Metro plans to return to automatic train operation (ATO) for the first time in 15 years by the end of the year, which the transit agency says will offer a smoother, quicker ride. No Metro customer has ridden a train in ATO since 2009,

Major changes are coming to Metro for the first time in 15 years and some trains will be automated. Metro stopped using the automated system after a deadly crash in 2009. Since then, investigators found the system was not the cause of the crash.

After a 15-year hiatus, Metro is poised to resume Automated Train Operation (ATO), beginning on the tracks along the Red Line.

After a 15-year hiatus, Metro is poised to resume its Automated Train Operation (ATO), beginning on the tracks along the Red Line. ATO is purportedly safer than manual train operation. It was suspended in 2009 after a deadly crash on the Red Line.

But then ATO was halted after the deadliest crash in Metro history happened on the very same line it wants to bring automation back