Metro rail

[buzz456]

The country is turning into a bunch of risk adverse do nothings.
"Members of the region’s Congressional delegation urged the Office of Personnel Management to allow unscheduled leave or allow federal workers, many of whom depend on Metro to get to work, to work from home. They also urged private employers to offer their workers flexibility.

The Office of Personnel Management announced shortly after 6 p.m. that employees of federal offices in the Washington region can take unscheduled leave or telework Wednesday. "

https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/20 ... story.html

[Bananarama]

When there's an actual risk involved, it's better to be safe than sorry.

[buzz456]

There is risk involved in getting out of bed in the morning. Thousands have been commuting every day. They should have waited for this routine maintenance until the weekend. Only the govmit says sure just stay home and we'll pay you anyway. It ain't their money.

[jwtheiv]

Not that easy. A woman died in January due to the exact same type of fire that occurred this week. There's little to no cell service in the tunnels, and they are significantly behind on maintenance and safety. There were efforts this year to move them under a completely different oversight group due to the conditions and culture that have taken root in the organization.

[buzz456]

For the second time today I say it's not a perfect world. Nothing run by government is run very efficiently. Maybe you are right that there are serious problems however I have not read much about that. I just think that a whole lot of people would not have been inconvenienced if they would have waited until the weekend unless there was a clear and present danger not just some bureaucratic butt covering. This problem did not just start yesterday.

[jwtheiv]

For the second time today I say it's not a perfect world. Nothing run by government is run very efficiently. Maybe you are right that there are serious problems however I have not read much about that. I just think that a whole lot of people would not have been inconvenienced if they would have waited until the weekend unless there was a clear and present danger not just some bureaucratic butt covering. This problem did not just start yesterday.

You're not entirely wrong - and really, the impact upon a significant number of people that don't drive and are dependent upon Metro for their livelihoods is not something I want to discount. It's horrendous and something I, and a lot of people have been screaming over for years.

http://apps.washingtonpost.com/g/docume ... ions/1762/

The NTSB report that came out after the fatality was beyond damning, and there has been little to no improvement since then. What you can basically assume is that the shutdown is not the fault of the government, but the beancounters looking at the potential risk and liability for being sued into insolvency due to another death outweighing the vast loss of revenue that this is going to result in.

There's a good thread and discussion about this over at - http://www.railroad.net/forums/viewtopi ... 4&t=162098

Also, this.

[Ericmopar]

That is a normal day in L.A. ^

[jwtheiv]

https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/tr ... ge%2Fstory

26+ instances of frayed and exposed power cabling to the third rail.

cable.jpg

[Bananarama]

26+ instances of frayed and exposed power cabling to the third rail.

Is it just me, or does that wire look freshly "frayed"?

[buzz456]

26+ instances of frayed and exposed power cabling to the third rail.

Is it just me, or does that wire look freshly "frayed"?