SafeTrack work between Ballston and East Falls Church is nearly finished
Metro got more done than it expected during the first “surge” of SafeTrack, which required single tracking on the Orange and Silver Lines between Ballston and East Falls Church. The entire surge isn’t finished yet, but this is a good start for SafeTrack.
This video from WMATA provides an elevator music-fueled walk through the repairs that have been made between Ballston and East Falls Church.
During Surge 1, Metro cut down on its track work backlog along this stretch, and installed equipment that should stay in good shape for longer into the future. Metro has also started to meet FTA requests to fix things like third rail insulators and third rail cover boards, which when left in bad repair can put both workers and riders in danger.
Trains between Ballston and East Falls Church will be moving normally on both tracks after Thursday— that is, at least, until July 20th, when Surge 5 between these same two stations (on the other track) starts up.
A more detailed list of the work includes new insulators, fasteners, and crossties, a clean track bed and clear drains, repairs to leaks in the cement walls, the track security system, and the power ties. Riders may feel some difference on their ride over this section of track since things like “joint elimination” will lead to a smoother ride.
Not all of the work was finished when WMATA’s report came out on June 13th— third rail maintenance work, for example, had only just begun.
The fact that WMATA put out a report on Surge 1 hopefully means more transparency about what work is getting done during SafeTrack. At the same time, the report came pretty late in the game. I’d like to see other information, video, or interviews to help highlight why the track is being fixed and why passengers should be putting up with the inconveniences of single-tracking.