Summary: GAO examined a Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA) procurement of 294 railcars. The review was conducted because of public and congressional interest in the completion of the rail system, which represents the largest Federal investment for a subway system under construction, and indications that slippages in the railcar delivery schedule are delaying new station openings.
GAO found that the first two railcars in the procurement arrived 22 months behind schedule and that subsequent deliveries were delayed by testing problems at the assembly facility. Initial testing of the first two cars is behind schedule and serious technical problems have been identified. Therefore, testing, delivery, and station opening schedules are in doubt pending WMATA review. GAO found that WMATA increased its acquisition risk by supplementing an original 94-car order with 200 additional cars without the benefit of test and evaluation. WMATA also increased its acquisition risk by agreeing to pay the contractor more than half the contract price of the additional 200 cars before delivery. Quality assurance activities during production and testing of railcars could reduce acquisition risk, but WMATA has neither enforced contract provisions which call for submission of quality assurance plans nor developed a master test plan. Federal oversight of the railcar acquisition has been limited. The Urban Mass Transportation Administration (UMTA) has not complied with requirements for monitoring this procurement and has made funding decisions without sufficient knowledge of WMATA management or the contractor's performance. GAO believes that UMTA needs to strengthen its oversight to adequately assess how Federal funds have been spent and that it needs information more detailed than WMATA has provided to determine whether funding for a remaining 34 railcars is justified.
