Heather Curtis
WMAL.com
WASHINGTON – Thursday evening the Interim General Manager of the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority Jack Requa sent out a letter saying he had accepted the resignation of Metro’s Chief Safety Officer Jim Dougherty. Requa named Deputy Chief Safety Officer Louis Brown as Acting Chief Safety Officer while the transit agency looks for Dougherty’s permanent replacement.
The resignation happened hours after a meeting where WMATA’s board of directors said management needed to be held accountable following last month’s train derailment.
The derailment was due to broken fasteners on the tracks between the Smithsonian and Federal Triangle stations, which left a section of the Blue and Orange Lines closed for most of that day. The problem with the fasteners was documented in WMATA’s computer system July 9 but was deleted after an employee accidentally hit the wrong button.
“I have absolutely no confidence in the safety department. I’m going to be very blunt about that. I have no confidence. Furthermore rank and file employees are disciplined when there are safety lapses, but yet the management gets a pass. We can’t allow this behavior to go on,” said board member Corbett Price.
His colleague on the board Leif Dormsjo agreed telling reporters after the meeting that there needs to be a shakeup at metro. “We’ve gotta really hold people accountable,” he said.
At that time, when asked who should be fired, Dormsjo didn’t name names but said those people attended the meeting, and he spoke to them while the meeting was in session, referring to Dougherty and WMATA’s Deputy General Manager Rob Troupe
In his letter, Requa wrote, “Jim has helped build a strong safety foundation with the establishment of our current Safety Department and the Authority’s enhanced System Safety Program Plan.”
During the meeting, Dormsjo also asked Troupe where the buck stops.
“Mr. Dormsjo, I take full accountability for the incident,” Troupe replied.
When reporters asked Troupe if he should be allowed to keep his position, Interim General Manager Jack Requa stepped in and said only he has the authority to fire employees. “We’re reviewing all of the activities related to this incident, and if there are additional personnel actions that need to be taken, they will be taken,” said Requa.
The board has the authority to fire Requa but can only recommend to Requa that other employees let go. Troupe’s fate is unclear.
