Former Metro General Manager Paul J. Wiedefeld is one of the most high-profile figures to be nominated by Gov. Wes Moore (D), who took office a week ago and has been assembling his cabinet.
Moore, who unveiled his budget last week, allocated $500 million in additional funding to unspecified transportation projects. He said he wanted to allow his new transportation secretary to prioritize the needs.
Senate President Bill Ferguson declined to comment on the governor’s selection early Tuesday but said he hopes the new secretary will work closely with the General Assembly. “Even though it is a lot of resources, it is still limited resources,” Ferguson said. “And so while $500 million sounds like a lot of money, in transportation programming it can go in the blink of an eye … We’ve got to think about are we talking one big project or are we talking, you know, multiple projects with different modes? And so that’s going to be a key decision early on.”The job would be a return to Maryland government for Wiedefeld, who previously served as head of the Maryland Transit Administration and Maryland Aviation Administration, mostly under Democratic governors. As aviation chief, Wiedefeld oversaw Baltimore-Washington International Marshall Airport, including from 2002 to 2005, when it was one of the fastest-growing airports in the country. At the same time, airports were adjusting to the implementation of new Transportation Security Administration checkpoints after the Sept. 11 attacks. Wiedefeld managed the completion of a five-year, $1.8 billion expansion at BWI, including construction of a 26-gate terminal for Southwest Airlines, a parking garage and an off-site rental car facility. As the state’s transit administrator from 2007 to 2009, he oversaw MARC commuter rail and Baltimore’s light-rail subway and bus systems. He then returned to the aviation administration until 2015, when then-Gov. Larry Hogan terminated him seven months after taking office.Wiedefeld also has worked at Parsons Brinckerhoff engineering consulting firm as a vice president and head of its aviation consulting practice. As a former chief executive of Metro, few others on the transit agency’s board would have as much knowledge of its inner workings as Wiedefeld, but it also would create an unusual working arrangement between Randy Clarke — the general manager hired to replace Wiedefeld — and Wiedefeld himself, who would become one of Clarke’s bosses. The Metro training lapse that preceded Wiedefeld’s departure had prompted the transit agency to pull train operators out of service for recertification, which created a shortage that led to longer waits for trains. The disruption added frustration for riders, regional businesses and elected leaders amid a rail-car shortage that began in October 2021 after Metro’s 7000-series cars — which make up 60 percent of its fleet — were ordered out of service after a wheel defect was found.A federal investigation showed Metro was aware of unsafe wheel movements in the cars for years but had not fully addressed the problem or adequately alerted Metrorail’s regulatory commission. The problems, including other safety violations, led D.C. Mayor Muriel E. Bowser to publicly question Metro’s management. Wiedefeld announced his resignation on the same day Bowser made her comments — coming hours after the Metro board had met in executive session. The fall was swift for Wiedefeld, who had been hired to stabilize Metro, transform its safety culture and improve its record with regulators after theof a passenger — under Wiedefeld’s predecessor — who died of smoke inhalation from a track fire on a stalled train. As he was hired, Wiedefeld said his goal was to prioritize safety over service — a mission he underlined four months into the job when hethe rail system for 24 hours so inspectors could search for deteriorating power cables. In 2016, he launched a more than $110 million blitz of maintenance that accelerated three years of track repairs and equipment replacement into a year, a move that brought commute disruptions, but at a cost Wiedefeld said had to be paid for safety.Leaders credit Wiedefeld with overhauling Metro’s worn-out infrastructure — from station platforms and escalators to bridge and tunnel repairs — while setting the stage for Metro to run more reliable and safer service when its fleet is restored. In November, Wiedefeld was among the current and former dignitaries recognized at a ceremony to open the $3 billion Silver Line extension.
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