Metro board committee votes to reduce rail service hours for 2 years following SafeTrack

The Metro board voted Thursday on a service proposal that would reduce service hours for two years following the completion of SafeTrack work in the spring of 2017.

The proposal, which was favored by Metro General Manager Paul Wiedefeld, would allow Metro to operate from 5 a.m. to 11:30 p.m., Monday through Thursday; from 5 a.m. to 1 a.m. on Fridays; from 7 a.m. to 1 a.m. on Saturdays; and from 8 a.m. to 11 p.m. on Sundays.

During a heated meeting, Metro board Chairman Jack Evans took a hard stand after members of the board voted down a proposal to limit the post-SafeTrack late-night service cuts to only one year.

"We are not willing to go beyond a year," he said, saying that businesses and restaurants had expressed disappointment that a compromise could be made. "So you can pass Mr. Augustine's resolution, and at the end of this meeting I will inform the General Manager and the board that we intend to exercise our jurisdictional veto at the board meeting - and then we go back to 3 o'clock immediately."

"It's not a threat, Mr. Goldman," Evans said to board member Michael Goldman. "It is the position of the District of Columbia."

Goldman responded that a veto by D.C. would be perceived as a threat.

FOX 5's Matt Ackalnd said that after the meeting, Evans said that he would consult with D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser and the D.C. Council before making a final decision on jurisdictional veto.

A full board will vote on December 15.