Transit

Photo by PoPville flickr user Mr. T in DC

From WMATA:

Beginning Sept. 1, customers will be able to get a $3 rebate for new SmarTrip® card purchases when they register their card online. The cards will still cost $5, but a $3 credit will be refunded to the card five days after first use. SmarTrip® online registration also protects a rider’s balance if the card is lost or stolen and allows customers to add value to the card via the web.

Also beginning Sept. 1, riders will need a minimum of $1.20 on a SmarTrip® card to enter the Metrorail system. For riders using a senior/disabled SmarTrip® card, the minimum will be 35 cents. The change makes SmarTrip® consistent with paper fare cards, which have a minimum fare requirement for entry into the rail system.

Additional changes to SmarTrip® starting Sept. 1 include:

SmarTrip® card vending machines will be available in all Metrorail stations to make it easier and more convenient for riders to purchase the cards. The machines are already in 47 stations.
The Metrorail Fast Pass, which provides seven days of unlimited Metrorail travel, will be available only on SmarTrip® and can be purchased online or at station vending machines. Paper Fast Pass cards will no longer be sold after Aug. 31, and will be accepted only through Dec. 31.

Metro introduced SmarTrip® cards in 1996 and has encouraged riders to take advantage of the plastic, rechargeable fare card that offers lower Metrobus and Metrorail fares. Bus riders save 20-cents per ride, get free bus-to-bus transfers and a 50-cent discount if transferring to rail when using SmarTrip®. Metrorail riders avoid the $1 surcharge on paper fare cards by using SmarTrip® and receive the 50-cent discount when transferring from rail to bus.

Photo by PoPville flickr user Sanjay Suchak

From WMATA:

Work to rebuild the Metrorail system will continue over the weekend of August 24-26 with scheduled track work on the Orange and Red lines only. The work will begin at 10 p.m. Friday and continue through system closing on Sunday.

There is no scheduled work on the Blue, Green or Yellow lines this weekend; trains on these lines will operate on a regular weekend schedule.

Red Line

Red Line trains will single track through two work zones: between Grosvenor and Medical Center to allow for upgrades to rail fasteners and third-rail insulators, and between Takoma and Forest Glen for platform reconstruction. Throughout the weekend, Red Line trains will operate between Shady Grove and Grosvenor every 24 minutes in each direction. On Saturday and Sunday, between 9:30 a.m. and 6:30 p.m., additional trains will operate between Medical Center and NoMa-Gallaudet U stations, providing service an average of every 12 minutes between these stations. Red Line customers traveling through either work zone should allow about 20 minutes of additional travel time.

Orange Line

Buses will replace Orange Line trains between Vienna and East Falls Church to allow for work associated with the Silver Line rail extension. Three stations — Vienna, Dunn Loring and West Falls Church — will be closed. Express shuttle buses will operate between Vienna and East Falls Church only; customers using express buses should add 15 minutes to their travel time. Local shuttle buses will operate between Vienna and East Falls Church, with intermediate stops at Dunn Loring and West Falls Church stations; customers using local buses should add 40 minutes to their travel time.

Photo by PoPville flickr user ekelly80

From WMATA:

Metro is giving customers additional notice about an upcoming weekend track work project that will result in buses replacing Red Line trains through Downtown DC over the weekend of September 7-9.

The major Red Line project will begin at 10 p.m. Friday, September 7, and continue through system closing on Sunday, September 9. During this time, buses will replace Red Line trains between Dupont Circle and NoMa-Gallaudet U stations to allow for installation of new fiber optic cable for improved wireless communications, as well as track maintenance and third rail upgrades.

The following stations will be affected:

Dupont Circle – open for rail service to/from Shady Grove only
Farragut North – closed
Metro Center – open for Blue/Orange line only
Gallery Place – open for Green/Yellow line only
Judiciary Square – closed
Union Station – closed
NoMa-Gallaudet U – open for rail service to/from Glenmont only

Free shuttle bus service will operate on two routes:

Limited stop buses will operate between Dupont Circle, Metro Center, Gallery Place and NoMa-Gallaudet U stations only. Customers using limited stop buses should allow up to 30 minutes of additional travel time.
Local buses will stop at all stations. Customers using local bus service should allow up to 50 minutes of additional travel time.

