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Monday's Metro crash renewed discussion about funding for the system and it could be the impetus for getting the transit agency the money it needs, transportation advocates said.

Lawmakers at every level of government have called for a dedicated funding source for the regional transportation system. Congressional members of Metro's service area introduced resolutions Wednesday to push their colleagues to make good on the federal funding portion of a Metro agreement passed by Congress last year.

The challenges, officials say, will be finding the money in the federal budget and in Metro officials proving that the system is safe.

Local governments in Washington, Maryland and Virginia pay for about 40 percent of Metro's operating budget, with rider fares contributing the remaining 60 percent. State and local governments pay for most of the capital budget.

For years, many regional organizations have lobbied for a dedicated funding source — a portion of the sales tax, for example — for Metro to pay for rail cars and other long-term needs.

Last year, Congress allocated $1.5 billion for Metro over the next decade, with requirements that officials in Washington, Maryland and Virginia agree to match that amount. The three states approved the deal, but President Obama did not include the federal government's first $150 million portion in his recommended budget for next year.

"If Congress were to fund its 2010 amount, it would give Metro a good foundation to begin doing the things it needs to do within the system, like replace aging cars," said David Robertson, executive director of the Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments, noting that the call for dedicated funding has been sounded by agencies like his since 2004.

Nine people, including an operator, died and 80 were injured Monday. The crash, on the Red Line between the Takoma Park and Fort Totten stations, occurred at the start of rush hour when one train rear-ended a stationary train.

The moving train was made up of older cars that the National Transportation Safety Board had recommended Metro phase out after a 2004 incident because the cars would buckle or "telescope" in crashes. Limited funds prevented Metro from phasing out the cars for newer models and about 300 of the rail cars still exist in Metro's fleet. About $1 billion would be needed to replace all 300 of the cars, Metro officials said.

"Without money, it's hard to provide capital investments in things that may have been the cause of [Monday's crash]," Robertson said.

The NTSB is searching for a cause of the crash, but a faulty circuit along the route might have failed to notify the approaching train's internal computer that another train was stopped ahead of it on the tracks, investigators have said. To ensure the system's safety going forward, Metro workers are inspecting all of the system's roughly 3,000 circuits.

On Thursday, Metro's board passed a $2.1 billion fiscal 2010 budget, including $740 million in capital spending. Metro officials estimate the system still has about $11 billion in unfunded capital needs over the next decade, including the money to replace the series of cars involved in Monday's incident.

While regional lawmakers continue their funding efforts, and Metro and NTSB continue safety inspections, other rail systems are conducting their own safety inspections.

In Baltimore, Maryland Transit Administration officials are waiting on an NTSB ruling on the crash cause to determine if any of that city's Metro policies should be changed, said Jawauna Greene, spokeswoman for the transit system which services the Baltimore city area.

"Our system is 25 years old, Metro's was 33 years old, so like many other rail systems, we patterned ourselves after Metro," she said.

The Baltimore system is much smaller than the regional Metro system, with just 100 cars in its fleet and an average daily ridership of 46,000 riders.

"I think every agency in the country is doing the same thing right now — looking at its equipment and waiting for a ruling from the NTSB," Greene said.

Metro's board of directors passed a

$2.1 billion budget Thursday for the

year that begins July 1, which includes:

-$1.4 billion operating budget and $740 million in capital spending.

-60 percent funded by rider fares and fees; 40 percent by local governments; state and local governments fund most capital projects.

-$1 billion needed to phase out series of trains in Monday's crash.

-$11 billion still needed to fund capital projects.

It anticipates train and bus ridership increasing by 3 percent next year.

Source: Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority