Metro fell behind on bus operator, rail traffic controller certifications

Nearly 200 Metrobus operators have fallen behind on their training and need to take refresher courses, according to the agency, and over a third of the Rail Traffic Controllers that work in Metro’s Rail Operations Control Center (ROCC) are similarly behind on their recertification and are now out of compliance. Metro says it’s working through the backlog to provide refresher training or certification to those that need it.

The transit agency admitted last month that almost half of all its train operators weren’t properly certified. The agency said employee training and certifications had dropped off during the COVID-19 pandemic due to distancing and in-person restrictions for safety which, combined with a waiver system that let certifications lapse further, contributed to some train operators being multiple years out of date.

“After conducting internal reviews,” says Metro spokesperson Ian Jannetta, “a total of 197 bus operators out of approximately 2,458” are overdue for refresher training - 8% of all active bus operators. Metrobus operators are required to maintain Commercial Driver’s Licenses as well as attend a two-day Metro refresher training class.

As of Wednesday afternoon, 65 of the 197 operators had undergone required refresher training, and Metro says “all assessments will be completed by June 11, 2022.”

Rail operator certifications ongoing

In its May press release, the agency noted “more than 250 rail operators” were behind on their training. Of those 257, Jannetta says that 87 have so far been recertified. The 72 operators whose certifications lapsed more than two years have been recertified, “with the exception of a few that remain out on leave.”

The revelation that half the agency’s train operators were behind on certifications was the final straw for Metro’s Board of Directors. The agency’s General Manager and Chief Operating Officer left the agency the next day.

Jannetta says the agency is “averaging five recertifications per day,” and expects all recertification to be completed “in the coming months.” (Metro in May said all recertifications would take “two to three months.”)

“The WMSC [Washington Metrorail Safety Commission] continues to evaluate training, including recertification as part of our regular oversight work,” said WMSC spokesperson Tiffany Minor in an emailed statement. “As a result of WMSC findings and required minimum corrective actions related to training, Metrorail has developed corrective action plans that after a review process, the WMSC approves and monitors through implementation.”

The WMSC had previously tweeted support for Metro’s actions in May which removed 72 train operators from duty while they underwent recertification. “Last month, the WMSC’s Audit of Rail Operations identified that Metrorail is not meeting its operational refresher training and recertification requirements,” the commission noted, while discovering that Metro had stopped all train operator recertifications “entirely.”

Despite scrutiny, one third of Rail Traffic Controllers’ certifications lapsed

Sixteen of Metro’s approximately 50 Rail Traffic Controllers (RTC) that work in the ROCC who govern the rail system’s trains also fell behind on certifications, according to a set of documents provided to Greater Greater Washington.

The 16 controllers were scheduled to undergo recertification between November 2021 and April 2022, but did not do so. Metro documents chalk the missed recertifications up to the pandemic and CDC-recommended mitigation strategies which it says were “mandated by the Federal Transit Administration.”

Metro currently has 47 full-time Rail Traffic Controllers - down from the 50 the agency said it had in April - along with approximately 10 trainee controllers. The agency says it needs 61 controllers to fully staff its four operations desks.

RTC recertification includes three components: classroom training, knowledge assessments, and a practical portion. Metro’s Janetta says all controllers have completed the classroom training and tests, and that the practical recertifications are expected to be completed by Friday, June 10.

The outstanding portion of recertification for the 16 controllers is the practical. The controllers are being provided a “temporary process” which the agency says will act as the employees’ recertification for the time being while the process is overhauled.

Each controller will undergo two practical exams grading their responses to mock incidents that could occur somewhere in the rail system. Testing in pairs of two, one controller acts as the “button controller” managing the system’s signals, power, and fans, and the other acts as the “radio controller” that communicates with train operators and other Metro personnel.

In a memo sent by Edward Donaldson, Director of the ROCC, the department is preparing to ”re-design the RTC annual re-certification process that will assist us in maintaining our ability to provide our critical safety oversight mission of the WMATA rail operation.”

Controllers that fail the practical certification are given the chance to come back and re-test using the same two scenarios. Not all controllers that have undergone recertification this week have passed the practicals.

An audit performed by the Washington Metrorail Safety Commission in 2020 flagged the ROCC as having a “staffing shortfall” of trained rail controllers, and required Metro management to make efforts to retain staff and hire new controllers. Safety issues and personnel conflict in the work environment had led to “a high rate of staff turnover in the ROCC,” the audit noted, resulting in “critical staffing shortages.”.

A recent WMSC order from earlier this year, issued in response to failures by ROCC personnel to safely restore power, notes that the department continues to use overtime to help fill vacant shifts to keep the system operating. In one instance, the WMSC says fatigue modeling indicated that a ROCC power desk employee was “impaired due to sleep debt” which contributed to power incorrectly being returned to the tracks near workers.

Metro is still within the 30-day window of the 2022 order in which it can respond to the WMSC with proposals to fix the issues the oversight commission identified.

Disclosure: GGWash Board of Directors chair Tracy Hadden Loh is also on Metro’s board. In keeping with our editorial policy, board members maintain no oversight of editorial decision-making.