On March 22, Maryland joined Virginia in approving the first-ever annual dedicated funding for the crumbling Washington Metro system. The funds are an integral part of a broader Metro Accountability and Reform Act, which, if passed, would also reign in the rising labor and fringe costs that are crowding out funds needed to maintain Metrorail tracks.
Years of insufficient funding, subdued revenue, and skyrocketing operating costshave driven the system — which operates 91 Metro stations, six lines, and serviced over 175 million trips in 2016 — into a state of seemingly permanent decay.
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