WASHINGTON — For six years Paul Wiedefeld was the General Manager and Chief Executive Officer of the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority. On Monday he announced he would be taking his retirement effective immediately, over a month earlier than his original retirement date.
Andy Off will be the interim general manager of WMATA. Off released a statement on Tuesday about starting his new position.
“I am honored to serve as Interim General Manager and appreciate the trust the Board and Randy Clarke have placed in me," Off said. "My mission during this transition is clear, and I am focused on our safety challenges, as well as restoring the 7000-series railcars for our customers and advancing Silver Line phase two."
“I have decided to make my retirement effective today to provide a more timely transition to Interim General Manager Andy Off," said Wiedefeld. Wiedefeld added that stepping down early was "in the best interest of the agency and its workforce."
Additionally, Wiedefeld announced he accepted the resignation of Chief Operating Officer, Joe Leader, effective immediately.
Wiedefeld originally announced in January that he would be retiring on June 30 and was going to be succeeded by Randy Clark. WMATA announced on May 10 that Clark would be the next general manager and CEO of WMATA and start in the late summer of this year.
On Sunday, WMATA announced that 72 train operators would be removed from service due to them being out of compliance prior to May 2021. This will have an impact on the green and yellow lines making a temporary reduction shortage of services from every 15 minutes to every 20 minutes, according to WMATA.