Train Crash in Washington

[Max2147]

Originally Posted by SteamWake

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,529067,00.html

Begs the question how long have they been in disrepair and why wasent it noticed before?

No money, wrong people.

Metro has no dedicated funding source. They have to go begging to DC, MD, VA, and the federal government every year for a new bag of money. Besides revenue from tickets, they don't have any guaranteed funding beyond one year.

On top of that, the money that Metro does get is badly used. Big expansions and highly-visible projects get a lot more attention (and thus more money) from those who fund Metro, so those get priority instead of ho-hum issues like maintenance and updating obsolete systems. The result is obsolete equipment and deferred maintenance.

Also, the people who run Metro are elected officials, not transportation experts. They really don't know how to run a mass transit system. Worse, they (like most elected officials) bristle at criticism. That's very bad when it's the NTSB making the criticisms and recommendations.