WMATA returns use of ATC on all Metrorail lines

The Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA) is now using automatic train operation (ATO) across the entire Metrorail system for the first time since 2009.

A fatal collision on the Red Line in 2009 led to the suspension of ATO across Metrorail, despite it later being determined that ATO was not the cause of the crash, per the National Transportation Safety Board investigation.

The Blue, Orange and Silver lines most recently returned to ATO on June 15, following the successful reimplementation of ATO on the Green and Yellow lines on May 23 and on the Red Line in December 2024, according to a WMATA press release.

No safety issues or red signal violations for trains operating in ATO since the Red Line implementation have occurred, said WMATA officials. With the return to ATO, WMATA is resuming its original speed of up to 75 mph, with several outer portions of the Blue, Orange and Silver lines increasing from 55 mph to 65 or 75 mph in some stretches.

End-to-end travel time on the Red Line has been reduced by eight minutes since ATO's reimplementation, while the Yellow and Green lines' end-to-end travel times have been reduced by one to two minutes. Starting June 22, WMATA will reduce travel time on the Blue, Orange and Silver lines by about three minutes. Additional time savings may be implemented on those three lines later this year, WMATA officials said.