JASON RUSSELL – Contributors Editor for Washington Examiner

Topic : Metro

• Metro has instituted a new safety regulation aimed at reducing the risks to workers and track inspectors who walk along the tracks during service hours. The new protocol relies on a simple concept: If you want to make sure people understand instructions, tell them face-to-face. According to the regulation, workers who are planning to inspect the tracks during service must post an “advanced mobile flagger” — a person who stands at the end of the station platform to warn train operators to slow down and watch for workers on the tracks.

• A group of Maryland lawmakers has proposed an overhaul of the Washington-area subway system that would give the struggling rail network the dedicated funding its leaders say it needs. The lawmakers are calling for a radical restructuring of the Metro system’s board of directors. Their proposal, released Monday, would also leave it up to the District of Columbia, Maryland and Virginia to decide how to come up with the $500 million in annual dedicated funding that Metro’s general manager has called for.