By brownpau
An “arcing insulator” has caused a fire on the Red Line tracks (Shady Grove direction), outside Dupont Circle. At the same time, a track circuit issue is giving Metro problems at Farragut North. Single-tracking is currently in effect between Dupont and Van Ness. Expect major delays in both directions this afternoon. Official WMATA release here.
Update: “Normal” service has been restored.
By Ben H. Rome
‘Metro Emergency Button’
courtesy of ‘Mr. T in DC’
Wondering what’s next up the track for WMATA riders?
More fare hikes, for one.
WTOP’s Adam Tuss gives a solid rundown of today’s WMATA Board of Directors/Finance, Oversight and Administration Commitee meeting to suggest budget guidance; topping the list is the apparent “resignation” that riders will once again need to pony up to help Metro close its yawning $189 million budget gap for FY2011.
Fares are likely to go up across the board. Peak rail rates will go from $1.65 to $1.90, off-peak from $1.35 to $1.55, and bus rates up $.25. Also discussed was a “peak of the peak” surcharge, placed on riders who travel between 7:30 – 9:30 am and 4:30 – 6:00 pm on weekdays. The surcharge could be an additional 10- to 20-cent fare hike or a 50-cent charge to those who use the busiest stations – Union Station, Metro Center, Dupont Circle, Farragut North, Farragut West, L’Enfant Plaza, Gallery Place-Chinatown, and Pentagon City.
Metro’s trying to decide quickly what to do, as it takes approximately 60 days to program and implement fare changes.
Makes me glad I broke up with Metro when I did…
By Samer Farha
‘tunnel vision*’
courtesy of ‘mofo’
Metro has a new (interim) general manager, and what follows is my “welcome to DC, please fix Metro” letter. Some of it is needed work, but admittedly, some of my wishes are wishful thinking.
Dear Mr. Sarles,
Welcome to Washington. I hope the city and the mild weather we’ve been having agrees with you. I trust you are slowly learning the ropes over at Metro HQ, and that you’re keeping your promise to ride the system (at least once in a while).
I’m sure that you’ve been briefed by some of the best and the brightest at Metro, already. I hope you’re well on your way to understanding some of the major issues facing Metro, and that you still have some space on your plate for some of the less critical items as well.
Earlier this week, I had the opportunity to drive into the office. It was a smooth, fast ride at 5:30 in the morning. Faster than Metro could have got me there. I did have to pay for parking, and at $12, it wasn’t steep but not something I could afford to do every day. More and more, though, I find myself contemplating paying that every now and again. In the evenings, especially if I stay downtown for a leisurely dinner, I tend to cab it home.
It didn’t always used to be that way, Mr. Sarles. Until the last few months, it was rare for me to cab anywhere. Now, I’m trying to wrangle a deal for parking and taking taxis over half the time. The problem? Well, it’s item one on my list.
By brownpau
(Cheverly Metro photo by Genista)
Looks like a guy jumped on the tracks and got hit by a train at Cheverly this morning. Expect delays on top of already bad weekend single-tracking for maintenance.
More from CHVBlog, DCistand Post’s Get There.
By Samer Farha
‘good morning’
courtesy of ‘volcanojw’
Last week we told you about Metro’s board having voted to give preliminary approval to change their privacy policy in order to be able to provide SmarTrip data to users over the internet. The press release outlining what was to happen later this year set off my “I-can’t-believe-we’re-having-this-conversation” alarms.
In that release, Metro points out two things that set me off. First, there’s the reason for the change. It seems that after SmarTrip was introduced in 2004, the board approved a privacy policy in 2005 that seems not have considered the possibility that people would want access to their data over the internet.
Let me repeat that: five years ago, almost 15 years after the world wide web was invented and a decade after “information superhighway” entered the general lexicon, Metro’s board didn’t consider the internet when making their plans. Add to that having to have the board act in order to change the privacy policy because, it seems, the policy is written so narrowly that delivering the same data online and offline requires a change.
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By Samer Farha
”
courtesy of ‘Chris Rief aka Spodie Odie’
Metro’s board gave preliminary approval to a change in the system’s privacy policy yesterday. The change would allow Metro to give you information about your SmarTrip card online.
Amazingly, Metro did not anticipate giving users access to their data online when the privacy policy was enacted in 2005. The full board will vote to change that later this month, and riders should expect access to their information by July.
Metro says that having SmarTrip information available online “will save Metro approximately $6,000 per year of staff time and copying costs incurred in responding to requests for paper records.” That’s right, paper records are currently the only way to get access to this data.
The press release does not fill me with confidence that the process will be easy or sane, though. Metro will require a raft of information as well as a “digital signature” before they’ll let you access that data.
