METRO

This Weekend’s Metro Track Work

By Prince Of Petworth

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Photo by PoPville flickr user nevermindtheend

From WMATA:

“Reconstruction of the Metrorail system will continue over the weekend of September 5-7 with service adjustments beginning at 10 p.m. Friday night and continuing through system closing on Sunday.

Blue and Yellow line trains will operate at regular weekend intervals (Yellow Line trains will run between Huntington and Mt. Vernon Sq only). Green Line trains will operate every 16 minutes and Red, Orange and Silver line trains will operate every 15 minutes with additional Red Line trains between Grosvenor and NoMa-Gallaudet during daytime hours.

Red Line
Trains every 8-15 minutes

Red Line trains will operate as follows throughout the weekend:

Between Shady Grove & Glenmont: every 15 minutes
Between Grosvenor & NoMa-Gallaudet: every 8-10 minutes Saturday and Sunday from 9AM-9PM only

Work Performed: Light pole installation between NoMa-Gallaudet and Rhode Island Ave. On Saturday and Sunday, Metro will continue railcar testing and acceptance of the new fleet of 7000-series railcars between Twinbrook and Shady Grove. (more…)

This Weekend’s Metro Track Work and Labor Day Schedule – Stations Closed: Bethesda and Medical Center

By Prince Of Petworth

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Photo by PoPville flickr user Beau Finley

From WMATA:

“Reconstruction of the Metrorail system will continue over the weekend of August 29 – September 1 (Labor Day).

Blue and Yellow line trains will operate at regular weekend intervals throughout the weekend. Orange and Silver line trains will operate every 15 minutes from 10 p.m. Friday through system closing on Sunday. Green Line trains will run every 16 minutes through closing Monday. Buses will replace Red Line trains between Friendship Heights and Grosvenor beginning at 12:01 a.m. Saturday and continuing through closing on Monday,

Labor Day service information
On Labor Day, Monday, September 1, Metrorail will open at 7 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.

Red Line
Buses replace trains between Friendship Heights and Grosvenor

Red Line trains will operate as follows from 12:01 Saturday through closing Monday:

Between Shady Grove & Grosvenor: every 10 minutes
Between Friendship Heights & Glenmont: every 10 minutes

Stations Closed: Bethesda and Medical Center

Last Train Time Change: The last Red Line train of the night from Shady Grove to Grosvenor will depart 35 minutes earlier than normal to allow for shuttle bus connections. On Friday and Saturday nights, the last train will leave Shady Grove at 1:55 a.m. On Sunday and Monday, the last train will leave Shady Grove at 10:55 p.m.

Free shuttle buses will replace Red Line trains between Friendship Heights and Grosvenor. Shuttle buses will operate on two routes:

Express buses will operate between Friendship Heights and Grosvenor. Add up to 25 minutes of additional travel time.
Local buses will operate between Friendship Heights and Grosvenor, making intermediate stops at Medical Center and Bethesda. Please allow 10 minutes of travel time for each station stop.

Work Performed: Grout pad, rail tie and insulator renewal, joint elimination and communication cable replacement between Friendship Heights and Grosvenor. (more…)

“The Great Society Subway: A History of the Washington Metro” at MLK Library 8/26

By Prince Of Petworth

mlk_library_dc
901 G Street, NW

From DCPL:

“The Great Society Subway: A History of the Washington Metro”

Tuesday, August 26, at 7 p.m. in the Great Hall. Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Library

his talk should be fascinating to anyone interested in Metro, or in the city itself, or more broadly, in how public transit decisions are made. Besides all that, I’m expecting it to be very entertaining, because the book certainly is.

My first thought on looking into Professor Schwag’s book was that it was very densely packed with information (which it is) and might not be a fun read–but it is also that! I’ve found so many wonderful stories in it, that I think it’s safe to say that you will learn a lot, and also are likely to find something that will surprise you, or make you laugh out loud, no matter where you open the book.

An example is this comparison on page 142 of building Metro to the building of the Trans-Alaska Pipeline, through permafrost, mountains, and tundra:

“Metro’s builders faced a challenge equal and opposite to that of their pipeline counterparts….As workers in Alaska built 800 miles of pipeline through wilderness all but uninhabited by humans, workers in Washington took up the challenge of pushing 100 miles of rapid transit through a long-settled region densely populated by lawyers.”

Actually, though I’m still chuckling over that line, other parts of The Great Society Subway have already made me realize we all owe a great debt to those lawyers and other activists, for helping us get Metro instead of a spaghetti bowl of highways in DC, and for pushing needed improvements to Metro, like elevators to serve people with mobility problems. (One Metro official seriously proposed training wheelchair riders to use the escalators, balancing on two wheels!)

The more I read, the more I came to realize that no one who wanted to truly understand Washington DC as it is today could do so without reading this book.

The author, Zachary M. Schrag, has a gift for imparting knowledge packaged in details that make the story come alive; I’m looking forward to his talk!”

This Weekend’s Metro Track Work

By Prince Of Petworth

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Photo by PoPville flickr user JamesCalder

From WMATA:

“Reconstruction of the Metrorail system will continue over the weekend of August 22-24 with service adjustments beginning at 10 p.m. Friday night and continuing through system closing on Sunday.

Silver, Blue, Yellow and Green line trains will operate at regular weekend intervals. Red and Orange line trains will operate every 20 minutes with additional Red Line trains between Grosvenor and NoMa-Gallaudet during daytime hours.

