Metro head: Trains need to run on time to get riders back

WASHINGTON - (AP) -- Metro General Manager Paul Wiedefeld told members of Congress that his agency will have to focus on reliability to get riders back after a year-long maintenance blitz.

Two House oversight subcommittees held a hearing Friday to get an update on Metro's ongoing maintenance surge. Metro has said that ridership is down as a result of the work, which has caused disruptions and delays. Wiedefeld said that the agency has to focus on reliability and getting the "trains running on time, bottom line" to get ridership back.

During the hearing, lawmakers had questions about a report that workers had falsified inspection records, which may have contributed to a July derailment. Northern Virginia Rep. Gerry Connolly, a Democrat, said Metro faces an "enduring leadership crisis" that he blamed on its board of directors.