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"Even if the Red Line becomes too clogged, the area is bounded by a rail line on the east that presently carries MARC rail. I'd think adding a station to MARC would be a low-cost option (though it slows others down)."

How does this help the DC residents who find that they can't board trains in their stations?

Cavan, With all due respect, you cannot draw conclusions about available capacity on the western side of the Red Line by extrapolating from your experience on the eastern side of the Red Line. I can assure you that it is not usual for rush hour trains that arrive at DC’s stations on the western side to be full, although a few people might try to squeeze in at every stop. And this isn’t only in the center cars, since the Montgomery County passengers are astute enough to realize that they need to go to the front or back of the train if they plan on boarding. Yes, WMATA has plans to add two more cars to the six-car trains, but after that, and reducing the headway to 2.5 minutes (which probably isn’t reasonable with the longer dwell-time for crowded trains), they have reached full capacity with no expansion possibilities for the two-track system, and as more commuters have boarded the train before it reaches DC, fewer DC commuters will have the opportunity to board. And WMATA expects to reach fully capacity quickly, even before factoring in these new plans. Can DC really increase density near those Red Line stations, assuming that most of those residents will use the Metro for most of their transportation needs, including commuting to work?

by Tom on Oct 20, 2008 3:09 pm • link • report