The transit agency first reintroduced automatic train operation on the Red Line in December with plans to expand it to the rest of the system over the course of the year.

But in April, the independent body that oversees safety on Metro pumped the brakes on allowing it on any other lines over concerns about station overruns. The issue arises when a train doesn鈥檛 stop at the right place on the platform and is then unable to let all passengers on and off.

In a statement, the Washington Metrorail Safety Commission told 草莓传媒 it is now giving Metro the green light.

Randy Clarke, Metro鈥檚 general manager and CEO, told the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority board on Thursday that station overruns are considered a reliability issue.

鈥淭here’s a big difference between reliability and safety, and that’s what we’re trying to make sure that there’s clarity and transparency on,鈥� Clarke said. 鈥淚 want to make sure everyone realizes that we are taking that part serious, but it is not a safety issue.鈥�

Clarke added there were 30 station overruns on the Red Line in April, which he said amounted to a 99.99% reliability rate. He also noted that no automatic trains had run a red signal since December.

Metro trains were designed to run automatically, but it switched to manual operation in 2009 shortly after a聽Red Line crash near Fort Totten left nine people dead. The transit agency has sought to bring it back under Clarke, arguing it is safer and has faster travel times.

As has been the case on the Red Line, a human operator will still be in the cabin. Automation won鈥檛 be used during bad weather, single tracking and when track work is being performed.

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At a board meeting, Metro officials laid out the overall direction the transit agency should take in the coming years in a presentation titled, They said rail construction has become very expensive in the U.S., and the transit system should use its capital funds on more cost-effective ways to improve service.

鈥淚 think our team has estimated that building anew is probably about on the scale of 20 times more costly than leveraging technology to achieve our strategic goals,鈥� Metro’s Chief Infrastructure Officer Andy Off said.

For Metrorail, that means increasing automation to the point that a human operator is no longer required.

“As it is 1967-era technology, the effort and costs needed to keep that in a state of good repair, is certainly significant,” Off said. “You could only imagine what we could do by implementing modern world class technology in today’s Metro system.”

Metro said more automation will improve both safety and reliability on its rail lines and cut down on operating costs. The transit agency will also look at building more entrances to existing rail stations as well as connecting nearby stations, such as Farragut North and West.

Metro last expanded its rail service in 2022, when the long-delayed Silver Line extension to Ashburn opened. The transit agency’s pivot away from future rail expansion means previously proposed ideas, such as the Blue Line loop connecting Georgetown and National Harbor, are likely off the table for now.

鈥淚t would be incredibly expensive and likely many decades to deliver a project of this magnitude and to realize the benefits from an investment like that,鈥� Metro’s chief planning and performance officer, Tom Webster, said.

Instead, Webster said the transit system will look at ways it can make Metrobus service run faster, especially on east-west corridors across Downtown D.C.

On June 29, Metro will launch its redesigned bus network with the goal of increasing frequency on more routes. Webster said working with neighboring cities and counties to implement more bus-only lanes will further speed up service.

鈥�(By) making better use of the streets that we have by prioritizing buses, we can optimize our region’s transportation investments,鈥� Webster said. 鈥淏us priority measures enable buses to avoid or bypass traffic and traffic congestion and maintain consistent speeds through congested areas.鈥�

Webster said areas where Metrobus runs on dedicated bus lanes have seen less crashes and delays. Metro is also working with the region-wide DMVMoves Task Force to find ways to better integrate its bus system with others around the area.

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Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy鈥檚 letters come as the Trump administration has increased its focus on the nation鈥檚 capital this week, with President Donald Trump requesting Mayor Bowser remove homeless encampments in the District.

In his letter to Bowser Thursday, Duffy wrote that he鈥檚 concerned with 鈥渢he application of murals or other forms of artwork within the traveled way can distract from the critical task of safe travel for everyone.鈥�

Earlier this week, Bowser said Black Lives Matter Plaza would be changing after Republican Rep. Andrew Clyde from Georgia introduced a bill that would withhold certain funds from D.C. unless the plaza was removed.

A District Department of Transportation spokesperson told 草莓传媒 the agency would be reconstructing the plaza soon, with work set to begin next week for about eight weeks.

