Metro worker falls down shaft in Bethesda, further exposing safety "surge" as a sham

Firefighters try to extricate
a Metro employee who fell
down a shaft in Bethesda
(Photo: Pete Piringer/MCFRS)

The vaunted "surge" of repairs and safety efforts carried out by Metro at great cost of time and taxpayer money continues to come up empty in the results department. Not only do Montgomery County fire and rescue personnel continue to respond to repeated service calls for smoke in tunnels and stations, but around 1:30 AM this morning, a WMATA Metro employee fell 35' down a Metro shaft on Wisconsin Avenue near Elm Street in Bethesda.

Firefighters had to conduct a technical rescue of the man, whose injuries were determined to not be life-threatening, according to MCFRS spokesperson Pete Piringer.

This is after several outrageous safety violations in just the last few weeks. One Red Line train decoupled between the Rockville and Twinbrook stations. To compound that danger, apparently-dimwitted Metro personnel told passengers on the stranded portion of the train to walk along the tracks before power had been cut to the third rail.🔌

Federal inspectors were almost struck by a train while trying to inspect the system. You can't make this stuff up, folks. And that's when Metro isn't stonewalling the inspectors.

Perhaps most disturbing, was the revelation that Metro workers were falsifying inspection documents to cover-up problems that could have caused trains to derail. The scary part: WMATA simply fired the employees. They should be facing criminal charges for their actions, not looking for a new job! Are these people nuts?

Yes, they apparently are. In the last few months, they've threatened to derail the development master plans of Montgomery, Fairfax and Loudoun counties. The Metro board threatened to close the White Flint station, around which MoCo has designated a major growth area. They eventually backed off, but now some on the board are calling for the cancellation of the rest of the Silver Line in Virginia. Again, counties there have sunk tens of millions into master planning growth around Metro stations between Tysons and Dulles Airport. And then these clowns have the audacity to ask for more money. It's little surprise that dumpster fire WMATA and the dumpster fire we call the Montgomery County Council are the only people who think higher taxes are the answer.

How much longer will local "leaders" allow the tail to wag the dog? WMATA and the Metro board are in no position to make threats, and in no position to negotiate. Period. It is time for the two governors and the Mayor of Washington to withhold funds until the board and everyone at the top at WMATA are replaced. While a targeted investment in power upgrades that will allow 8-car trains is sensible and necessary, no further slush funds should be stolen from the taxpayers to fund hoaxes like the fake surge.

The surge, as I predicted, was more of the same - closed stations, cut service, and WMATA simply trying to bankroll the money saved from the time it doesn't operate. We have all the same service and safety problems we had when it started. This isn't the time to raise a new tax for vague spending priorities, and more money down the WMATA toilet. It is the time for a federal takeover, or radical restructuring or privatization of Metro. And it is the time for grown-ups to put WMATA over their knee, and deliver a spanking these inept fools will never forget - even after they've been fired.