By shannon
‘at least we’re not outside anymore!’
courtesy of ‘philliefan99’
Think these cherry blossom tourists are crowding up the Metro even more than usual? You’re right. Metro announced today that more people rode the Metro yesterday than any other day in history, except for Obama’s Inauguration last January. The high ridership (totaling 877,890 trips) was due to the Capitals game as well as the Cherry Blossom Festival. Crowds are expected to continue through the weekend, particularly with the National’s exhibition game tomorrow afternoon.
If you want to keep your sanity, just avoid the Smithsonian Station for the next week or so until all the tourists head home.
By Samer Farha
‘WMATA Blogger Roundtable’
courtesy of ‘Samer Farha’
Metro General Manager John Catoe will be ending his three year tenure at the transit agency on Friday, but his legacy will be debated for a while yet. As he transitions to the world of transit consulting, there’s a natural break for us to look back at Metro and at his tenure.
During his three years at the helm, there were many positive changes. The Metro system saw huge, record breaking number of trips during Obama’s inauguration, 1.12 million on the rails in one day (PDF), and performed admirably. Also during Catoe’s tenure, Metrorail stopped using four car trains (though they kept threatening to go back to them).
But positive is not how most people will look back on Metro’s last three years. Catoe oversaw the deadliest and most accident filled years in Metro’s history. We’re all painfully aware of the impact of the June 22, 2009 accident which left 9 people dead and the system on the brink. But despite an increase in focus on safety, there were three incidents which killed four Metro employees after that date, and a derailment earlier this year. And let’s not even mention the number of accidents and deaths caused by Metrobus.
Due to the attack on the Moscow subway system earlier today, Metro opened today with heightened security. So if you saw dogs, more Metro police, etc., that would be why. Acting Metro Transit Police Chief Jeri Lee says that the heightened security will last at least through the Nuclear Security Summit scheduled for April 12-13.
Unrelated to the Moscow attack, there will also be a Metro emergency response drill at RFK stadium today simulating a bus explosion. So don’t freak out if you’re over there.
By Donna C.
‘Monolith2_2’
courtesy of ‘haddensavix’
Yep, you know it now from your daily commute — it’s springtime for sure, because tourists are in full bloom. And they’re making some funny interpretations of Metro stop names. There’s the Garden Collection — Rose-lyn and National Ar-chives — plus speculation over what “Rockville” must look like.
Yesterday I boarded a train full of schoolkids in matching “DC 2010” t-shirts, with one little boy who just couldn’t get over the name “Foggy Bottom.” He read it off the map, laughing out loud: “Fa-ha! ha! ha!-gy Bottom!”
Let’s face it; he’s got a point. Now that Shannon has busted the myth that DC was built on a swamp, there’s really nothing else to do with that name but reconnect with your inner 10-year-old and laugh.
So what have you heard folks calling the Metro stops?
By shannon
‘DSCF5781’
courtesy of ‘joelogon’
Metro announced today that two emergency response exercises will be happening Sunday and Monday next week, so here’s a heads up not to panic when you see “numerous police, fire and emergency response vehicles, first responders and volunteer ‘victims'” in the middle of the night this weekend. One drill will simulate an explosion on a Metro train in the tunnel between Rosslyn and Foggy Bottom at 1 AM on Sunday morning, and trains will single-track around the ‘accident’ from 11 PM Saturday night to closing at 3 AM on Sunday morning. The second drill, which will simulate a Metrobus explosion with multiple injuries, will happen on Monday morning at 10 AM at the RFK Parking lot.
These drills are meant to test Metro emergency management and regional emergency response crews. Here’s hoping they pass!
By Samer Farha
‘South Smithsonian Escalators’
courtesy of ‘william couch’
It’s going to be in the sixties and sunny for the next few days, and memories of record snowfall and Metro closures are quickly fading. But I want to take you back a month, to twenty-inch snowfalls and closed federal offices. Every time that we’ve had a massive snowfall in the area over the last 22 years that I’ve been here, someone suggests that Metro should buy equipment to deal with big snow falls. And every time the idea gets shot down with an argument about how we can’t afford to be prepared for once every seven years/decade/lifetime storms.
With each mounting inch of snow, and each dollar that it costs to dig out, I began to doubt that, and I decided to see how much it costs to buy equipment that might help Metro fight the snow. I contacted the friendly folks at the Chicago Transit Authority and asked them about their equipment and what they do to handle the snow.
Metro closes all above ground stations when snow reaches between six and eight inches. They do this to protect the undercarriage of the trains and for fear that trains won’t be able to get power from the electrified third rail. In contrast, CTA has no such predetermined parameters and try and maintain normal service until it is unsafe to do so.
