Free Republic

Federal funding for Maryland’s Purple Line is in jeopardy, as are Metro’s hopes for a significant increase in money from the government under President Trump’s proposed 2018 budget released Thursday. Trump’s proposed spending plan, which slashes the federal transportation budget by 13 percent, also curbs long-distance Amtrak service out of Washington and cuts millions in federal grants that the region’s governments have relied on for new rapid bus lines, road work, bus stop improvements and bike paths. The cuts came as a shock to many, considering Trump’s campaign pledge to pump $1 trillion into the nation’s crumbling infrastructure. “I find...

Full title: "Two attackers on the run as images emerge of first 'terror suspect' accused of planting a nail bomb which ripped through carriages on St Petersburg metro killing at least ten and injuring 50" Text of Excerpt: Two suspected terrorists are on the run after a nail bomb planted in a St Petersburg train ripped through the carriages - killing at least 10 people and injury 50 today. Several Russian media outlets have released the CCTV picture of the bearded suspect who was wearing a long, black top and a hat blamed for causing the carnage by detonating a...

An explosion has hit an underground station in the city of St Petersburg, Russian media report. The Tass and Interfax agencies reported a blast at the Sennaya Ploshchad metro station, which left a number of victims.

U.S. Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao had been on the job only a few weeks when she took action on one of the region's most intractable problems and directed millions in federal transit dollars be withheld from the District, Maryland and Virginia until they create a safety agency to oversee D.C.'s subway, Metro. Chao was making good on a threat by her predecessor, Anthony Foxx, a move that surprised some local officials who had hoped that the jurisdictions had shown enough progress to stave off the action. It's too soon to say whether Chao's action is a sign she will continue...

<p>NEW YORK – Two New York residents accused of conspiring to support ISIS and plotting to set off a pressure-cooker bomb in the city have pleaded guilty to all charges against them, federal prosecutors and New York City officials said.</p>

A Swedish fake fact-checking page reported on by Britain’s Guardian newspaper has been pulled from Facebook after a string of critical articles. The Mediekollen page, which purported to be a fact-checking website but instead itself pushed propaganda and fake news, was removed from Facebook on Friday afternoon after Viralgranskaren, a fact-checking site run by Sweden’s Metro newspaper, contacted Facebook to complain and wrote an article on the site. “We noticed that after we wrote the article, they wrote an article saying our article was fake,” Viralgranskaren’s Hugo Ewald told The Local. “I then posted some comments under that article, and...

<p>James O’Keefe and Project Veritas released a new undercover video on Tuesday showing left-wing activists with the “DisruptJ20” effort plotting to stop Donald Trump’s inauguration by chaining D.C. Metro trains and blocking roads. The video adds a layer of deep detail to a story by Ryan Lovelace in the Washington Examiner earlier this month, “How protesters plan to wreck Donald Trump’s inauguration,” which first reported the efforts of “#DisruptJ20.”</p>

The Federal Transit Administration is raising questions about whether Metro rail ties are the proper size to keep tracks safely in place. A federal inspection report released Wednesday says inspectors have “consistently noted” WMATA crossties on mainline track that are 7 1/2 inches. Metro’s own standards call for rail ties at switches to have at least an 8-inch face. The inspection report noted that as of Sept. 24, Metro had not responded to federal inspectors’ questions about crossties that are a half inch narrower than internal standards. It is not clear how many of the smaller crossties exist in the...

A Metro Transit police officer has been arrested and charged with attempting to provide material support to the Islamic State, marking the first time a U.S. law enforcement officer has been accused of trying to aid the terrorist group. Nicholas Young, 36, of Fairfax, Va., was arrested Wednesday morning at Metropolitan Police Headquarters in Washington and his employment was terminated. Young, at the request of an undercover federal agent, sent codes for mobile messaging cards that Young believed would be used by Islamic State fighters overseas to communicate, according to an indictment filed in federal court in Alexandria, Va.

Because of a derailment at the East Falls Church Metro station portions of the Orange and Silver lines will remain closed for the rest of the day. WASHINGTON — Service on parts of the Orange and Silver Lines will remain suspended through at least Saturday, following an early-morning derailment near the East Falls Church station that damaged two train cars, sent one rider to the hospital and scrambled passengers’ Friday morning commutes. Service on the Silver Line between the McLean and Ballston stations and on the Orange Line between West Falls Church and Ballston will remain suspended through the end...

