WASHINGTON -- The National Transportation Safety Board is planning a public hearing on the summer's fatal Metro train crash.
The board announced Tuesday that it will hold a hearing Feb. 23 and 24.
The NTSB doesn't call for hearings in every case it investigates. Hearings can last several days, and investigators can subpoena a wide array of witnesses.
The NTSB has spent months investigating the June 22 crash that killed nine people and injured dozens. The board has not yet formally declared a cause of the crash.
At the hearing, the board plans to gather information for its investigation and enhance public knowledge about transit safety across the country. Testimonty will cover several issues, including the adequacy of Metro's actions to address safety issues, the adequacy of state safety oversight of rail transit systems and the adequacy of federal safety oversight.
"Millions of people travel by transit in this country every day and expect the highest level of safety while traveling on those systems," said Board Member Robert Sumwalt, who will chair the hearing. "This hearing will contribute important information both to the WMATA investigation and to the public's knowledge about transit safety oversight in systems across the nation."
Jim Hall, a former NTSB chairman, told The Washington Examiner that Metro's safety programs have needed attention for years.