鈥淒DOT will closely coordinate with local stakeholders to ensure a smooth process, and we appreciate the public鈥檚 patience as we work to enhance this important corridor,鈥� the agency said.

Duffy also requested that Bowser ask DDOT to send him a written report on D.C.鈥檚 roads.

In a video , Duffy highlighted recent criminal incidents involving area transit, including a shooting at Union Station and a man having his Canada Goose jacket stolen while riding Metrorail. Duffy, in his other letters, asked Amtrak to share its plan to address crime at Union Station and for an update from Metro on what it is doing to stop fare evasion and crime.

Amtrak noted in a statement to 草莓传媒 that it was only recently granted control of the station by a federal judge last year.

“We appreciate and agree with Secretary Duffy鈥檚 interest in a safe and clean Washington Union Station. Important customer experience and security upgrades are already underway,鈥� Amtrak said.

Metro has already taken initiatives to crack down on fare evasion and crime by installing taller fare gates at stations and having police officers patrol Metro stations and railcars. WMATA General Manager and CEO Randy Clarke told 草莓传媒 in December that those efforts have led to a significant reduction in both.

In, Clarke said he will work with Duffy, adding, 鈥淲hile we鈥檝e made incredible progress, there鈥檚 still more work to do.鈥�

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Just before 10 a.m., around 80 firefighters responded to the two-alarm fire on Pear Tree Court near Connecticut Avenue.

“Firefighters did make several rescues from the top floor. The fire was on the third floor of this four-story residential apartment,” said Montgomery County Fire and Rescue Service spokesman Pete Piringer.

A total of six people were rescued from the upper floors. Two people were taken to the hospital to be treated for smoke inhalation.

The fire likely started by a knock-off phone charger overheating, according to Piringer.

Fire officials said the fire is now under control.

Below is a map of the area where the apartment fire took place:

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The project will see repairs made to the Long Bridge, which is more than 100 years old.Only having two lanes of track and shared by freight and passenger trains, it’s become a major bottleneck for rail service on the East Coast.

Additionally, a new two-track span will be built next to the current bridge, doubling rail capacity over the Potomac River.

According to the Virginia Passenger Rail Authority, nearly 6 million people ride over the bridge every year. At a news conference held before the groundbreaking ceremony, Buttigieg said these improvements will allow for more Amtrak and Virginia Railway Express service in the future.

“Rarely in the United States will you find a single piece of infrastructure on which so many people depend every single day,” Buttigieg said. “A more modern structure and updated capacity are going to be vital to sustain that level of traffic, and we’re going to have a lot more coming.”

The $2 billion project is being partly funded by $729 million awarded from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law passed by Congress in 2021.

“I look forward to the day when riding along the new Long Bridge will ensure that people are having an easy commute to work, and we will be able to see what a smart investment in action looks like,” Rep. Abigail Spanberger said.

A new pedestrian bridge, which will connect East Potomac Park to both the Mount Vernon Trail and the Long Bridge Aquatics and Fitness Center, will also be built next to the new rail bridge.

Construction for the whole project is set to be completed by 2030.

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Farragut West, McPherson Square and the lower level of Metro Center will shut down starting on Dec. 20.

Beginning on Dec. 27, Federal Triangle, Smithsonian and the lower level of L’Enfant Plaza will also close. All stations will reopen on Dec. 31.

The project will allow Metro to install 15,000 feet of fiber optic cable to improve communication and train control, replace grout pads and fasteners and upgrade platform edge lighting.

Metro said the dates were chosen because ridership tends to be lower toward the end of the year with the holiday season in full swing. The same work would require about four months of weekend single tracking any other time of the year.

Metro closed a downtown segment of the Red Line around the same time last year for a similar construction project.

During the closure, the Blue Line will only run between Foggy Bottom and Franconia-Springfield every 12 minutes. The Orange and Silver lines will be split in two with the western legs running every 12 minutes from Vienna to Clarendon and Ashburn to Foggy Bottom, respectively. The eastern branches will start running every 16 minutes from Federal Triangle during the first phase of the shutdown.

Starting on Dec. 27, those lines will run every 8 minutes from Federal Center SW.

