WASHINGTON — DC Metrorail has received the go-ahead to expand its use of Automatic Train Operation to its Green and Yellow lines as of this Friday, May 23.
The independent Washington Metrorail Safety Commission, which previously had expressed concern about station overruns with ATO on the Metrorail Red Line, has concurred with the plan, the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority said in a May 20 press release.
The automated operating system, part of Metrorail since its opening in 1976, was disabled in 2009 following a fatal collision, although an investigation eventually determined ATO was not at fault. The system was reintroduced on the Red Line in December 2024 after extensive testing and oversight, but the safety commission said earlier this year that it would not allow expanded use because Red Line trains were too frequently overshooting their intended station stops [see “DC Metrorail blocked …,” Trains News Wire, April 9, 2025].
Operators remain aboard trains for such duties as monitoring track conditions and opening and closing train doors, while the ATO system controls acceleration, deceleration, and speed, WMATA said. The system is not used during inclement weather, single-track operation, or when maintenance-of-way workers are present.
While the safety commission has now approved the expanded use of ATO, the Washington Post reports that continuing friction between the transit agency and its oversight organization has led for calls for a process to resolve disputes between the two sides, such as a third-party mediator.