Photo by PoPville flickr user pablo.raw

From WMATA:

Metro’s rebuilding efforts will continue over the weekend of August 17-19, 2012, with scheduled track work on the Red, Orange, Blue and Green lines.

On the Red Line, buses will replace trains between Silver Spring and NoMa-Gallaudet U stations to allow for tie and insulator renewal, structural work, platform reconstruction and fiber optic cable installation. Red Line trains will operate in two segments throughout the weekend:
• Between Glenmont and Silver Spring every 10 minutes during daytime hours and at regular weekend intervals at other times
• Between NoMa-Gallaudet U and Shady Grove every 10 minutes during daytime hours and at regular weekend intervals at other times
Free shuttle buses will replace trains between Silver Spring and NoMa-Gallaudet U stations. Three stations — Takoma, Brookland and Rhode Island Ave — will be closed. Fort Totten Station will be open for Green and Yellow line service only. Customers using shuttle bus service should allow 50 minutes of additional travel time. Customers traveling between Fort Totten and Downtown DC may wish to consider using Green or Yellow line service to avoid delays.

Orange Line trains will single track between Stadium-Armory and Cheverly stations to allow for platform reconstruction work. Throughout the weekend, Orange Line trains will operate every 20 minutes in each direction. Customers should allow about 10 minutes of additional travel time. View advisory

Blue Line trains will single track between Stadium-Armory and Addison Road stations to allow for repairs to the “floating concrete slabs” beneath the rails. Throughout the weekend, Blue Line trains will operate every 20 minutes in each direction. Customers should allow about 10 minutes of additional travel time. View advisory

Green Line trains will single track between College Park and Greenbelt stations to allow for track upgrades. Trains will operate at normal weekend intervals. However, every other train will begin/end service at College Park, rather than Greenbelt. Only customers traveling to/from Greenbelt Station should allow up to 15 minutes of additional travel time.

Photo by PoPville flickr user pablo.raw

From WMATA:

The massive effort to rebuild Metrorail will continue over the weekend of August 10-12 with scheduled track work on the Red, Orange, Blue and Green lines. The work will begin at 10 p.m. Friday and continue through system closing on Sunday.

Red Line
Buses will replace Red Line trains between Grosvenor and Friendship Heights stations to allow for rail renewal/replacement, structural repairs, tunnel leak mitigation and related improvements. Two stations — Medical Center and Bethesda — will be closed. Red Line trains will operate in two segments: Between Shady Grove and Grosvenor, and between Friendship Heights and Glenmont. On each segment, trains will operate every 10 minutes between 9:30 a.m. and 6 p.m. and at regular weekend intervals at other times. Customers traveling through the work zone should allow about 30 minutes of additional travel time.

Orange Line
Orange Line trains will single track through two work zones: between Foggy Bottom and Clarendon to allow for structural repairs, leak mitigation and drainage work, and between Stadium-Armory and Cheverly to allow for platform reconstruction. Throughout the weekend, Orange Line trains will operate every 24 minutes. Customers should allow 20 minutes of additional travel time.

Blue Line
Blue Line trains will single track between Foggy Bottom and Arlington Cemetery to allow for structural repairs, leak mitigation and drainage work. Throughout the weekend, Blue Line trains will operate every 24 minutes. Customers should allow up to 20 minutes of additional travel time.

Green Line
Green Line trains will single track between Fort Totten and Prince George’s Plaza to allow for track maintenance, tie and fastener renewal and third-rail power improvements. Throughout the weekend, Green Line trains will operate every 16 minutes. Customers should allow about 10 minutes of additional travel time. As a result of the work zone, all Yellow Line trains will operate between Huntington and Mount Vernon Square only. Customers traveling to/from stations north of Mount Vernon Square should use Green Line trains to complete their trip.

Photo by PoPville flickr user Nikoo’s Photos

Dear PoPville,

There was an incident at L’Enfant metro station his morning. I was going down the escalator from the Green platform to the blue/orange around 8:45 and an escalator had been shut off and there was a woman on the ground with a towel over her leg and metro employees around. There was blood splatter at the bottom of the escalator and there was also another woman on the bench with her leg propped up and an officer in fatigues was holding a towel over her leg. Anyone know exactly what happened?

