Editing Washington Metro (section)

==== Signaling and operation ====
{{Main|Washington Metro signaling and operation}}
During normal passenger operation on revenue tracks, trains are designed to be controlled by an integrated [[Automatic train operation|Automatic Train Operation]] (ATO) and [[Automatic train control|Automatic Train Control]] (ATC) system that accelerates and brakes trains automatically without operator intervention. All trains are still staffed with train operators who open and close the doors, make station announcements, and supervise their trains. The system was designed so that an operator could manually operate a train when necessary.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.wmata.com/about/board/meetings/upload/033105_Rev3033005PrecisionStopping.pdf |title=Precision Station Stopping Progress Update |date=March 21, 2005 |publisher=Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority|access-date=February 4, 2017 |archive-date=February 5, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170205101157/https://www.wmata.com/about/board/meetings/upload/033105_Rev3033005PrecisionStopping.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref>

Since June 2009, when [[June 2009 Washington Metro train collision|two Red Line trains collided]] and killed nine people due in part to malfunctions in the ATC system, all Metro trains have been manually operated.<ref name="Manual">{{cite news |last=Hohmann |first=James |title=After Fatal Crash, Metro Still Wary Of Letting Computers Control Trains |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/08/18/AR2009081802446.html |newspaper=The Washington Post |date=August 19, 2009 |access-date=September 18, 2017 |archive-date=August 13, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180813112745/http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/08/18/AR2009081802446.html |url-status=live }}</ref> The current state of manual operation has led to heavily degraded service, with new manual requirements such as absolute blocks, speed restrictions, and end-of-platform stopping leading to increased headways between trains, increased dwell time, and worse on-time performance.<ref>Customer Services, Operations, and Safety Committee, "[https://www.wmata.com/about/board/meetings/upload/031120_4BManualvsATO2.pdf Manual vs. Automatic Operation and Operational Restrictions] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170205101135/https://www.wmata.com/about/board/meetings/upload/031120_4BManualvsATO2.pdf |date=February 5, 2017 }}," Information Item IV-B, Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority Board, March 11, 2010.</ref> Metro originally planned to have all trains be automated again by 2017,<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/trafficandcommuting/computer-driven-trains-returning-to-metros-red-line-five-years-after-deadly-rail-crash/2014/09/20/68790a32-3e04-11e4-b03f-de718edeb92f_story.html |title=Computer-driven trains returning to Metro's Red Line five years after deadly rail crash |date=September 20, 2014 |newspaper=The Washington Post |access-date=September 20, 2014 |archive-date=September 26, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140926025751/http://www.washingtonpost.com/local/trafficandcommuting/computer-driven-trains-returning-to-metros-red-line-five-years-after-deadly-rail-crash/2014/09/20/68790a32-3e04-11e4-b03f-de718edeb92f_story.html |url-status=live }}</ref> but those plans were shelved in early 2017 in order to focus on more pressing safety and infrastructure issues.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://wamu.org/story/17/04/06/metro-shelves-plans-bring-back-automated-trains/|title=Metro Shelves Plans To Bring Back Automated Trains|date=April 6, 2017|publisher=WAMU|access-date=May 3, 2017}}</ref> In March 2023, Metro announced plans to re-automate the system by December of that year,<ref>{{Cite news |last=George |first=Justin |date=March 6, 2023 |title=Metro will return to automatic train system for first time in 14 years |newspaper=[[The Washington Post]] |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/transportation/2023/03/06/metro-ato-train-system-transit/ |access-date=March 6, 2023}}</ref> but announced in September that these plans would be delayed until 2024.<ref>{{Cite news |last=George |first=Justin |date=September 14, 2023 |title=Metro delays full switch to automated trains until next year |newspaper=[[The Washington Post]] |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/transportation/2023/09/14/metro-ato-train-operations/ |access-date=January 31, 2024 }}</ref> ATO resumed only on the Red Line on December 15, 2024, and the highest speed is now 75mph, with ATO scheduled to resume on the rest of the system in 2025.<ref>{{cite web |title=WMATA {{!}} Metro to begin Automatic Train Operation for the first time in 15 years |url=https://www.wmata.com/about/news/Metro-to-begin-Automatic-Train-Operation-for-the-first-time-in-15-years.cfm |website=WMATA |access-date=16 December 2024 |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last1=Golden |first1=Lianna |title=Day one of Automated Train Operations a success, according to WMATA and Red Line riders |url=https://wjla.com/news/local/red-line-metro-automated-train-operations-ato-wmata-riders-washington-dc-glenmont-shady-grove-national-transportation-safety-board-ntsb-fort-totten-june-22-2009-train-crash-faulty-track-circuit |access-date=16 December 2024 |work=WJLA |date=15 December 2024 |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last1=Kaplan |first1=David |title=Metro resumes automatic train operations on Red Line after 15 years |url=https://www.fox5dc.com/news/metro-resumes-automatic-train-operations-red-line-after-15-years |access-date=16 December 2024 |work=FOX 5 DC |date=15 December 2024}}</ref>

The train doors were originally designed to be opened and closed automatically and the doors would re-open if an object blocked them, much as elevator doors do. Almost immediately after the system opened in 1976 Metro realized these features were not conducive to safe or efficient operation and they were disabled. Metro began testing reinstating automatic train door opening in March 2019, citing delays and potential human error.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.wmata.com/about/news/Release-Automatic-Door-Testing.cfm|title=Metro begins testing automatic door operations on passenger trains|date=March 4, 2019|website=WMATA|access-date=March 9, 2019|archive-date=May 10, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190510163734/https://www.wmata.com/about/news/Release-Automatic-Door-Testing.cfm|url-status=live}}</ref> If a door tries to close and it meets an obstruction, the operator must re-open the door. In October 2023, automatic train door opening, where train doors will automatically open upon alighting, was restored to a limited number of trains on the Red Line. Operators must manually close the doors after they open. WMATA claims that automatic door opening provides a safety benefit since it eliminates potential human error resulting in the doors opening on the wrong side and a reduction in the wait time before doors opening, improving the customer experience and station dwell times.<ref>{{cite web |date=October 18, 2023 |title=Doors opening... faster! Metro preparing for Auto Doors |url=https://www.wmata.com/about/news/ADO-operator-certification.cfm |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231018123155/https://www.wmata.com/about/news/ADO-operator-certification.cfm |archive-date=October 18, 2023 |access-date=November 23, 2023 |website=Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority}}</ref>