The SafeTrack repair program has shut down Metrorail lines for much of 2016—and the price for the repairs to the system keep going up.
"Metro’s SafeTrack maintenance program will cost significantly more than anticipated and take at least three months longer to complete," reports Martine Powers, based on the information provided in a progress report released last week.
"The report by the Federal Transit Administration estimates that the total cost of the project will be $118.8 million — nearly twice the $60 million price tag Metro General Manager Paul J. Wiedefeld floated in June," adds Powers.
The article goes into detail about where the WMATA's cost estimates and the cost estimates of the Federal Transit Administration differ. Then there is this other detail that will disappoint, but probably not surprise, transit users in the Washington, D.C. region: the progress report estimates that the program will end in June, rather than the originally estimated March completion date.
FULL STORY: Metro’s SafeTrack could cost twice as much as expected and likely won’t conclude until June
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Track repairs and inconsistent service have lead to a 14 percent decrease in ridership, enough to wipe out the year's gains of all other U.S. rail systems put together.
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