metro

Photo by PoPville flickr user Shamila Chaudhary

From WMATA:

“Weekend service adjustments September 2-5

Reconstruction of the Metrorail system will continue over the weekend of September 2-5 with service adjustments on four of six lines. Trains will operate as follows:

Free shuttle buses replace Orange Line trains between Stadium-Armory and Minnesota Avenue
Free shuttle buses replace Blue Line trains between Stadium-Armory & Benning Road and Franconia Springfield & King Street
Yellow and Green line trains will operate regular weekend service
Red Line trains will operate every 6-20 minutes
Silver Line trains will operate every 15 minutes between Wiehle-Reston East and Ballston only

Labor Day service information. On Labor Day, Monday, September 5, Metrorail will open at 7:00 a.m. and close at midnight. Trains will operate on a Sunday schedule. Off-peak fares will be in effect all day, and parking will be free at all Metrorail parking facilities.”

Photo by PoPville flickr user Julian Ortiz

From WMATA:

“Metro General Manager/CEO Paul J. Wiedefeld announced today the launch of free public Wi-Fi at six Metrorail stations as part of a limited pilot program. The six stations selected for the pilot are: Metro Center, Gallery Place, Judiciary Square, Union Station, Archives and L’Enfant Plaza.

The service, part of the General Manager’s Customer Accountability Report (CARe) initiatives, will be available for 45 days. After that time, the service will be suspended while the pilot program is evaluated. (more…)

Photo by PoPville flickr user Erinn Shirley

From WMATA:

“Metro Transit Police, the District of Columbia and Arlington County will conduct a full-scale response drill Sunday, August 28, on the Yellow Line Bridge that will allow emergency personnel to practice the evacuation of a train during a simulated derailment.

The exercise, which will take place on the elevated track approaching the Pentagon station over the Potomac River, will allow emergency responders to test their capabilities on the aerial structure in coordination with water rescue teams. In addition, the drill will simulate real-world conditions to test coordination and communication between on-scene responders, Metrorail operations staff, Metro Transit Police and support personnel.

The exercise will begin at 8:30 a.m. and is expected to conclude no later than 2 p.m. (more…)

Thanks to a reader for sending:

“I just saw these new digital ad boards in the judiciary square metro. They are animated and change between several different ads. 2016 has arrived…”

Anyone else notice them at other stations?

Photo by PoPville flickr user nevermindtheend

You gotta read between the lines on this press release but could be crazy:

“Metro General Manager Paul J. Wiedefeld announced today that the investigation into the East Falls Church derailment, which began as an administrative review by the Safety Department, has been expanded to include an investigation by Metro Transit Police.

Wiedefeld directed the Metro Transit Police Department to open a parallel investigation into the matter following a briefing in which investigators advised him of concerns arising from employee interviews, inspection reports, rail defect tracking, and video recordings.

“The administrative review uncovered information that warrants further investigation by Metro Transit Police,” Wiedefeld said. “While Safety Department investigations determine cause and accountability, it is even more important to understand if other issues must be addressed with the way track inspections and maintenance have been conducted.”

Metro’s General Counsel, Patricia Y. Lee, has engaged two former Assistant U.S. Attorneys as Special Investigators to support the internal administrative review. Adam Hoffinger, a former AUSA for the Southern District of New York, and Peter White, a former AUSA for the Eastern District of Virginia, as well as the District of Columbia, will work closely with Lee on this matter. Both have extensive prosecutorial experience with complex cases.

“The public has a right to know that the tracks on which their trains run are being properly inspected,” said Wiedefeld. “The information uncovered to date raises potentially serious concerns, and we will take all actions necessary to get answers and hold people accountable.” (more…)

Photo by PoPville flickr user nevermindtheend

From WMATA:

“Metro General Manager/CEO Paul J. Wiedefeld today announced several adjustments to the remaining SafeTrack surge schedule to allow for the completion of additional work on crossover tracks, address new safety recommendations and account for the impact of extreme heat, humidity and other weather impacts.

The changes announced today will affect the dates and sequence of the remaining SafeTrack surges. In mid-September, Wiedefeld will announce additional changes to surge projects that were originally scheduled for October and later. The following SafeTrack surge changes were announced today: (more…)

Photo by PoPville flickr user Jessica Simpson

From WMATA:

“Orange/Blue: Single tracking btwn Eastern Market & Federal Center due to a track problem outside Eastern Market. Delays in both directions.”

“OR, SV, BL lines: expect significant delays through PM rush due to on-going track repair outside Eastern Market. Consider alternates”

Photo by PoPville flickr user John Sonderman

This is pretty cool, if a bit big brotherish, but should have interesting results – from WMATA:

“New customer tool measures personal on-time scores for Metrorail trips
Metro General Manager/CEO Paul J. Wiedefeld today announced that customers can now access and track their own personal on-time trip scores on Metrorail with the new MyTripTime online tool.

MyTripTime provides a three-month travel summary for all trips taken on Metrorail, including an on-time score, total number of trips taken and number of stations visited. Internally, Metro will use this data to assess impacts on customer travel and identify necessary improvements. (more…)