Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority: Actions Needed to Strengthen Capital Planning and Track Preventive Maintenance Program

The Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA) provides critical rail and bus transit services to the nation's capital and surrounding areas. In 2019, GAO reported that from fiscal years 2011 through 2017, WMATA received about $5.8 billion for capital investments; over half of which came from the federal government ($3.2 billion), and 41 percent ($2.4 billion) was provided by state and local jurisdictions that WMATA serves. Starting in 2019, WMATA began developing a new capital planning process to improve its capital investment decision-making and to address weaknesses WMATA identified in its prior capital planning process. However, in 2019, GAO reported that WMATA had not yet established documented policies and procedures to guide its annual capital planning process, including how it would rank and select individual projects through its annual capital budget and 6-year capital improvement program (CIP). Internal control standards and other leading practices point out the importance of documenting processes and having a defined process for selecting projects. WMATA officials said they intended to document the new capital planning procedures after they had an opportunity to test the new process through the fiscal year 2020 planning cycle, which was ongoing at the time of GAO's review. GAO reported that without documented policies and procedures, it was unclear how important parts of the process would work and the basis for WMATA's investment decisions. Therefore, GAO recommended that WMATA establish documented policies and procedures for its new capital planning process that should include methodologies for ranking and selecting capital projects for funding for future planning cycles. In 2022, GAO confirmed that WMATA had instituted policies and procedures that, taken together, documented its capital planning process, including how projects are prioritized in its capital plans. First, WMATA finalized a policy instruction for the Capital Program Planning process, which documents the requirements, processes, and staff responsibilities for WMATA to annually develop and update its 10-year capital plan, a 6-year CIP, and an annual capital budget. The policy also included details on how WMATA would select capital projects, including by prioritizing capital investments to align with WMATA's strategic goals and objectives, considering organizational risk, and using available data on asset condition, and other factors. Second, WMATA provided guidance to staff about developing new capital projects, including a requirement to develop business cases and project charters to provide the rationale and documentation of decisions for new capital investments. Third, WMATA's proposed 6-year CIP for fiscal years 2022 - 2027 included a 10-year proposed program of projects (FY 2022 - FY 2033) that provided information on the outcomes of the planning process, including the status of projects in development over the 10-year period. WMATA officials recognized that additional work is needed to improve its methodologies for ranking capital projects among competing priorities, and that project selection decisions are also informed by constraints on funding sources, track time, and operating constraints. However, by establishing documented procedures for its capital planning process and the factors that WMATA considers in prioritizing investments, WMATA has greater assurance that its investment decisions are made using a sound and transparent process.

The Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA) provides rail and bus transit services that are critical to the mobility and productivity of the nation's capital and surrounding areas. In recent years there have been questions about the safety of WMATA's rail transit system and whether WMATA has effective processes in place to replace assets and perform critical maintenance. In 2019, GAO reported that WMATA did not have a complete inventory or physical condition assessments of its assets, and that collecting such information is the critical, first step in determining what asset rehabilitations and replacements are needed for capital-investment decision making. GAO further found that although WMATA had initiated various efforts to obtain better information about its assets and their condition, these efforts are not complete, and WMATA had yet to develop a plan for collecting such information, as called for in leading project management practices. Without a plan to obtain asset inventory and condition assessment information WMATA will continue to lack critical information needed for good capital planning and sound investment decision-making. Therefore, GAO recommended that WMATA develop a plan for obtaining complete information regarding WMATA's asset inventory and physical condition assessments. In 2021, GAO confirmed that WMATA has taken several actions that collectively address the intent of GAO's recommendation and position WMATA to collect and make better use of asset condition data in planning capital investments. First, to improve the availability of asset data, WMATA hired consultants in 2019 to create a business process for WMATA to conduct and implement comprehensive asset inventory and condition assessments. In September 2020, WMATA subsequently issued a "Transit Asset Conditions Assessment Strategy Report," (strategy report) which establishes the steps for WMATA to take to enhance its asset condition assessment procedures to meet Federal Transit Administration requirements, including assigning an asset to its appropriate category, assessing its condition, and validating a condition score, among other steps. Second, WMATA has taken steps to revise its overall capital planning process which places additional emphasis on asset condition data. Specifically, WMATA established guidance and presentations for WMATA project managers on WMATA's revised capital planning process that emphasized the use of available condition data to target critical assets and make measurable progress towards achieving a state of good repair. Third, WMATA officials described how this process has worked in practice in the authorities' recent capital planning efforts. Specifically, WMATA's Office of Capital Program Management gathered asset condition data from engineering leads across the authority to evaluate proposed investments and verify that traction power assets in poor condition were flagged for inclusion in the capital program. WMATA officials and the strategy report have recognized shortcomings in WMATA's asset condition data and that additional work is needed to improve the quality and availability of asset condition data across the authority. However, these steps taken together demonstrate that WMATA has a plan in place to improve its procedures for collecting information on the condition of its assets to make sound capital-investment decisions.

The Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA) provides critical rail and bus transit services to the nation's capital and surrounding areas. Safety incidents in recent years on WMATA's rail system have raised questions about its processes for performing critical maintenance and replacing capital assets. In June 2017, WMATA began implementing a new track preventive maintenance program designed to improve the rail system's long-term safety and reliability. However, in 2019 GAO found that WMATA's track preventive maintenance program did not fully align with leading program management practices, including developing a program management plan that aligns with organizational goals and objectives and provides a roadmap to guide program activities. Specifically, WMATA officials told GAO that WMATA had not formally documented the overall structure of the program or how it would be implemented, and instead relied on presentations they provide to WMATA's board of directors and internal team meetings to cover relevant information needed for running the program. While providing such information to the WMATA board of directors provided some accountability for the program, these presentations did not represent a formal program management plan that links with WMATA's strategic plan or that identifies milestones and decision points necessary to guide the program. GAO found that without a program management plan, WMATA employees charged with managing and implementing the program lack an important document to guide their decision-making to improve track safety and meet the agency's overall strategic objectives. As such, GAO recommended that WMATA prepare a formal program management plan for the track preventive maintenance program that aligns with WMATA's strategic plan, addresses how the program is linked to overall strategic goals and objectives, and includes program milestones and decision points. In 2022, GAO confirmed that WMATA had put in place formal policies and procedures that, taken together, provide a roadmap for WMATA to implement its preventive maintenance efforts and help its staff conduct planned track maintenance activities. First, in 2021 WMATA revised its track and structures maintenance control program policy, which provides guidance and standards to staff implementing WMATA's track maintenance processes in support of WMATA's strategic goals of providing safe, reliable, and affordable transportation to the region. The maintenance control policy states that preventive maintenance efforts are designed to repair or replace track components before failures occur, and requires WMATA to establish monthly and yearly goals to track the completion of scheduled preventive maintenance actions. Second, WMATA has established or updated standard operating procedures for its preventive maintenance and inspection programs, including procedures updated in 2022 for WMATA to remove trash, mud, and standing water from its underground track sections to reduce the risk of track fires and smoke events. WMATA also established procedures to inspect track switches, test electrical cables along the track, and replace track insulators in certain locations to reduce smoke and fire incidents caused by electrical arcing from WMATA's third-rail power system. Third, these standard operating procedures provide goals for completing the preventive maintenance actions, and WMATA tracks progress through monthly presentations that compare WMATA's planned and actual completion rates for several of the activities. As a result of these actions, WMATA has established milestones to measure progress, and a roadmap to guide decision-making in implementing WMATA's track preventive maintenance, inspection, and testing programs.