Photo by PoPville flickr user philliefan99

From WMATA:

Metro’s rebuilding efforts will continue over the weekend of August 3-5, 2012, with scheduled track work on the Red and Orange lines only. Trains on the Blue, Yellow and Green lines will operate on a regular weekend schedule.

On the Red Line, buses will replace trains between Fort Totten and Union Station to allow for tie and insulator renewal, structural work, fiber optic cable installation, and DDOT bridge work near NoMa-Gallaudet U station. Red Line trains will operate in two segments throughout the weekend:

• Between Glenmont and Fort Totten every 10 minutes during daytime hours and at regular weekend intervals at other times
• Between Union Station and Shady Grove every 10 minutes during daytime hours and at regular weekend intervals at other times

Free shuttle buses will replace trains between Fort Totten and Union Station. Three stations — Brookland, Rhode Island Ave, and NoMa-Gallaudet U — will be closed. Customers traveling between Fort Totten and Downtown DC may wish to consider using Green Line service as an alternate route.

Express buses will operate between Fort Totten and Union Station only. Customers using express buses should add 20 minutes to their travel time.

Local buses will operate between Fort Totten and Union Station, making intermediate stops at Brookland, Rhode Island Ave and NoMa-Gallaudet U stations. Customers using local buses should add 30 minutes to their travel time.
___

On the Orange Line, buses will replace trains between Vienna and East Falls Church to allow for testing associated with the Silver Line Metrorail extension, as well as tie and insulator renewal. Orange Line trains will operate between East Falls Church and New Carrollton at regular weekend intervals. Buses will replace Orange Line trains between Vienna and East Falls Church. Three stations — Vienna, Dunn Loring and West Falls Church — will be closed.

Express shuttle buses will operate between Vienna and East Falls Church only. Customers using express buses should add 15 minutes to their travel time.

Local shuttle buses will operate between Vienna and East Falls Church, with intermediate stops at Dunn Loring and West Falls Church stations. Customers using local buses should add 40 minutes to their travel time.

Photo by PoPville flickr user Sandra Sitar

From WMATA:

The massive effort to rebuild Metrorail will continue over the weekend of July 27-29 on the Red, Blue, Orange and Green Lines. The work will begin at 10 p.m. Friday and continue through system closing on Sunday.

Red Line: Buses will replace Red Line trains between Grosvenor and Friendship Heights stations to allow for rail renewal/replacement, structural repairs, tunnel leak mitigation and related improvements. Two stations — Medical Center and Bethesda — will be closed. Red Line trains will operate in two segments: between Shady Grove and Grosvenor and between Friendship Heights and Glenmont. On each segment, trains will operate every 10 minutes between 9:30 a.m. and 6 p.m. and at regular weekend intervals at other times. Customers traveling through the work zone should allow about 30 minutes of additional travel time. (Please note: Buses will also replace trains on this portion of the Red Line during the weekend of August 10-12.)

Blue Line: Buses will replace Blue Line trains at Franconia-Springfield and Van Dorn Street stations to allow for rail tie and insulator renewal, track maintenance, bridge deck repair and cable installation. Blue Line trains will operate between Largo Town Center and Huntington stations at regular weekend service intervals. Free shuttle buses will operate between Franconia-Springfield, Van Dorn Street and Eisenhower Avenue stations. (Note: All connections to shuttle buses will take place at Eisenhower Avenue Station.) Customers traveling to/from Franconia-Springfield or Van Dorn Street stations should allow 30 minutes of additional travel time.

Orange Line: Trains will single track between East Falls Church and West Falls Church to allow for work associated with the Silver Line extension and between Stadium-Armory and Cheverly for platform reconstruction. Throughout the weekend, Orange Line trains will depart Vienna and New Carrollton every 24 minutes. On Saturday and Sunday between 9 a.m. and 6:30 p.m., additional trains will operate between Vienna and Stadium-Armory, providing service an average of every 12 minutes. Customers should allow additional travel time.

Green Line: Trains will single track between Fort Totten and Prince George’s Plaza to allow for track maintenance, tie and fastener renewal and third-rail power improvements throughout the weekend, every 16 minutes. Customers should allow about 10 minutes of additional travel time. As a result of the work zone, all Yellow Line trains will operate between Huntington and Mount Vernon Square only. Customers traveling to/from stations north of Mount Vernon Square should use Green Line trains to complete their trip.