Metro's swelling needs alarm local govts in US

Washington

METRO general manager Paul Wiedefeld has spent much of his first year studying how much it will cost to fix the region's transit system. The price tag is a lot higher than local government officials say they expected or can afford.

The total additional cost for the District of Columbia (DC), Maryland and Northern Virginia to fulfil Mr Wiedefeld's goals to improve safety and reliability over the next three budget years exceeds US$1 billion, according to new Metro forecasts.