Approved Fiscal 2014 Annual Budget

476 Pages·2015·20.09 MB·English

M O V I N G M E T R O F O R W A R D
FY2014
APPROVED BUDGET
EFFECTIVE JULY 1, 2013
W A S H I N G T O N M E T R O P O L I T A N A R E A T R A N S I T A U T H O R I T Y

Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority
Moving Metro Forward
Fiscal Year 2014 Approved Budget
Approved by the Metro Board of Directors
April 25, 2013

General Manager’s Message

The FY2014 operating, capital and reimbursable budgets represent a 2.7 billion dollar
investment in our multi-year business plan to improve Metrorail, Metrobus and
MetroAccess service for our customers. Our commitment to building a premier safety
culture was recognized this year with awards from the American Public Transportation
Association and the National Safety Council, and we are building on that success with
the creation of a Fatigue Management System. System reliability will continue to
improve as the aggressive rehabilitation of the Red, Orange and Blue rail lines
progresses. Metro’s ongoing Bus Priority Corridor Network implementation will improve
travel times and convenience for more than half of our bus customers. We are
implementing the first expansion of rail in more than a decade -- the Silver Line – which
extends service to five stations in the Dulles Airport Corridor. And a new business
model has been established that will continue to deliver quality, cost-effective
paratransit service for customers with disabilities.

In fact, Metro is pursuing eight business action priorities that directly support the four
goals contained in WMATA’s new strategic plan, Momentum: The Next Generation of
Metro.

Improve safety, reduce injuries
We have contracted with the Institutes for Behavior Resources (IBR) of Baltimore to
help develop a new Fatigue Risk Management System (FRMS) that is tailored to the
needs of Metro employees. This scientifically based, data-driven process will be used to
continuously monitor and manage fatigue risks.

The FY2014 budget includes $17 million to fund the first phases of our fatigue
management program: ensuring staffing levels match work load and program
commitments for track workers, rail operators, Automatic Train Control (ATC), and
Power workers.

Make bus service more reliable with more priority bus corridors
The Bus Priority Corridor Network (PCN) includes 24 corridors, and each year since
2008, improvements have been initiated on specific routes within the network. Benefits
include improved bus service travel times, reliability, capacity, productivity and system
access. In FY2014, we will invest an additional $4 million that will generally expand
service in the midday, early evenings and weekends, as well as the introduction of new
limited-stop MetroExtra routes on three new travel corridors.

Additionally, $3 million will be invested in other bus corridors to focus on overcrowding
and improving on-time performance.
Continue rebuilding the system and improving maintenance
To ensure safety, improve productivity, and minimize customer impact, Metro launched
a line-based rail maintenance approach in 2009. Under this new approach, work was
coordinated by location and between contracted and Metro employees enabling more
work to be completed in a shorter timeframe at a lower cost. Maintenance work within
the line is being prioritized by age and condition of asset. Maintenance and Capital
work is coordinated to maximize productivity during track closures and single tracking
opportunities, particularly on weekends when ridership is lower. Typical work includes
replacement of traction power equipment, ATC equipment, rail, ties, fasteners and
switches. Station infrastructure work focuses on station chiller rehabilitation, ceiling tile
replacement, platform rehabilitation, and elevator rehabilitation and escalator
replacement.

Over the next six years, Metro will invest nearly $600 million in line segments including
the Red, Orange, and Blue lines. Additionally, Metro will be completing construction of
the test track facility between College Park and Greenbelt rail stations in FY2015. The
project includes over 10,000 feet of test track and a 25,000 square foot facility which will
be used to test and commission new and rehabilitated rail cars on dedicated track
avoiding interruption of revenue service on the main lines.

Implement new paratransit contract business model
For our paratransit customers, Metro faces the challenge of providing service for a
growing number of customers with disabilities while trying to contain the high cost of
providing quality service. A key component of preparing the agency to serve even
greater numbers of customers expected in the future is the implementation of a new
paratransit contract.

Metro will invest approximately $117 million in FY2014 to operate, maintain, and
purchase equipment and vehicles to support the delivery of Access services.

Launch Silver Line Service
Currently under construction by the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority
(MWAA), the 23-mile extension of rail service known as the Silver Line is being built in
two phases. Construction of the first phase to Wiehle Avenue, with 11.5 miles and 5-
stations, is nearing completion and operation of the new line is scheduled to commence
in the coming fiscal year.

