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Notes: Metro and oversight commission engage in chaotic battle over safety measures

Good Wednesday morning, Alexandria!

Today’s weather: Mostly cloudy throughout the day. High of 52 and low of 41.
Tomorrow: Light rain until evening. High of 52 and low of 38. Sunrise at 7:25 am and sunset at 5:14 pm.

🚨 You need to know

Metro announced on Monday that Blue, Orange and Silver line trains would be running every 25 minutes, then WMATA walked that back a few hours later to say trains would continue arriving every 15 minutes.

The crux of the issue is a rift between the Washington Metrorail Safety Commission (WMSC) and WMATA.

Metro had planned to put more 7000-series trains into service and roll back inspections of trains from every four days to every seven days, DCist reported, which drew the ire of the WMSC. The WMSC later put a stay on their own safety directive until Jan. 24.

The back and forth between WMSC and WMATA had been tense this month, with the safety commission releasing a scathing report showing that some WMATA train operators are unqualified for the job and alleging that Metro was ignoring its own train operator training and certification.

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  • This is the staff byline for ALXnow, used by editors and other full-time staff. Launched in October 2019, ALXnow is the place for the latest news, views and things to do around Alexandria, Virginia.