Transit
Metrorail to run most service tomorrow
WMATA.com is currently only sporadically available, probably because everyone is trying to load the press release they just posted about tomorrow's service.
The short summary: Metrorail will open at 5 am and run on all lines except the Orange west of Ballston and the Red north of Medical Center. Trains will run with longer headways so prepare for crowds. Most but not all of the bus routes running today will also run tomorrow, and WMATA will add more as roads become passable.
Below is the complete press release they just sent out. Social media users, please star/retweet/whatever this (short URL is http://bit.ly/b2YWpd) so other people can get this important information.
Update: Matt Johnson has created a map showing tomorrow's service:
Update 2: MARC has no Brunswick or Camden Line service. The Penn Line is running on the "S" schedule. Trains 423, 427, 431, 414, and 416 are cancelled. VRE is running the "S" schedule on both lines.
The Metrorail system will open at 5 a.m. tomorrow, Friday, Feb. 12, with limited service and will close at midnight instead of 3 a.m. to allow work crews the additional overnight hours to continue to clear the tracks, rail yards and rail "switches," which are critical track components that allow trains to maneuver around problem areas by switching tracks. A limited number of Metrobus routes will be in service Friday with the number expected to grow as more roadways become passable. MetroAccess trips will begin at 6:45 a.m., however the usual door-to-door service will be shifted to curb-to-curb service if it is not safe to offer door-to-door service.Nine of Metro's 86 stations will remain closed to start the day on Friday as work crews continue to dig out the tracks, many of which have snow drifts of up to six feet.
Metrorail service to start Friday morning will include all Green, Yellow and Blue line stations. The Red Line will operate between Medical Center and Glenmont Metrorail stations with Grosvenor-Strathmore, White Flint, Twinbrook, Rockville and Shady Grove Metrorail stations remaining closed due to heavy snow that remains on the tracks. The Orange Line will operate between New Carrollton and Ballston Metrorail stations with East Falls Church, West Falls Church-VT/UVA, Dunn Loring-Merrifield and Vienna/Fairfax-GMU Metrorail stations remaining closed, also due to heavy snow on the tracks, including snow drifts of three to six feet.
Metrorail trains will operate at 20- to 25-minute intervals above ground and 10- to 15-minute intervals below ground. The longer than usual intervals are a result of 35 mph speed restrictions and the snow-covered switches.
Approximately 70 percent of parking spaces at Metrorail stations will be available for automobiles as many surface parking spaces are being used to pile snow to make other spaces available for automobiles. The top levels of 22 Metrorail parking garages are not expected to be available for parking. Work crews will address those top levels starting Friday.
Summary of Metrorail service expected for Friday, Feb. 12
- Red Line limited service: Medical Center to Glenmont
- Orange Line limited service: Ballston to New Carrollton
- Blue Line all stations open: Franconia-Springfield to Largo Town Center
- Green Line all stations open: Greenbelt to Branch Avenue
- Yellow Line all stations open: Huntington to Fort Totten
Metrobus service
Metrobus will operate starting at its normal time on Friday with most buses sticking to streets along snow emergency routes. Buses will serve more neighborhoods as the streets become passable. The routes listed below have been in service since Thursday afternoon with more routes expected to be operating Friday. As the Metrobus system expands to include more routes, those routes will be posted on Metro's Web site, www.metroopensdoors.com.
Customers are reminded to please use caution near bus stops as many remain under ice and snow. Local jurisdictions are responsible for clearing bus stops. Local residents can help their neighbors by shoveling the bus stops along the sidewalks near their homes so that people are not standing in the icy streets while traffic is passing.
