paul weidefeld gave progress report and his goal for 2017. fox 5 matt ackland joins us with >> reporter: paul weidefeld says that a lot of work has taken place since he took over the transit system, but remember, he complained when he first took over that there were too many maintenance, too many safety issues to take care of. and he says that is simply not the case anymore. today, he talked about his accomplishments in 2016, let's take you through some of those just to tell you what he touched on at the press club today. weidefeld said one of his hardest decisions was shutting you'll remember that one. he knew it impacted everyone but he said safety was more important than inconvenience. also, new cars are in service. currently 20 new rail cars are being introduced into service each month. and getting the budget under control, that was big for weidefeld. he said cuts especially laying off hundreds has been difficult, but definitely needed. so let's look forward in the new back to good initiative. weidefeld says track work, that is still a pr

. - metro's board get's it first chance to publicly discuss general manager paul weidefeld's proposal. the "reality check" budget plan, as it's callled, would wants to increase fares during peak service, about ten cents a ticket. along with that, his plan calls for closing stations and reducing service -- as well as an unprecedented one-thousand layoffs. our transportation reporter brianne carter will be at this morning's budget meeting. stay with abc seven and wjla dot com for updates as soon coming up - a fight to the finish. five days before the election - and a new poll is out with numbers in key battleground states. where hillary clinton and donald trump stand. and leave that coat at home. another summer like day that could break records. how hot it will get today, coming up next. time. you're right on time. as promised, to install fios and set up the wi-fi that janet, jamie, jenny, jemma and jasmine need on their birthday. thank you. for all their new devices. you want a piece of cake? you can't break me. switching to fios is easier than ever. now get 100 meg internet, plus tv a

it comes on the one-year anniversary that metro general manager paul weidefeld took over. he shared a progress report from 2017. as far as the accomplishments, he highlighted safety repair, rail cars and also budget cuts. >> it is amazing to me to see the transformation that is occurring out there on the system. i know that you don't see or feel it such a but the reality is you know, literally the miles of work we've done is unbelievable >> weidefeld hopes to finish more safety work, cut the unhe and work to fix limited cell service in those tunnels >> a tribute to the late fidel castro. the 500 mile journey has begun across cuba to havana. >>> a scheduling snag, latest on the plan women's march on the national mall. we'll tell you what happened here. showers pushing through montgomery county. they're moving so fast to the northeast at about 40 miles an hour, so they've crossed 270. gustings maybe to 30 miles an hour as that he cross. so far, we have not seen lightening but we'll keep an eye out. there's still possibility of a few thunderstorms as this cold front gets clos