Metro plans to run free shuttle buses between the stations during the closure, and will provide more information on that service in the coming weeks.

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As of Thursday, MARC and (VRE) riders with a weekly, monthly or 10-trip pass on either service can transfer to the other at D.C.’s Union Station without having to buy a new ticket. The program currently does not apply to single-trip tickets. The two train systems previously had a similar agreement, but it ended in 2015.

“This agreement represents a significant step forward in regional transit integration,” Maryland Transit Administrator Holly Arnold said in a statement. “We are not only fostering a more connected and efficient transportation network across our states but fueling economic growth by facilitating easier movement of people, supporting tourism and attracting business to the National Capital Region.鈥�

The move comes as the Metropolitan Council of Governments launched a new task force earlier this year with the goal of better integrating the region’s various transit options. VRE CEO Rick Dalton said the move is a first step in aligning the two rail services.

鈥淚t lays the groundwork for future efforts to better align MARC and VRE operations, which is consistent with our long-range plan to grow VRE from a peak-period, commuter-focused rail service to an all-day, bidirectional transit system that can better meet the transportation needs of a growing region,鈥� Dalton said in a statement.

Both train systems have looked into expansion options in recent years.

Last year, Maryland officials reached a framework with the Virginia Passenger Rail Authority to potentially allow MARC trains to go to Alexandria in the future. Meanwhile, Virginia has explored extending VRE to Richmond and the New River Valley.

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This budget, which goes into effect July 1, avoids drastic service cuts the transit agency proposed in December when it said it faced a $750 million deficit. But to help bring in more revenue, fares will increase by 12.5%. That means the base fare will go up from $2 to $2.25, while the maximum fare jumps up from $6 to $6.75. Metro Access fares will also rise to $4.50.

Metro is also freezing hiring and wages, cutting administrative costs by $50 million and moving $181 million over from its preventive maintenance fund. The rest of the gap is being closed with a combined $463 million in funding promised by D.C., Maryland and Virginia.

Both Maryland and Virginia have passed budget bills with their contributions included. But earlier in April, Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin amended the state’s funding in his budget proposal, putting its inclusion in the final version into question.

Nevertheless, Metro General Manager and CEO Randy Clarke thanked the three jurisdictions in a statement.

“This region is a great place to live, work and play, and our recent ridership reflects the vital role Metro plays in getting people where they need to go,” Clarke said.

As the board passed the budget, multiple members noted the region needs to find a more reliable way to fund the transit agency or it will end up facing more deficits in the future.

“It’s a choice that’s not perfect,” board member Joe McAndrew said. “Until there’s an adequate funding source for WMATA long term, it will never be perfect. So to that point, we’ve done our bit. We’ve got ourselves a year, maybe two.”

Board member Matt Letourneau called for Metro to develop a reserve fund.

“We don’t have that here. Most of our peer organizations do and certainly the jurisdictions do,” Letourneau said. “When money is saved, we can keep it and we can put it in a reserve fund to enable us to get through the inevitable things that are going to happen.”

Metro’s board will hold a joint meeting with the Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments next month, where finding financial stability for the system will be discussed.

The board also hired Michelle Zamarin as its next inspector general Thursday.

Zamarin currently works as litigation counsel at the Securities and Exchange Commission. Before that, she spent 20 years in the U.S. Attorney’s Office, most recently overseeing its prosecution of the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol. She will join WMATA in June.

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“Usually, probable causes of incidents are identified in the first few hours after an incident,” Jayme Johnson, WMATA senior vice president of safety, said Thursday during a presentation to the transit agency’s board of directors. “Despite an extensive and rigorous diagnostic set of activities on many fronts across many departments in infrastructure, operations and safety and readiness, the probable cause of this incident has not yet been identified.”

It happened on a 7000-series Silver Line train as it pulled into Eastern Market. The station had to be evacuated and was closed for hours while D.C. firefighters ventilated it.

The part at the center of the problem was the collector shoe that connects to and draws power from the electrified third rail. Shushil Ramnaress, WMATA vice president and chief mechanical officer, said the shoes are actually built to fall off smoothly when they hit something.

