Metro's Rail Operations Control Center. Screenshot from WMATA video.

Confusion over paper certification records led to a mass recertification of all of Metro’s rail traffic controllers, according to the Washington Metrorail Safety Commission (WMSC). Some controllers had fallen behind on certifications, and there were “discrepancies” with records for others.

Metro’s Rail Operations Control Center (ROCC) is the nerve center of Metro’s rail system, and the rail controllers and support staff who work there control the movement of all trains and trackwork throughout the Metrorail system. Metro currently has 47 full-time Rail Traffic Controllers (RTCs) - 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.

Like train operators, RTCs must recertify yearly in order to maintain their credentials and continue working in their positions. But multiple issues came to light recently which showed that recertifications weren’t happening when expected and that the resulting records weren’t being stored properly.

The WMSC says that Metro’s ROCC Director, Ed Donaldson, discovered “discrepancies with recertification dates” while investigating why some RTCs did not have current, valid certifications. The discovery led Donaldson to trigger a recertification of all RTCs, a process that Metro told the WMSC is expected to be completed by July 31.

Greater Greater Washington reported previously in June that 16 of the agency’s 47 rail controllers had fallen behind on their certifications. According to a document shared by a Metro source, controllers who had been scheduled for re-certification between November 2021 and April 2022 had not done so. A June 3 memo from Donaldson obtained by GGWash noted that controllers who were scheduled for recertification would undergo a “temporary process” to get back into good standing.

WMSC staff had previously believed and stated during an earlier oversight meeting that all controllers were properly certified. After the WMSC meeting on May 24, the Commission discovered that the information “was believed to be accurate, but it was not.”

RTC recertification includes three components: classroom training, knowledge assessments, and a practical portion testing their knowledge responding to simulated events occurring in the rail system. Metro spokesperson Ian Jannetta told GGWash that recertifications of the 16 controllers were expected to be completed by June 10.

Controllers that fail the practical certification were given the chance to come back and re-test using the same two scenarios. Not all controllers that had undergone the “temporary process” recertification passed the practicals on their first attempt.

But while looking into RTC certification records, the WMSC says Donaldson discovered “discrepancies” regarding Controller recertification dates, and triggered a recertification for all controllers. According to one Metro source, the records issue was caused by two different sets of paper records - “tracking sources” - which didn’t agree with each other.

Donaldson’s recertification effort has expedited an already-underway process to bring ROCC certification in-house. Rather than using Metrorail’s training group, the ROCC will establish its own certification program. Staff for the effort to build the ROCC Quality Assurance department had already been hired, but they weren’t expected to take over responsibility for certifications quite so soon.

The certification records are now being stored in an Excel spreadsheet, rather than on paper.

The WMSC says all RTCs are expected to be recertified under the new process by the end of July.

Correction: Bus operators are required to complete refresher training every three years and are assessed over the road annually. They do not recertify annually as stated in a previous version of this article. The article has been updated to reflect this change.

Stephen Repetski is a Virginia native and has lived in the Fairfax area for over 20 years. He has a BS in Applied Networking and Systems Administration from Rochester Institute of Technology and works in Information Technology. Learning about, discussing, and analyzing transit (especially planes and trains) is a hobby he enjoys.