METRO

Photo by PoPville flickr user Beau Finley

From WMATA:

“Red Line
Trains every 10-18 minutes

Red Line trains will operate as follows from 10 p.m. Friday through closing Sunday:

Between Shady Grove & Glenmont: Every 18 minutes throughout the weekend
Between Van Ness & Judiciary Square: Every 10 minutes from 9AM-9PM only

Work Performed:Crews will perform floating slab rehabilitation between Van Ness and Friendship Heights; insulator and fastener renewal between NoMa-Gallaudet and Judiciary Square

Orange Line
Trains every 24 minutes

Orange Line trains will operate every 24 minutes throughout the weekend.

Work Performed: Crews will continue platform rehabilitation at Minnesota Ave; grout pad replacement and rail joint elimination between Stadium-Armory and Cheverly; along with rail, tie and insulator renewal between East Falls Church and West Falls Church.

Blue Line
Regular weekend service

Yellow Line
Regular weekend service between Huntington & Fort Totten

Green Line
Regular weekend service”

And from an email:

“The 35th Annual Capitol Hill Classic is coming on Sunday (May 18)! Here’s a list of road closures to help you plan ahead. The earliest closures will begin at 8am and the final portion of the course to reopen will be the loop around Stanton Park used for the kids’ fun run which will reopen about 11:30am. MPD will allow vehicles to cross the course when they may do so safely, but not turn onto roads used in the race. Course maps and additional race info are available here.

Capitol Hill Classic 10K Road Closures
We anticipate that the following are the road closures that will take place during the running of the Capitol Hill Classic 10K, 3K, and fun run. (You can take a look at the course maps page to see the overall route the three races will take.)

The 10K run will involve the following roads: (more…)

Photo by PoPville flickr user Beau Finley

From WMATA:

“Red Line
Trains every 10-15 minutes

Red Line trains will operate as follows from 10 p.m. Friday through closing Sunday:

Between Shady Grove & Glenmont: Every 15 minutes throughout the weekend
Between Van Ness & NoMa-Gallaudet: Every 10-12 minutes from 9AM-9PM only

Work Performed: Crews will perform floating slab rehabilitation between Van Ness and Friendship Heights; fence and lighting installation between NoMa-Gallaudet and Rhode Island Avenue.

Orange Line
Trains every 24 minutes

Orange Line trains will operate every 24 minutes throughout the weekend.

Work Performed: Crews will continue platform rehabilitation, grout pad replacement, and rail joint elimination between Stadium-Armory and Cheverly, along with fence and communications cable repair between East Falls Church and West Falls Church.

Blue Line
Regular weekend service

Yellow Line
Regular weekend service between Huntington & Fort Totten

Green Line
Regular weekend service

On Saturday and Sunday, from 10:00 p.m. until system closing, passengers at West Hyattsville will board all trains on the Greenbelt side. Crews will continue testing the new 7000-series railcars.”

Photo by PoPville flickr user angela n.

From WMATA:

“Red Line
Trains every 10-20 minutes

Red Line trains will operate as follows:

Between Shady Grove & Glenmont: Every 20 minutes throughout the weekend
Between Shady Grove & NoMa: Every 10-12 minutes from 9AM-9PM only

Work Performed: Crews will renew rail ties, fasteners, and insulators along with switch replacement preparation between Rhode Island Avenue and Takoma. (more…)

Photo by PoPville flickr user nevermindtheend

From WMATA:

“Early Opening Sunday Morning for Nike Women Half Marathon
Metrorail will open at 5 a.m. on Sunday, April 27, for customers traveling to the Nike Women Half Marathon. The start line is accessible from Metro Center (Red/Blue/Orange lines), Federal Triangle (Blue/Orange lines) or Archives (Yellow/Green lines).

Red Line
Trains every 10-20 minutes

Red Line trains will operate as follows from 10 p.m. Friday through closing Sunday:

Between Shady Grove & Glenmont: Every 20 minutes throughout the weekend
Between Shady Grove & Judiciary Square: Every 10-12 minutes from 9AM-9PM only

Work Performed: Rail fastener and insulator renewal; fence and light pole replacement between Judiciary Square and Rhode Island Avenue. (more…)

I saw the above sign at the Rosslyn metro and I know it’s been mentioned in the past – but are there now public restrooms in all metro stations? Has anyone used one? Do you have to get a key? Where are they generally located (or can you just ask the station manager?)