“The collector shoes are designed to be sacrificial so that they break off without causing failure or damage to the railcar and the vehicle,” Ramnaress said. “While the breaking off is undesirable, it does demonstrate that the shoes work as designed and as intended and does not automatically equate to a safety incident.”

According to Ramnaress, the incident at the Eastern Market station appears to be isolated, but Metro is taking additional safety measures while it investigates what dislodged the shoe and the assembly that connects it with the railcar.

“We are taking any incident seriously at this point due to the absence of a root cause,” Ramnaress said.

The Eastern Market incident comes as riders continue to come back to Metro post-pandemic. WMATA General Manager and CEO Randy Clarke noted ridership in February was up 21% from February of last year, and combined weekend ridership is back to pre-pandemic levels.

Clarke said with Metro halting all construction work for five weeks starting on March 18, he hopes people will use Metrorail and buses to see the cherry blossoms on D.C.’s Tidal Basin when they hit peak bloom. Last year, drivers reported being stuck at Hains Point for hours聽on the weekend after the blossoms hit peak bloom.

“We are going to be running great service for this entire period,” Clarke said. “No one should take a car anywhere near the cherry blossoms.”

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Dubbed the , the legislation introduces more rules for third-party delivery apps and seeks to lower liquor liability insurance costs. But much of the discussion at Tuesday’s meeting centered on service charges and the District’s tipped minimum wage initiative.

The council narrowly approved an amendment limiting service charges to no more than 20% and requiring them to be visible when a customer walks into a restaurant and on the menu.

“In effect, what we are allowing restaurants to do is to apply any service fee at any amount,” Council member Zachary Parker said. “I think in exchange for the benefit of exempting a portion of a restaurant sales by way of the service fee from their rent calculation, a cap on service fees is fair.”

Voting against it, Council member Christina Henderson noted many customers may not realize the charge isn’t the same as a tip.

“I think 20% is high. But if we’re going to do it, I feel like everybody needs to understand that the vast majority of people are not going to tip on top of 20%,” Henderson said. “Everybody needs to be comfortable that we’re essentially going to be phasing out tips if we do this.”

Several members said the council should revisit the issue again in future legislation to regulate how restaurants can use the money gained from service fees.

Meanwhile, the tipped minimum wage in D.C. is gradually increasing each year until 2027, when it will match the District’s non-tipped minimum. Known as Initiative 82, the measure was approved by voters in 2022. In a 10-3 vote Tuesday, the council shot down an amendment that would have sped up that timeline to next year.

“People didn’t just vote on to give tip workers the full minimum wage, they also voted on a very clear timeline for the change to be implemented,” Council member Janeese Lewis George said. “Moving up this timeline contradicts with [what] the majority of D.C. voters approved through Initiative 82.”

Council chairman Phil Mendelson said the Restaurant Association Metropolitan Washington supported the faster timeline, arguing it was easier for restaurants to make a one-time change rather than having to adjust each year.

A statement from the restaurant association about the ‘Restaurant Revitalization’ act doesn’t mention the council’s voted against speeding up the timeline on increasing tipped workers’ wages. Instead, it celebrated the passage of other amendments, including the cap on service charges 鈥� which the association said will protect restaurants from “frivolous lawsuits” by clarifying how such fees can be used.

鈥淭here is much more work to do in our industry, but the passage of this act promises substantial benefits for our neighborhood restaurants, including operators, workers, and diners alike,鈥� said Shawn Townsend, president and CEO of the restaurant association, in a news release.

The bill now heads to Mayor Muriel Bowser’s desk.

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Video from the scene posted on social media showed聽聽of the station entrance as a Metro employee ran out shouting 鈥渆mpty the station!鈥�

Fire crews responded to the scene in the 700 Block of Pennsylvania Avenue in Southeast just after 1 p.m. and were able to extinguish the fire.

D.C. Fire and EMS said one person has been taken to hospital with injuries that were not believed to life-threatening. Eight other people were evaluated by emergency responders.

Train service was suspended on the Blue, Orange and Silver Lines between Federal Center and Stadium Armory for about two hours Thursday because of the fire.

