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Cash-Strapped Metro Needs Millions in Repairs
Water-damaged cables are among the items that need to be fixed by Metro in the next two years.
(Courtesy Of Metro)
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Looking ahead, Catoe wants to explore seeking additional federal funding when the $244 billion transportation bill, which guarantees funding for highways, road safety and public transportation, comes up for reauthorization in September. Catoe is a co-chairman of the legislative committee of the American Public Transportation Association, an industry group that is seeking more money for public transportation.
The least palatable option, Catoe said, would be for Metro to borrow money.
A fare increase would not be an option for making up the shortfall because it would fall under the operating budget, which is separate from capital spending.
One of the agency's most pressing needs is to upgrade its electric substations, also known as traction power substations, officials said. The substations convert energy from utility companies to operate the trains.
For Metro to meet its goal of running more eight-car trains during rush hour by next spring, the agency needs to replace transformers at many substations. The longer trains draw 33 to 50 percent more power than six- or four-car trains.
Failed transformers and a lack of spares caused power failures in August that virtually crippled the subway system for two days. The agency says it needs $1.5 million for four spare universal transformers to back up the existing system.
An additional $45 million is needed to make rail car safety enhancements recommended by the National Transportation Safety Board. Those include $5 million to install emergency door releases on the outer walls of the trains in the 1,114-car fleet to allow workers to manually open the doors. Door releases are only inside the cars. Metro is also seeking $7.5 million to modify the doors on five of its six types of railcars to prevent doors from automatically opening on the wrong side.
The agency says it also needs $35 million to repair information technology systems that were put in place years ago but not completed. As a result, many finance, payroll, budget and procurement functions are not working at full capacity.
Other urgent capital needs:
¿ $90 million to overhaul the southern and western bus garages.
¿ $32 million to replace corroded ceiling tiles in underground stations. Most ceiling tiles are 20 to 30 years old. The cost to replace them at each station is about $650,000.
¿ $16 million to replace chilling units in the water system that Metro uses to cool stations in the summer.
¿ $10 million to install bumpy tiles along the platform edge at 20 Metro stations to make them compliant with the Americans With Disabilities Act and safe for blind customers.
