This article was published more than 2 years agoCommentGift ShareThe Metro train operator responsible for an after-hours crash in October that caused an estimated $12 million of damage had a lengthy record of violations and incidents, including an 18-month suspension for a 2006 crash and a derailment in 2013, according to a crash report released Thursday.The unidentified driver, who was fired sometime after the October crash, had also been cited for breaches including red signal violations, station overruns and operating a train with his cab door open while talking to a passenger.The...…This article was published more than 2 years agoCommentGift ShareThe Metro train operator responsible for an after-hours crash in October that caused an estimated $12 million of damage had a lengthy record of violations and incidents, including an 18-month suspension for a 2006 crash and a derailment in 2013, according to a crash report released Thursday.The unidentified driver, who was fired sometime after the October crash, had also been cited for breaches including red signal violations, station overruns and operating a train with his cab door open while talking to a passenger.The...WW…

This article was published more than 2 years agoCommentGift ShareA 62-year-old man died Friday from injuries sustained in what police said they suspect is a serial arson attack.Darryl Finney was hospitalized early Wednesday with serious burns to his lower body after first responders found him at the scene of a house fire that morning.Police said Finney was the victim of a suspected serial arsonist who set four fires early Wednesday in neighborhoods in Northeast Washington. Police said his attack was one of two that targeted individuals.The fires were set in the span of about one hour...…This article was published more than 2 years agoCommentGift ShareA 62-year-old man died Friday from injuries sustained in what police said they suspect is a serial arson attack.Darryl Finney was hospitalized early Wednesday with serious burns to his lower body after first responders found him at the scene of a house fire that morning.Police said Finney was the victim of a suspected serial arsonist who set four fires early Wednesday in neighborhoods in Northeast Washington. Police said his attack was one of two that targeted individuals.The fires were set in the span of about one hour...WW…

This article was published more than 2 years agoCommentGift ShareMetro has sold 13 football fields’ worth of space at its parking lots and garages in the District and Prince George’s County for a solar power project worth up to $50 million over 25 years, the transit agency said Wednesday.The deal provides SunPower Corporation and Goldman Sachs Renewable Power space on Metro’s surface parking lots and above its parking garages to install solar-paneled carports or canopies at four rail stations. Metro said the four sites will have the capacity to generate 12.8 megawatts, making it “the...…This article was published more than 2 years agoCommentGift ShareMetro has sold 13 football fields’ worth of space at its parking lots and garages in the District and Prince George’s County for a solar power project worth up to $50 million over 25 years, the transit agency said Wednesday.The deal provides SunPower Corporation and Goldman Sachs Renewable Power space on Metro’s surface parking lots and above its parking garages to install solar-paneled carports or canopies at four rail stations. Metro said the four sites will have the capacity to generate 12.8 megawatts, making it “the...WW…

This article was published more than 2 years agoCommentGift ShareD.C. Mayor Muriel E. Bowser (D) announced Thursday that schools in the nation’s capital would start the 2020-2021 academic year all-virtual, a scenario that the city’s leaders had been trying to avoid.The decision isn’t a surprise. Coronavirus infection numbers are on the rise in the D.C. region, and neighboring school districts in Maryland and Northern Virginia have already canceled plans for in-person classes in the fall, saying they will begin with distance learning.But still, in a school district where most students...…This article was published more than 2 years agoCommentGift ShareD.C. Mayor Muriel E. Bowser (D) announced Thursday that schools in the nation’s capital would start the 2020-2021 academic year all-virtual, a scenario that the city’s leaders had been trying to avoid.The decision isn’t a surprise. Coronavirus infection numbers are on the rise in the D.C. region, and neighboring school districts in Maryland and Northern Virginia have already canceled plans for in-person classes in the fall, saying they will begin with distance learning.But still, in a school district where most students...WW…

This article was published more than 2 years agoCommentGift ShareThe latest coronavirus aid package moving through Congress could be the final funding bridge that Metro and other transit agencies need to begin ramping up for riders they hope will return after being vaccinated, transportation officials say.The the Senate passed Saturday and sent to the House for a vote as soon as Tuesday would provide transit agencies with $30.5 billion. The infusion would be the third injection of federal aid that transit agencies have received since the pandemic began last March.The Washington...…This article was published more than 2 years agoCommentGift ShareThe latest coronavirus aid package moving through Congress could be the final funding bridge that Metro and other transit agencies need to begin ramping up for riders they hope will return after being vaccinated, transportation officials say.The the Senate passed Saturday and sent to the House for a vote as soon as Tuesday would provide transit agencies with $30.5 billion. The infusion would be the third injection of federal aid that transit agencies have received since the pandemic began last March.The Washington...WW…