The fire department also posted on X that the smoke was caused by an 鈥渋nsulator on fire under railcar in station.鈥澛� According to Randy Clarke, WMATA general manager and CEO, a third rail shoe assembly came loose.

“We have inspected track & are checking all trains. No anomalies have been found & we don鈥檛 believe a system wide issue exist. We will continue our work and update,” he tweeted.

Today鈥檚 incident @ Eastern market appears to be a 3rd rail shoe assembly that came loose. We have inspected track & are checking all trains. No anomalies have been found & we don鈥檛 believe a system wide issue exist. We will continue our work and update.

鈥� Randy Clarke (@wmataGM)

Andy Off, chief infrastructure officer of Metro, told reporters earlier that the incident involved a 7000-series rail cars 鈥� the transit agency’s newest fleet of rail cars which were discovered to have a wheel defect following a 2021 derailment.

“We’re taking a look at all of our 7000-series third-rail collector assemblies to ensure that they are 鈥� affixed properly,” Off said.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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D.C., Maryland and Virginia are working on providing an additional $480 million in funding to help keep Metro afloat and avoid drastic service cuts going into effect later this year. Meanwhile, Metro is cutting down on administrative costs and has proposed a 12.5% fare increase to bring in more revenue.

Metro General Manager and CEO Randy Clarke told the Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments Board of Directors on Wednesday that changes need to be made to how WMATA is funded.

鈥淓veryone’s proportion is going to have to go up, or we’re going to have to make cuts next year,鈥� Clarke said.

Metro has been filling the gap in its operating budget by using money from its preventive maintenance fund. Eventually, Clarke said, that鈥檚 going to create problems with its capital budget by the 2028 or 2029 fiscal year, when WMATA reaches its debt limit.

鈥淚t wasn’t that long ago, we had track fires every day. We had platforms collapsing, we had old rail cars [and] an old bus fleet,鈥� Clarke said. 鈥淲e really have pretty good infrastructure right now. But that has to stay on top of it every single year, or it quickly gets away again.鈥�

The board passed a resolution calling on the region to find a more sustainable way to fund Metro.

鈥淭his is a one-year solution. We are going to have another challenge next year,鈥� D.C. Council member and COG board chair Charles Allen said. 鈥淚t is incumbent on us to do the hard work of, ‘what does dedicated regional funding look like?’ That is the long term answer.鈥�

Tied into Metro鈥檚 problems has been a slow rebound in ridership since the COVID-19 pandemic. Clarke said he hopes to see more federal workers use the system, noting it had the highest ridership of federal employees since the pandemic on Feb. 6.

鈥淚t’s magic that the first week of the month and on Tuesdays and Wednesdays are the days that we get this,鈥� Clarke said. 鈥淚 think we’d like to see that continue more than just the first week and more than just Tuesdays and Wednesdays.鈥�

President Joe Biden’s administration is also pushing federal agencies to have employees return to the office at least 50% of the time, but implementing that goal has produced varied results.

鈥淓very agency is on that 50/50 path or that balanced path,鈥� Loren DeJonge Schulman, an associate director at the federal Office of Management and Budget, said. 鈥淚 would say that they either have implemented or are in the process of implementing, but they’re all on different trajectories at this point in time.鈥�

Meanwhile, the board also passed a resolution condemning a proposal in the U.S. Senate to increase flights at Reagan National Airport.

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, D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser and Council members Charles Allen and Phil Mendelson said the city is offering up to $200 million, on top of its fiscal 2024 operating subsidy. The funds would be used to help close WMATA’s fiscal 2025 budget deficit.

The city’s proposed contribution, combined with proposed funding from Maryland and Virginia, would help WMATA cover $480 million of a $500 million gap, the letter said.

Metro could then avoid major service cuts by closing the rest of the gap with money from the preventive maintenance fund, the letter said. The Metro board may also raise fare prices to bring in more revenue.

The funding would help avoid a series of drastic service cuts that City Administrator Kevin Donahue said would even impact people who don’t use the transit system. If the shortfall wasn’t addressed, Donahue said several stations would close permanently, rail service would stop at 10 p.m., about one-third of bus lines would be cut and more people would likely commute using their cars.

