For those frustrated with the roads – we are all suffering… A reader reports: “Red line jammed in both directions.”
Another reader reports:
“Train offloaded at Dupont metro station a few minutes ago due to mechanical failure. Platform is packed, next train in 6 minutes. Welcome back to work everyone!”
Ed. Note: In July there was a stabbing homicide aboard a Red Line train by NoMa. An arrest was made.
A reader passes on from the Brookland Listserv:
“Attack on Metro at Rush Hour
Just to let the neighborhood know, I saw a group of kids beat a guy on the metro on the way home from work today. I got on the train at Union Station and realized I should move away from a group of 10 or 12 kids who were being loud and rowdy. And sure enough they egged each other on to attack a guy who was just sitting there for no reason. They were punching his head until he tried to move and then they knocked him out. When he came to he stumbled over to us where I had alerted the driver that we needed the train to stop and the police. He couldn’t remember what had happened and was totally out of it and was bleeding everywhere. The driver held the train at metro and kept the doors closed for a bit but the kids were running through the cars and escaped when the doors opened. They tried to lock down the station but I think they got on a train going in the other direction.
The poor guy had a broken jaw and his face was swollen beyond recognition. His poor wife was there at NoMa and held him until the ambulance came. She said he had texted her not to get on the car because there was a rowdy group and he was going to move. What a way to come home from work. Stay away from rowdy groups of kids and know how to alert the driver should you ever need to.
Some advice for metro: Read More
A reader reports:
“Another lovely Monday morning on the Red Line! M Street entrance of NoMa station – literally ONE working gate which everyone entering and exiting had to share… At rush hour. Leading to a line 30 deep to get to the platform.”
As promised. Thanks to a reader for sending.
Photo by PoPville flickr user nevermindtheend
From WMATA:
“This weekend, Orange, Silver and Blue line trains will operate at regular weekend intervals. Yellow and Green line trains will operate every 20 minutes throughout the weekend with Yellow Line trains operating between Huntington and Greenbelt.
From 12:01 a.m. Saturday through 3 a.m. closing Sunday, buses will replace Red Line trains between NoMa-Gallaudet and Farragut North stations. Red Line trains will operate every 10 minutes between Shady Grove and Farragut North and between NoMa-Gallaudet and Glenmont. Regular weekend Red Line service will resume at 7 a.m. Sunday, when Metrorail reopens. Read More
From WMATA:
“Dupont Circle: Due to a power outage all escalators & elevators are out of service. Buses have been requested, the station remains open.”
A reader resignedly writes:
“Union station 7:42”
Metro tweeted:
“Red Line: No longer single tracking. Residual delays in both directions due to earlier switch problem & earlier disabled train at NoMa.”
@DavePedroPedra tweets us:
“scene at gallery place. Apparently the red line to shady grove is broken”
and @_kate_rodrigues tweets us:
Photo by PoPville flickr user James Calder
From WMATA:
“Following years of signal upgrades, rigorous independent testing, and the successful closure of key NTSB safety recommendations, Metro will return the Red Line to automatic train operation (ATO) on Monday, April 13, Metro Deputy General Manager Rob Troup announced today.
“The return of automatic train operation on the Red Line is a significant safety milestone for Metro,” said Troup. “I want to thank our riders for their forbearance through years of work, often on weekends, to allow us the track access necessary to perform essential signal upgrades.”
Only eight-car trains will run in automatic mode initially; six-car trains will continue to operate in manual mode. A future software upgrade on Metro’s existing railcar fleet will allow six-car trains to return to automatic mode at a later date.
Metro’s five other rail lines (Orange, Silver, Blue, Yellow and Green) are currently undergoing track-circuit module replacement projects, and a return to automatic train operation on these lines is expected in late 2017.
In automatic mode, trains accelerate, decelerate and stop under computer control, resulting in consistent ride quality and improved efficiency across the line. Train operators will continue to ride in the cab of each train, and will have responsibility for opening and closing doors and making announcements, even when operating in automatic mode.”
@annesthompson tweets us:
“@PoPville My Red Line train this AM at 8:00. Is there a holiday I don’t know about?”