Here’s an interesting press release from WMATA back in 2004:

“Several new restroom initiatives at Metrorail stations that were implemented at the beginning of the year, combined with the new automatic public toilet pilot at the Huntington Metrorail station, have proven to be successful, Metro managers told the Board of Directors today. The automatic public toilet that was installed at the Huntington Metrorail station in early October 2003, is used approximately 85 times a day since being installed six months ago. Also, since opening up its rail station restrooms to the public on January 4, there have been 1,600 requests granted to use them (through March 18). The single-stall, self-cleaning public toilet at the southern end of the Yellow Line was installed last fall inside the Huntington Metrorail station’s north mezzanine as a one-year test to determine customer acceptance and feasibility, as well as safety and cleanliness.

The unit, which costs Metro $39,600 per year to lease (three-year lease), costs an additional $55,000 for site renovation, installation, and water, sewer, and electric power hook-ups. There is an additional $14,400 per year for routine service/ maintenance, bringing the 12-month project cost to approximately $109,000. The vandal-resistant portable unit offers customers the use of a toilet, soap, toilet tissue, water dispensing and hand drying. There is an automatic interior chemical spray cleaning cycle after each use. Metro Board members have to decide whether to continue or expand the pilot in the future.

They also are considering whether to move the unit to Vienna/Fairfax-GMU Metrorail station at a cost of $75,000 (removal, restoration and installation costs) since that station’s existing restroom is not available to the public due to its location near safety-sensitive equipment. In November 2003, Metro managers took several steps to alert the public that starting January 4, 2004, the Metrorail station restrooms would be available for public use for the first time in the 28-year history of the transit system. Signs were posted in stations indicating restroom availability (except at a few locations deemed security-sensitive” Pentagon, Vienna/Fairfax-GMU, Arlington Cemetery and Addison Road-Seat Pleasant); officials specified conditions when customers could be denied requests to use the restrooms; and maintenance personnel repaired back room locks and cabinetry during the conversion of restrooms from employee-only areas to areas accessible to the public.

However, on March 18, Metro officials informed the Board that station restroom procedures were changed to allow the Metro Transit Police Chief to close the restrooms for public use during heightened security levels for a period of 30 days. Police Chief Polly Hanson temporarily closed Metro restrooms to the public on March 19, for security reasons. They were reopened on April 19.

News release issued on May 27, 2004.”

Photo by PoPville flickr user James0806

From WMATA:

“Metro General Manager and CEO Richard Sarles today announced an agreement with the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority, the agency responsible for construction of the Silver Line, that will move the line closer to opening day. Under the agreement, Metro will allow the Airports Authority additional time to complete certain items after the project is turned over to Metro, but prior to the start of passenger service. Without the agreement, the Airports Authority would have been required to complete all items before Metro takes control, meaning an opening date that would be later in the year.

The Airports Authority is still required to address all priority items – those that affect reliability or require significant track access – prior to handing the project off to Metro. Some examples include: (more…)

From WMATA:

“Metro today unveiled a new sustainability initiative aimed at enhancing regional sustainability through performance based targets for ridership, travel mode share, regional greenhouse gas emissions and connected communities.

The Metro Sustainability Initiative also commits the Authority to internal performance targets for energy consumption, greenhouse gas emissions, waste reduction, renewable energy, stormwater runoff impacts and potable water use. Taken along with near term action commitments from paperless meetings to a renewed commitment to lifecycle asset management—these internal sustainability targets set Metro on a path to continue to rebuild efficiently to support a growing region.

Specific targets set by the Sustainability Initiative include:

Increasing Metro ridership 25 percent by 2025
Increasing greenhouse gas displacement 10 percent by 2025
Reducing energy use per vehicle mile 15 percent by 2025, and cutting in half greenhouse gas emissions per vehicle mile during the same timeframe
Reducing water use per vehicle mile 20 percent by 2025

Last spring Metro’s Board of Directors adopted Momentum, metro’s strategic plan, committing Metro to sustainability through 2025 and beyond. (more…)