WMSC flags Metrorail delay in installing onboard audio and video recorders; issues notice of noncompliance

The Washington Metrorail Safety Commission on Sept. 2024 notified Metrorail that the agency is out of compliance on a corrective action plan requiring inward- and outward-facing audio and image recorders on legacy railcars, after a project deliverable due Aug. 9 was not received.

The issue centers on CAP C0146, created from a 2021 railcars audit and reflecting NTSB and FTA recommendations that operating compartments include crash- and fire-protected audio and image recorders. Miss Rhodes, WMSC staff, said Metrorail submitted a project plan on Sept. 9 but that the plan now moves completion of procurement, installation and testing for the 6000-series cars from a 2026 target to September 2028. “Although the WMSC appreciates the efforts put into the project plan,” Rhodes said, “the project plan indicates the main objective will now not be completed until September 2028.”

The WMSC issued a notice of noncompliance on Aug. 22 under its program standard and scheduled a meeting with Metrorail to discuss next steps. Rhodes said the WMSC will continue to review the plan and the project’s actionable items, which WMSC staff expect to remain due as previously approved unless changed by WMSC action.

The recorders requirement traces to NTSB safety recommendation R17-013 (following a Market–Frankford collision) and to an FTA safety bulletin urging that rail transit vehicles lacking inward-and-outward image and audio recorders may pose increased risk. Rhodes noted that the legacy 2000-, 3000- and 6000-series railcars currently lack the devices; the 7000-series has only limited cab and outward video capability.

WMSC commissioners pressed staff on reasons for repeated schedule modifications and whether the recorder installation should be aligned with fleet replacement planning. Commissioners asked how many devices will be needed and whether realignment with an enterprise-wide video program had driven the schedule changes. Rhodes said several modification requests and requests to realign the cap with Metrorail’s enterprise-wide video work had been submitted since January 2022 and that staff would follow up with a firm count and further schedule detail.

What happens next: WMSC staff scheduled a meeting with Metrorail later in the week to discuss the path forward for CAP C0146. The notice of noncompliance requires Metrorail to deliver an actionable project plan; WMSC will review subsequent deliverables and may take further action if the agency does not return to compliance.