A man attacked a Metrobus driver with a weapon and hijacked his bus Tuesday morning, D.C. police said. The bus then struck a pedestrian, who later died. It's not clear where the bus was taken from, but police say the bus in now stopped at a gas station in the 4300 block of Minnesota Avenue in Northeast Washington. Police say the suspect got on the bus and attacked the bus driver with a weapon. The driver managed to get off the bus, but suffered a back injury in the process. He is expected to be OK. The suspect then drove...

The Department of Transportation is appointing three new members to the board that oversees Washington’s Metrorail system to improve safety at the beleaguered transit agency. The announcement on Thursday comes amid heavy frustration with Metro’s continued safety problems and rail disruptions, including an unprecedented shutdown of the entire system for emergency inspections last month. “Building a safety culture is not easy and requires relentless focus at every level,” said Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx in a statement. “These three new Federal members will build on our promise to bring a laser-like focus on making the transit system of our nation’s capital...

If you live any distance beyond the Capital Beltway you probably didn’t notice, but an important part of government in Washington shut down on Wednesday, March 16. That’s when the Metro subway system’s recently installed general manager, Paul Wiedefeld, ordered a one-day shutdown of the entire 117-mile system for emergency inspection of track-based power cables.

Explosion at Brussels metro station close to EU institutions: Belgian broadcaster RTBF.

WASHINGTON — Metrorail will shut down entirely for more than a day beginning at midnight Wednesday for safety checks, Metro has announced. Metrorail will reopen at 5 a.m. Thursday. Metro General Management Paul Wiedefeld says that the 29 hours should be enough time to inspect 600 underground jumper cables that provide power to the energized third rail to run the trains. There is no word yet of the closure’s impact on federal offices or its employees — many of whom rely on Metro to get to work. The Office of Personnel Management says it will provide an update later today....

Las Vegas police Monday outlined a handful of missteps, including miscommunication from the U.S. Marshals Office, that led up to the moment two Metro officers shot and killed an unarmed fugitive holding a cell phone in front of a west valley home on New Year's Eve. Eighteen minutes before the shooting, Metro knew nothing about the fugitive, Keith Childress. Though the agency often works with U.S. Marshals to catch fugitives, Metro had its eye on the Strip that afternoon, where about 1,000 officers were working with the Nevada National Guard to secure the area for celebrations, Undersheriff Kevin McMahill said....

Megan Barry has been elected mayor in Nashville’s runoff election. Barry called the night historic. “This one is going down in the history books,” she said. “This one is all about the fact that today, you went to the polls and you elected the first woman mayor.” As Barry’s victory speech went on, the crowd began chanting her name. “Tomorrow our real work begins,” she said.

Jasper Spires boarded the Red Line Metro train at Rhode Island Avenue shortly before 1 p.m. Saturday, joining passengers from the District and elsewhere headed to various Fourth of July festivities, among them the Foo Fighters concert at RFK Stadium. As the train rumbled toward its next stop, at NoMa-Gallaudet, a three-minute ride, D.C. police said, the 18-year-old Spires — who may have been high on synthetic drugs — tried to grab a cellphone tucked into the waistband of a recent American University graduate headed to a gathering with friends. The two struggled, police said, and the terror began.

Though many public transit systems across the U.S. have increased fares in recent years, chances are your local transit system still isn’t breaking even on your ride: According to a Hamilton Project (THP) post, of the more than 1,800 mass transit systems in the United States—including those running trains, buses, or other transport modes—only about two percent reported that fare revenue exceeded operating expenses in 2013. And when it comes to metro rail systems across the U.S.—which include heavy rail, such as subways and elevated trains, and light rail, which operates at street level—all U.S. systems reported operating at a...

Since 2008, Congress has annually appropriated $150 million for Metro's capital improvement budget under the Passenger Rail Investment and Improvement Act. The District, Maryland, and Virginia have matched that, contributing $50 million each. The proposed GOP legislation would mean Metro would start its fiscal year in July with just $75 million in federal money. Lawmakers who represent House districts in the Washington metropolitan area criticized the spending bill when it was unveiled last month. "It really feels like a betrayal of trust," Democratic Rep. Don Beyer of Virginia said then. "It also is a failure to recognize that Metro is...