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By brownpau
(Video from ArlingtonNews)
Update, the next day: Pentagon shooter J. Patrick Bedell was a software engineer from California, with lots of online trails: a Wikipedia profile, a blogspot blog, an Amazon review and wish list, a Linked In page, and a SourceForge project. See DCist and Gawker for additional details on Bedell’s disturbed online presence.
(Earlier updates after the jump)
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By Samer Farha
Richard Sarles at the groundbreaking of the Mass Transit Tunnel in June 2009. Courtesy former Gov. Jon Jon Corzine's office
Greater Greater Washington and the Washington Post both have the news that Metro is hoping to name former New Jersey Transit Executive Director Richard Sarles as interim head of the agency on Thursday. The Post reports that Metro Board Chairman Peter Benjamin confirms they do not currently have a contract with Sarles, but that he “is certainly a person we would like to appoint.”
Benjamin goes on to praise Sarles’s background, and calls him “solid on safety.” Sarles was appointed head of NJ Transit in 2007 after five years as Assistant Executive Director for Capital Programs and Planning there. He retired in January. Before working for NJ Transit, Sarles was at Amtrak where he led development of the Northeast Corridor High-Speed Rail program. He also has an engineering and project management background that spanned 20 years at the Port Authority.
Salres obviously has the chops to deal with the problems facing Metro. We aren’t privy to the interview process, and not living in the NY/NJ area, are not as familiar with his thinking on transit. Luckily, Sarles participates as a panel expert on the National Journal‘s transportation blog, commenting on many of the issues facing transportation planners. Read on for a little bit of insight.
By shannon
‘NO SMARTRIP -6480’
courtesy of ‘Joe Tresh’
If you use a SmarTrip card, you probably didn’t even notice it on your commute this morning, but your trip was just a bit more expensive than it was last week. As of yesterday, fares on Metrorail and Metrobus jumped 10 cents to help cover a huge budget gap. Just a friendly reminder to bring along some extra change for your commute starting this week, and if you get transit benefits through your employer it might be time to increase your monthly benefits.
By Rebecca
‘Metro Station Platform’
courtesy of ‘Kevin H.’
Should you be near the Friendship Heights Metro station this Wednesday around midnight, you’ll be seeing a fair amount of law enforcement, as the Metro Transit Police Department’s special response team, the FBI, DCPD, DCFD and emergency medical services personnel practice a staged emergency response exercise.
According to WMATA’s website, the exercise (a staged shootout) will test their communication and joint response to a major incident on the Metrorail or Metrobus.
Metro should not be delayed as the drill will take place shortly after Metro closes for the evening. Police activity will remain in the area until around 3:30 a.m.
By Samer Farha
‘arriving’
courtesy of ‘volcanojw’
David Gunn, a transit specialist and former WMATA general manager, has been tapped by the Metro board of directors to study the agency and report back on what it would take to fix it, the Washington Post reports.
Gunn, who headed up Metro from 1991-1994, is highly regarded in transit circles and his career spans most transit agencies on the East coast (including New York, Toronto, and Boston), most recently heading up Amtrak until clashes with the Bush administration led to his dismissal.
The Post mentions that Gunn doesn’t own a computer or cell phone, nor does he use email. I find that oddly fascinating, and his reasoning revolves around not being so available that it makes all problems float up instead of being solved below. Here’s hoping the board listens to Gunn’s (presumably typed up) report.
By Samer Farha
Snow covers trains at Metro's Brentwood Yard (courtesy of WMATA)
Snow. You remember it, surely? Anywhere between two and four feet over the last week. It crippled our roads and sidewalks, and it’s left several small mountains in most of our neighborhoods. I’m sure you aren’t surprised that it also crippled Metro.
The bus system has to rely on local municipalities to clear snow from the roads. Many snow emergency routes were cleared fairly quickly, but the conditions on secondary streets varied wildly, leaving many buses running on altered routes, even today.
The subway system was also hard hit. Above ground service had to be shut down, and only fully came back online on Friday afternoon. By that point, the Federal government had reopened to one of the worst commutes (by car or by rail) that I’ve seen in 22 years here. So what happened and why, and what should Metro be doing differently in a storm?
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By brownpau
Those of you who ride Metro from Foggy Bottom Station, does this scene look familiar?
By Kirk
”
courtesy of ‘Chris Rief aka Spodie Odie’
So, I’m at work. I decided to skip the trains and made it in with little hassle via Metrobus. But, now I’m starting to worry about the commute home. Granted, it’s still five hours off, but thinking about the mess that the Metro has been this morning makes me wonder if I should even bother trying to get out of the city. I might just hunker down with a beer somewhere and wait this whole situation out. Things should be resolved by 8ish, right?
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