Runaway train debt: D.C. Metro in the red.

• Author: Colburn, Melanie
• Position: Brief Article

WHILE MANY American subway systems have a hard time attracting riders, the D.C. Metro has a different problem: excessive popularity. With 700,000 daily riders, Metrorail is both overcrowded and, thanks to years of mismanagement, short on cash.

The 10 local governments that control Metro's funds are resisting the idea of rewarding poor management with more cash, but the feds may be swooping in to help. In August, Congress considered providing $1.5 billion to keep the system running, just weeks after The Washington Post revealed that officials had squandered about $1 billion in recent rail car and escalator contracts.

The system is literally falling apart: $383 million spent on new trains has produced cars that...