From: dannyb@panix.com   
      
   posting since the whole purpose of WMATA is to make us appreciate   
   that no matter how many problems we see in the NY area MTA   
   and NJ Transit, it could be a hell of a lot worse...   
      
   [NTSB press release]   
      
      NTSB Makes Urgent Call for Direct Federal Safety Oversight of WMATA   
      
   Washington DC - The National Transportation Safety Board today issued two   
   urgent safety recommendations calling for direct federal safety oversight of   
   Washington's Metrorail system by the Federal Railroad Administration.   
      
   In its ongoing investigation into the January 12, 2015, smoke and electrical   
   arcing accident in a tunnel near the L'Enfant Plaza Metro Station in   
   Washington, D.C., the NTSB examined the safety oversight of the Washington   
   Metropolitan Area Transit Authority's rail operations in an investigative   
   hearing on June 23. The NTSB found little improvement in WMATA's safety   
   oversight since the 2009 Metrorail accident in Fort Totten that killed nine   
   people.   
       .....   
   The NTSB has asked the U.S. Department of Transportation to seek authority from   
   Congress to designate WMATA a "commuter authority," so the Federal Railroad   
   Administration can exercise direct safety oversight. The NTSB also asked for   
   DOT to implement a plan to transition oversight from the TOC to the FRA within   
   six months from the date such authority is granted.   
      
   The FRA currently regulates passenger, freight and commuter railroads,   
   including seven urban rail systems in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeast U.S. that   
   have been designated as "commuter authorities."   
       ========   
   rest:   
   http://www.ntsb.gov/news/press-releases/Pages/PR20150930.aspx   
   _____________________________________________________   
   Knowledge may be power, but communications is the key   
    		     dannyb@panix.com   
   [to foil spammers, my address has been double rot-13 encoded]   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)