The Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority named Paul Wiedefeld as general manager and chief executive officer Thursday morning.

Wiedefeld, who will be formally appointed at WMATA’s Nov. 19 board meeting, served as chief executive of BWI Thurgood Marshall Airport and ran day-to-day operations of the MARC commuter rail as administrator of the Maryland Transit Administration, Washington Business Journal reported.

Interim general manager Jack Requa will continue to serve until Wiedefeld steps in. Requa has served as interim since January.

Metro officials have faced criticism for long delays and halted trains in recent years, inspiring a Twitter handle, Unsuck D.C. Metro, with more than 40,000 followers and a petition that asked Pope Francis to bless the public transit system when he visited in September.

In January, a Metro train leaving the L’Enfant Plaza station filled with smoke, leading to the death of a female passenger and more than 30 other passengers seeking treatment at GW Hospital.