WMSC Issues Safety Audit of WMATA’s RWP Program

Courtesy of WMSC

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Washington Metrorail Safety Commission issued a safety audit of WMATA’s Metrorail Roadway Worker Protection (RWP) Program.

WMSC announced the audit on X:

The 55-page Safety Audit was issued July 31,2024 and can be read in full below. It is compiled after interviews, observations, and collected data between November and December 2023 with follow-ups in January and February 2024.

The WMSC states the Roadway Worker Protection (RWP) Program is the “primary method of protecting employees, contractors and, in emergencies, first responders and customers who need to be on or near the roadway and is therefore an essential part of Metrorail’s requirements for its personnel.” The audit then looks at Metrorail’s rules, practices, and policies and its oversight of the RWP Program. It also investigates Metrorail’s process for developing and adapting revisions to the program as well as training for the program.

The 13 findings of the audit detail Metrorail’s practices. A few of the findings show the agency has not been following existing safety rules, procedures regarding Roadway Worker Protection Training, or providing correct information for non-English speaking contractors in training, among others. 

Now, Metrorail is required to propose corrective plans no later than 30 days of the report’s issuance.