nation’s capital as safe as possible.

“No more excuses,” he added.

The new appointees, who will start June 1, are replacing outgoing board members Mortimer Downey, Harriet Tregoning and Anthony Giancola.

“All three of them have provided excellent service on the WMATA board, and we thank them for bringing such great commitment to guiding WMATA through serious and complicated issues over the last few years,” Foxx said.

Eight voting and eight alternate directors make up the 16-member Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority body, with Maryland, Virginia, the District of Columbia and the federal government each appointing four.

Carmody and Strickland will be voting members, while Lauby will be the alternate.

Much of the scrutiny on Metro has centered around management and its failure to implement critical safety recommendations. General Manager Paul J. Wiedefeld recently hired a new chief safety chief and is expected to unveil a maintenance plan in the coming weeks.

But several lawmakers have also called on Metro’s board to share some of the responsibility. The body determines agency policy and provides oversight of transit funding, operation and expansion.

Rep. John Delaney (D-Md.) is pushing a bill in the House that would require the next three federal appointments to Metro’s board to be either a certified transit, management, financial or safety expert.