[Metro employees fear retaliation when reporting safety concerns, commission says] (wtop.com/tracking-…]

Some Metro employees fear retaliation for reporting safety concerns, according to the independent commission responsible for overseeing safety practices on Metro.

During a meeting Tuesday, the Washington Metrorail Safety Commission said that the rail agency still has a lot of work to do to improve its safety culture.

“What can we do about the fear of retaliation?” asked Chris Hart, chairman of the commission. “Has it been remedied or is it still a problem out there?”

The question came as the commission discussed a report detailing one incident from September when a crew conducted maintenance on the platform edge lights at the Tysons Corner station while the track was still energized, “putting the work crew at risk.”

“They felt that there was no potential for the workers to contact the third rail,” according to the report. “This is not accurate.”