Metro’s Red Line has been running automated train service for the last several months, and now the transit agency is planning to double down on automation in the coming years.
In a presentation to the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority board titled “World Class Transit,” Metro suggests increasing the automation of trains to the point where operators would be taken out of the control cabin and instead turned into train attendants.
They have also outlined plans to install screen doors at every platform to prevent people from falling or jumping on the tracks.
According to the transit agency, this tier of automation will be safer due to the screen doors and fewer human errors. Metro also said full-scale automation would lead to increased efficiency and capacity from the same infrastructure. It would also cut yearly operations costs once installed.
However, it would take billions to build out. Metro estimates roughly $5.6 billion would be needed. Upgrading signal systems and rail cars to modern standards would cost $3.6 billion and platform screen doors would chew up an additional $2.1 billion.
Metro said it plans to further study this automation process over the coming year and then demonstrate platform screen doors at a station sometime in 2026.
Earlier this month, the Washington Metrorail Safety Commission advised postponing plans for automated train operation due increased station overruns on the Red Line in recent months.
At the start of the month, Metro had about 220 station overruns on the Red Line since automation began on Dec. 15, according to the safety commission. That’s compared to 144 in all of 2023 for the entire Metrorail system.
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