Metro’s Board of Directors voted unanimously to approve a budget that calls for full automation of the system鈥檚 oldest line, the Red Line, at a nearly $1 billion price tag.
The Red Line opened to the public in March 1976 with just five stops in central D.C. It now spans 32 miles and includes 27 stations.
Metro documents state that the Red Line’s “aging system presents challenges with safety, reliability, capacity and efficiency.” The documents state that trespassing incidents and human error “are difficult to mitigate with current system design.”
Under the plan, $913 million will go toward Red Line improvements that Metro said will put the system “on the path to providing world-class transit.”
There are plans to seek federal funding in the form of grants that could support the project. The details are part of the proposed fiscal 2027-32 Capital Improvement Plan, which Metro’s Board of Directors unanimously approved Thursday morning.
Debate over automation
Included in the improvements is full automation of the Red Line, which is already significantly automated. Automatic train operation, abbreviated as ATO, controls Red Line trains’ acceleration, deceleration and speed via special equipment on the tracks.
Metro workers said during Thursday’s meeting that ATO is not foolproof, and the system isn’t ready for more automation.
Christopher Terry, a former Metrobus driver who said he鈥檚 worked in rail yards across the system, told the board ATO 鈥済litches continually, and we are there to fill the gaps. Operators are the first line of defense to troubleshoot issues on the railroad.”
While Metro trains were designed to be largely automatic, the use of automated trains was discontinued after a 2009 crash on the Red Line, which killed nine people and injured 80.
Metro returned to ATO systemwide last year for the first time since that crash.
鈥淭he trains have always had the ability to operate in ATO, and the reason why we stopped doing that, or have not initiated it, is because the system is not ready,” said Jackie Jeter, a train operator who previously led ATU Local 689 as the union president.
Further modernization of the Red Line would include installing platform doors that would open only when trains pull into stations. Platform doors are currently used in transit systems in other countries, and even closer to home; they operate similarly to those at Dulles International Airport’s AeroTrain.
Metro officials said the doors would make stations safer and allow for speedier train arrivals and departures. The automation of the Red Line is the first step toward a system-wide modernization, according to Metro.
鈥淲e鈥檝e had 10 people hit already by trains this year 鈥� seven of which have been fatalities, six of which have been on the Red Line,鈥� Metro General Manager and CEO Randy Clarke said.
Clarke added the system has 鈥渁n engineering and technology solution鈥� to address those incidents, 鈥渁nd that鈥檚 one of the values of this program.”
Additional automation could also extend to eliminating the need for train operators, who currently control doors, make announcements and monitor track conditions. The union representing rail operators has expressed concern.
鈥淏efore you take the operator off the train, you should be able to look every rider in the eye and guarantee their safety. And today, nobody in this room can do that,” Jampsea Campbell, a union member and Metro station manager, told the board.
Benjamin Lynn with Amalgamated Transit Union Local 689 told 海角精品黑料, “The union isn’t opposed to progress. Progress can come in many forms.”
ATU Local 689 represents approximately 8,500 WMATA employees.
“The union thinks that step is premature 鈥� that WMATA should focus first on ensuring the system is at a state of good repair,” he added.
Lynn said there’s roughly $15 billion of needed repairs that have already been identified.
“Job loss is a concern of the union,” Lynn said. “We’re also really concerned about what full automation without a human operator would mean for the safety of the riding public.”
Clarke addressed concerns about job loss during Thursday’s meeting.
鈥淓mployees are a core of what we do at Metro,鈥� he said. 鈥淲e are at the start of a process. The Red Line modernization is not about getting rid of employees.鈥�
There will be a plan in place to consider future roles for operators under the modernization plan.
鈥淎round the world, people do this totally differently. Sometimes there鈥檚 train attendants, sometimes there鈥檚 operators, sometimes they are security staff,鈥� Clarke said.
Lynn said that the union would be part of the conversations about exactly what full automation would mean.
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