This was Metro Center last night — a train on the Shady Grove side of the Red Line had apparently lost power and was emptied and pulled out of service at the very peak of rush hour, in the very middle of the whole system. If you look closely at the photo you’ll see that there are still people in the darkened train. From where I stood it looked like they might have had a bit of a time getting the doors open. “Moderate” delays would cascade to the rest of the Red Line for about half an hour afterward. And now this morning, the alerts are scrolling messages on a train with “mechanical difficulties” at Medical Center causing single-tracking and delays in both directions.

I’m just not sure what’s up with Metro lately. I remember a time back in 2004 when I was so fed up with Metro that I resolved to walk the three miles to work everyday till I heard things had gotten better — which, happily, they did during the reign of Dan Tangherlini. Since then, it’s been downhill again, almost back to the breaking point it was at three years ago. I’m starting to think there’s something to Disaffected Scanner Jockey’s analogy to the Ford Pinto.

This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs

Paulo Ordoveza

Roving Asian mendicant, can occasionally be seen wandering the streets of downtown Washington, muttering unintelligible gibberish to passers-by while pushing a “bag lady” shopping cart full of old blankets, American flags, soda cans, and healthy secondhand snacks from organic food shop dumpsters. Used to live in a cardboard box at 16th and K but the rent was too expensive.