However, as leaders across the D.C. region work to address the current deficit, they’re calling for collaboration on a long-term plan, to avoid having to scramble for WMATA funding every year.

“We need to be candid about the significant financial challenges WMATA will face in FY 2026 and beyond,” the letter said. “This Spring, we must all get back to the table to develop long-term solutions for WMATA’s structural budget gap. The District will not support a two-year budget.”

Once WMATA closes the deficit, the letter said, the transit agency should review staffing at Metro stations and cut costs.

In conversations over the last nine months, Donahue said plans for WMATA funding in fiscal 2025 were connected to “broad recognition that we know we need a long-term solution.”

“It is essential to people who don’t use Metro that we have a safe, reliable, stable transit system,” Donahue told 草莓传媒. “Folks who don’t use Metro really can’t absorb all those individuals who currently take bus and rail getting in their cars and adding cars to the road.”

The funding formula, Mendelson said, is “not working, and it is very unequal between the three jurisdictions.” The letter calls for an updated funding formula that could be used to develop WMATA’s fiscal 2026 budget.

“This is a regional transportation system,” Mendelson said. “It’s important for economic development. It’s important for visitors to the city. It’s important for residents, and it’s important for workers in all three jurisdictions. This has got to get resolved. This meaning both the annual operating shortfall, but also the capital. The capital is approaching a, what we call, ‘funding cliff’ in two years.”

, Clarke, the WMATA general manager, thanked Bowser, Mendelson and Allen for the “leadership and significant financial commitment to help prevent WMATA fiscal cliff. WMATA is critical to DC (sic) & the region and this funding is a big step in preventing major service cuts & layoffs.”

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Metro officials said Thursday they want to run trains at higher top speeds as soon as this summer. Because of a rule implemented back in 1986, 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.

“By going back to our design speeds, what we can provide to the customer is reduction in their journey time,” Tiffani Jenkins, Metro senior vice president for communication and signaling, said. “We can save anywhere up to two-and-half minutes on the Red Line.”

Metro said faster speeds could also save around $2 million in operating costs.

Meanwhile, the transit agency is continuing to try to bring back automation on Metrorail. Trains were automated when the system launched in 1976, but that stopped after nine people died in the 2009 Red Line crash near Fort Totten.

In December, the Red Line began using automatic door openings, which work 10 seconds faster at each stop than manual openings. Metro seeks to get safety approval to start using automatic doors systemwide this spring. Returning to automatic train operating will take a little longer, but Metro aims to start training its employees on it in the coming months.

According to Metro, automation will save it up to $10 million and reduce travel time by at least 5 minutes.

“Increasing the automation [and] improving our rules are all factors that help us to deliver the same level of service or better service using less resources,” Jenkins said. “So, [it is a] great opportunity for operational savings, as well as improvements to what we can deliver for our customers.”

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The money will go toward the construction of a new Long Bridge over the Potomac River, currently a major chokepoint on the East Coast. When completed, the project will double the current bridge’s capacity.

“Long Bridge is like the skinny piece in the hourglass,” Virginia Sen. Tim Kaine said at a news conference in Arlington. “Long Bridge is the connection between the Northeast and the Southeast, and there’s nothing that can really happen in terms of growing our rail usage 鈥� both for passenger and freight 鈥� if you don’t deal with Long Bridge.”

According to the Virginia Passenger Rail Authority, about 1.3 million Amtrak riders and 4.5 million Virginia Railway Express riders cross the bridge every year.

Other improvements include laying down a third line of track in Prince William, Stafford and Spotsylvania counties, as well as upgrades to L’Enfant Plaza Station in D.C., which is VRE’s busiest stop.

Leaders said these improvements will help reduce bottlenecks, expand capacity for both Amtrak and VRE service and set up potential rail expansion to Southwest Virginia.

“We in fact see this as not only an opportunity to connect people, but it’s a chance for us to connect commerce,” Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin said. “This will enable connection down to our national leading port in the Port of Virginia. We will see people from Northern Virginia here in Arlington all the way down to Fredericksburg, Richmond, [and] Petersburg down into Raleigh. We will see Virginians on the move.”

The funding comes from an infrastructure bill passed by Congress in 2021.

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