Red Line
Trains every 10-20 minutes

Red Line trains will operate as follows throughout the weekend:

Between Shady Grove & Glenmont: every 20 minutes
Between Grosvenor & NoMa-Gallaudet: every 10 minutes Saturday and Sunday from 9AM-9PM only

Work Performed: Rail tie, fastener and insulator renewal between Takoma and Forest Glen. On Saturday and Sunday, Metro will continue railcar testing and acceptance of our new fleet of 7000-series railcars between Twinbrook and Shady Grove. (more…)

This Weekend’s Metro Track Work – Stations Closed: Takoma and Silver Spring

By Prince Of Petworth

From WMATA:

“Reconstruction of the Metrorail system will continue over the weekend of August 15-17 with service adjustments beginning at 10 p.m. Friday night and continuing through system closing on Sunday.

Silver and Green line trains will operate at regular weekend intervals. Orange and Blue line trains will operate every 20 minutes and Yellow Line trains will operate every 20 minutes between Huntington and Mt. Vernon Sq.

Beginning at 12:01 a.m. Saturday and continuing through system closing on Sunday, buses will replace Red Line trains between Fort Totten and Forest Glen.

Red Line
Buses replace trains between Fort Totten and Forest Glen

Red Line trains will operate as follows throughout the weekend:

Between Shady Grove & Fort Totten: every 10 minutes
Between Glenmont & Forest Glen: every 10 minutes

Stations Closed: Takoma and Silver Spring

Last Train Time Change: The last Red Line train of the night from Glenmont to Forest Glen will depart 33 minutes earlier than normal to allow for shuttle bus connections. On Friday and Saturday nights, the last train will leave Glenmont at 2:04 a.m., and on Sunday the last train will leave Glenmont at 11:04 p.m.

Free shuttle buses will replace Red Line trains between Fort Totten and Forest Glen. Shuttle buses will operate on two routes:

Limited stop buses will operate between Fort Totten and Forest Glen making one stop at Silver Spring. Add up to 25 minutes of additional travel time.
Local buses will operate between Fort Totten and Forest Glen, making intermediate stops at Takoma and Silver Spring. Please allow 10-12 minutes of travel time for each station stop.

Work Performed: Rail tie and insulator renewal, joint elimination and communication cable replacement between Fort Totten and Forest Glen. (more…)

“Metro has suspended Blue Line service in the direction of Largo Town Center”

By Prince Of Petworth

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Photo by PoPville flickr user wolfpackWX

From WMATA:

“Metro has suspended Blue Line service in the direction of Largo Town Center due to a suspected third-rail issue in Virginia that is causing trains to become disabled in Washington, DC. At least four Blue Line trains have become mechanically disabled this morning, resulting in significant delays that also affect Orange and Silver line trains.

Riders traveling inbound from Virginia should use Yellow Line trains and transfer at L’Enfant Plaza to get to their destination. Blue Line service from Largo to Franconia-Springfield continues to operate.

Delays are currently 30 minutes or more for some trains on the Blue, Orange and Silver lines.

Track inspectors are walking the Blue Line now attempting to locate the problem area.”

Update 9:10 a.m. “Metro personnel have identified the cause of earlier disabled Blue Line trains. The problem has been identified as a cracked third rail between Arlington Cemetery and Rosslyn on the inbound track. Repairs will begin shortly.”

Update 9:50 a.m. “Blue Line service has been restored in both directions. However, trains are single tracking between Foggy Bottom and Arlington Cemetery to allow for repairs to the third rail. Blue Line riders should allow about 15 minutes of additional travel time. Orange and Silver line trains are not single tracking, but may encounter brief delays due to Blue Line single tracking at Rosslyn.”

Update 11:25 a.m. “Repairs to the third-rail have been completed. Blue Line trains are no longer single tracking. Expect residual delays in both directions for about the next half hour.”

Video of Exotic Metro Accessible Places

By Prince Of Petworth

“Dear PoPville,

​Not sure if you’ve seen this, but according to the street view guy there are some pretty exotic places ​that are metro accessible.”

And another reader took it a step further:

“Just spent my lunch break enjoying the streetviews from WMATA’s Interactive Map. They are really making the DC area look very international. I used a screen capture software to record it and made a little video of it.”

“Metro warns public about fare card scams”

By Prince Of Petworth

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Photo by PoPville flickr user m01229

From WMATA:

“Metro today cautioned riders not to buy discounted (plastic) SmarTrip cards from individuals or non-official sellers, as the cards may not work on buses or faregates in rail stations.

Metro is concerned that its customers may lose money by falling victim to discount fare card scams. The transit authority routinely deactivates SmarTrip cards that are purchased fraudulently and then sold to the public for less than the fare value on the cards.

The Metro Transit Police Department investigates potentially fraudulent sales of SmarTrip cards, including monitoring activity on online auction sites.

“Riders should be aware that any SmarTrip card purchased from an unauthorized individual or website may be subject to deactivation and the loss of any value on the card,” said Metro Transit Police Chief Ron Pavlik.

SmarTrip cards are available for sale at thousands of locations around the region, including dispensers at all Metrorail stations, at Metro Sales Offices, and through licensed vendors including CVS, Giant, Safeway, and Walmart. Any card purchased from an individual or unlicensed source is considered invalid and may be flagged for deactivation.”

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