This article was published more than 2 years agoCommentGift ShareA that would have withheld millions in pledged funding to Metro unless the transit agency renamed a station to include Capital One bank is being dropped as part of a “compromise” that will bring changes to the station, the state senator who wrote the measure said Wednesday.Sen. Janet D. Howell (D-Fairfax) said she is pulling from a budget bill that would have made at least $165 million in capital funding for Metro contingent upon the system renaming the McLean Metro station as “McLean-Capital One Hall” station.“This...…This article was published more than 2 years agoCommentGift ShareA that would have withheld millions in pledged funding to Metro unless the transit agency renamed a station to include Capital One bank is being dropped as part of a “compromise” that will bring changes to the station, the state senator who wrote the measure said Wednesday.Sen. Janet D. Howell (D-Fairfax) said she is pulling from a budget bill that would have made at least $165 million in capital funding for Metro contingent upon the system renaming the McLean Metro station as “McLean-Capital One Hall” station.“This...WW…

This article was published more than 2 years agoCommentGift ShareA Virginia Senate bill would withhold at least $166 million pledged to Metro unless the transit system adds the name of Capital One bank to the McLean rail station.The legislation would rename the Silver Line station as “McLean-Capital One Hall,” a reference to a performance venue the bank is building a quarter-mile from the site. Sen. Janet D. Howell (D-Fairfax) said she inserted the provision in transportation funding legislation because the bank did not like being “squeezed for money.”She said Metro was unfairly...…This article was published more than 2 years agoCommentGift ShareA Virginia Senate bill would withhold at least $166 million pledged to Metro unless the transit system adds the name of Capital One bank to the McLean rail station.The legislation would rename the Silver Line station as “McLean-Capital One Hall,” a reference to a performance venue the bank is building a quarter-mile from the site. Sen. Janet D. Howell (D-Fairfax) said she inserted the provision in transportation funding legislation because the bank did not like being “squeezed for money.”She said Metro was unfairly...WW…

This article was published more than 2 years agoCommentGift ShareA new federal order requiring masks at airports and aboard trains and buses creates a layer of protection for federal safety screeners while putting added pressure on transit drivers and operators on the front lines to enforce the mandate, transit officials say.Across the Washington region, airports and transportation agencies have required passengers to wear face coverings for months, enforcing those rules to varying degrees. The new Centers for Disease Control and Prevention order, effective at 11:59 p.m. Monday,...…This article was published more than 2 years agoCommentGift ShareA new federal order requiring masks at airports and aboard trains and buses creates a layer of protection for federal safety screeners while putting added pressure on transit drivers and operators on the front lines to enforce the mandate, transit officials say.Across the Washington region, airports and transportation agencies have required passengers to wear face coverings for months, enforcing those rules to varying degrees. The new Centers for Disease Control and Prevention order, effective at 11:59 p.m. Monday,...WW…

This article was published more than 2 years agoCommentGift ShareMetro is proposing the elimination of weekend rail service in its budget for the first time as the transit agency’s financial struggles deepen amid the coronavirus pandemic.The drastic action is one of several deep cuts Metro officials say they will have to make to survive the next fiscal year as fare revenue forecasts appear bleak and Congress remains unable to reach an agreement on a coronavirus relief package that could include aid to transit agencies.Facing a nearly $500 million deficit, Metro is also proposing to cut...…This article was published more than 2 years agoCommentGift ShareMetro is proposing the elimination of weekend rail service in its budget for the first time as the transit agency’s financial struggles deepen amid the coronavirus pandemic.The drastic action is one of several deep cuts Metro officials say they will have to make to survive the next fiscal year as fare revenue forecasts appear bleak and Congress remains unable to reach an agreement on a coronavirus relief package that could include aid to transit agencies.Facing a nearly $500 million deficit, Metro is also proposing to cut...WW…

This article was published more than 2 years agoCommentGift ShareMetro has selected Hitachi Rail to build its next-generation rail cars, a contract potentially worth $1 billion with incentives to create an assembly plant in the Mid-Atlantic and hundreds of permanent jobs in the region, the transit agency confirmed Tuesday.Metro officials sent Hitachi Rail Washington a notice of intent to award the lucrative contract for its 8000-series rail cars on Sept. 30, ending a two-year search for a manufacturer. Metro General Manager Paul J. Wiedefeld informed board members of the decision in a...…This article was published more than 2 years agoCommentGift ShareMetro has selected Hitachi Rail to build its next-generation rail cars, a contract potentially worth $1 billion with incentives to create an assembly plant in the Mid-Atlantic and hundreds of permanent jobs in the region, the transit agency confirmed Tuesday.Metro officials sent Hitachi Rail Washington a notice of intent to award the lucrative contract for its 8000-series rail cars on Sept. 30, ending a two-year search for a manufacturer. Metro General Manager Paul J. Wiedefeld informed board members of the decision in a...WW…