Metro’s preparations for service intensified in FY2013 beginning with recruiting and
training 461 new staff required for operations.
In FY2014, Metro will expend $50 million in operating costs to complete preparations
and operate six months of revenue service on the Silver Line. In FY2015, Metro will
operate revenue service year-round with an annual operating cost of approximately $55
million.
Expand Capacity for 8-Car Trains
To meet increasing ridership demand and avoid overcrowding, Metro is planning to
increase the usage of 8-car trains. This shift requires increases in the power supply
capacity of the traction-power system including additional transformers, rectifiers,
breakers, track feeder cables and negative return cables. Metro’s trains are maintained
and stored among nine rail yards, all of which are at capacity. In light of anticipated
ridership growth, Metro plans to purchase new rail cars to expand to 8-car trains. To
accommodate these new railcars, additional rail yard storage and maintenance capacity
are necessary.

Metro will invest $12 million in FY2014 and $50 million over the next six years to lay the
foundation for 8-car trains. Full funding to move towards 100% 8-car trains has not been
secured.

Improve fleet performance
Metro maintains its vehicle fleet through a comprehensive rehabilitation and
replacement program. The Metrobus Heavy Overhaul program has been so successful
at extending the useful life of a transit bus that the Board of Directors raised the
expected service life of a bus from the typical industry standard of 12 years to 15 years
and set the target average age of the fleet at 7½ years. The useful life of a Metrorail car
is 40 years. Metro's improving vehicle maintenance program is essential to providing a
safe and reliable ride for our customers. In another measure of reliability for these
programs, the Mean Distance Between Failure for Metrobus has improved 10 percent to
7,854 miles over the last three years. The current YTD Metrorail Mean Distance
Between Delay is 62,418, a 34 percent increase over CY2012; this is due to CMNT’s
determination of the root cause of, and implementation of solution to, a systemic
problem on the railcar door systems. These improvements are a remarkable testament
to the success of both programs.

Metro will invest nearly $2 billion over the next six years to acquire new Rail, Bus,
Access and service vehicles and keep the existing fleet in a state of good operation and
repair.

Institute succession planning
WMATA considers its employees its greatest assets. To that end, we are undertaking
succession planning -- a process whereby we recruit and develop employees to fill key
roles within the agency. Through this process we can recruit the best and brightest
employees, develop their knowledge, skills, and abilities, and prepare them for
advancement or promotion into ever more challenging roles. Effective succession
planning builds bench strength ensuring that we have employees on hand, ready and
waiting to fill new roles as parts of the agency change or expand or when employees in
key roles are promoted, retire or resign.
As we plan our workforce for the future, our recent employee engagement survey
provides critical employee input. All departmental Business Plans contain actions and
strategies to implement the findings and recommendations of our employees.

Capital Investment Program
The FY2014-2019 Capital Investment Program (CIP) commits Metro to complete the
following major safety, rehabilitation, and replacement work:
 Safety improvements and implementation of NTSB Recommendations
 Replace and rehabilitate escalators – 175 escalators during FY2014-2019
 Rehabilitate 57 elevators during FY2014-2019.
 Comprehensive rehabilitation and replacement of track and rail structures to
achieve a state of good repair and a steady state of maintenance
 Replace, rehabilitate and repair railcars:
o Replace 300 of the 1000 Series Railcars
o Replace 100 of the 4000 Series Railcars
o Initiate replacement of 2000/3000 series railcars (beginning in FY2018)
o Initiate rehabilitation of 5000 series railcars (beginning in FY2017)
 Replace, rehabilitate and repair buses:
o Replace 100 buses per year
o Rehabilitate 100 buses per year
 Replace MetroAccess vehicles – 150 vehicles per year
 Complete the new District 2 police substation and training facility, and the
special operations division facility
 Replace Southern Avenue and Royal Street bus facilities
 Rehabilitate rail yards (Alexandria, Brentwood, and New Carrollton) and bus
facilities (Western, Northern, Landover)
 Modernize Metro’s fare collection infrastructure and technology

While the focus of the FY2014-2019 investment plan continues to be on safety
improvements and the rebuilding and replacement of the existing system, Metro is also
planning and preparing for future capacity investments. The FY2014-2019 CIP includes
a number of significant investments to:

 Initiate the acquisition of 90 expansion railcars to expand Metrorail system
 Invest in power system upgrades to support future 8-car train operation
 Design Station capacity improvements at Gallery Place and Union Station
 Add 45 buses to reduce overcrowding and improve reliability
With all of the investments we are making to improve service, none is more important
than our continued commitment to building our safety culture. We begin the new fiscal
year with 16 open NTSB recommendations, as we successfully closed 10 in FY2013.
Our “Vital signs” annual report card showed improvement in ten of 12 areas of
measurement, and continued investment through the FY2014 operating and capital
budget will enable us to continue to make progress in the coming year.

We look forward to delivering even better transit service for the national capital region.