Bus routes operating in the District of Columbia
31 (Friendship Heights to Foggy Bottom-GWU)
32 and 36 (Friendship Heights to Potomac Ave)
34 (Archives to Branch Ave)
52 and 54 (From 14th Street and Colorado Ave to L'Enfant Plaza)
64 (Fort Totten to Georgia Ave-Petworth)
70 (Silver Spring to Canal and P Street, SW)
71 (Silver Spring to Archives) will terminate at Canal and P Street, SW
79 (Silver Spring to Archives)
80 (Fort Totten to Gallery Pl-Chinatown)
82 (Rhode Island Ave to Gallery Pl-Chinatown)
P6 (Anacostia to Eckington)
S4 (Silver Spring to Federal Triangle)
U8 (Capitol Heights to Benning Heights)
X2 (Minnesota Ave to Union Station)
V7 line (Deanwood to Potomac Ave)Bus routes operating in Maryland
J2 (Bethesda to Silver Spring)
P12 (Eastover to Addison Road), bypassing United Medical Center
Q2 (Silver Spring to Wheaton)
Y5, Y7 and Y8 (Wheaton to Leisure World)
Z8 and Z9 (Silver Spring to Briggs Chaney Road Park and RideBus routes operating in Virginia
1C (Fair Oaks to Dunn Loring)
2C (Washington Boulevard to Vienna)
16 line (Pentagon to Baileys Crossroads)
28A (Alexandria to Tysons Corner), bypassing Seven Corners and Southern TowersMetroAccess
MetroAccess trips will begin at 6:45 a.m., however the usual door-to-door service will be shifted to curb-to-curb service if it is not safe to offer door-to-door service.How to get Updates on Winter Weather Conditions
There are a variety of ways for customers to stay informed during a major storm. Metro constantly updates local news media of Metro service changes. Information is also available on Metro's home page at www.metroopensdoors.com. Customers can also subscribe to e-Alerts and receive up-to-date service disruption information on Metrorail and MetroAccess.
News release issued at 7:04 pm, February 11, 2010.
 | David Alpert is the Founder and Editor-in-Chief of Greater Greater Washington and Greater Greater Education. He worked as a Product Manager for Google for six years and has lived in the Boston, San Francisco, and New York metro areas in addition to Washington, DC. He loves the area which is, in many ways, greater than those others, and wants to see it become even greater.   |
Comments
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Huh? What about tracks that are half underground/half above ground, like the yellow line thru VA? I guess they revert to the longer time? 25 minute headways at L'Enfant Plaza on a work day = no fun
by frank on Feb 11, 2010 8:36 pm • link • report
by The Arlandrian on Feb 11, 2010 8:54 pm • link • report
by Jason on Feb 11, 2010 9:01 pm • link • report
by James on Feb 11, 2010 9:27 pm • link • report
WMATA has been wrong all week. Same story on Tuesday.
Delray-ian
by spookiness on Feb 11, 2010 9:34 pm • link • report
by Matt R on Feb 11, 2010 9:56 pm • link • report
by Froggie on Feb 11, 2010 10:04 pm • link • report
by horseydeucey on Feb 11, 2010 10:05 pm • link • report
by Erica on Feb 11, 2010 10:12 pm • link • report
See http://www.fairfaxcounty.gov/connector/ for details
North County (operates like Saturday)
574*
605*
950* (only Reston Town Center to Herndon-Monroe Park & Ride)
RIBS 1* 2* 3* & 4*
South County (operates Saturday hrs, but weekday frequencies)
101*
109*
151*
152*
161*
162*
171*
310*
321*
322*
401
402
West County
None
Subject to change if WFC or Vienna stations open.
*Some portions of these routes will not be served, check http://www.fairfaxcounty.gov/connector/sc_snow.htm for details.
by Michael Perkins on Feb 11, 2010 10:19 pm • link • report
by Michael Perkins on Feb 11, 2010 10:33 pm • link • report
by jcm on Feb 11, 2010 11:09 pm • link • report
It's a bit late in the day, but is there any hope of setting up an impromptu slug line at Vienna for poor car-less commuters to help someone with a car get into the 66 HOV lane? If I can get to anywhere on the operational parts of the Orange or Blue lines (I work at Braddock Road), I would be incredibly grateful.
by sg on Feb 11, 2010 11:57 pm • link • report
by mike on Feb 12, 2010 1:49 am • link • report
Anybody know if their rail lines canceled service? How are their plows doing? I assume dallas is less snow-ready than DC.
by J on Feb 12, 2010 4:25 am • link • report
UGH.
by ArlVA on Feb 12, 2010 6:22 am • link • report
Wheaton
Cars Destination Minutes
6 Glenmont 3
Cars Destination Minutes
6 Grosvenor 4
8 Shady Grove 7
6 Grosvenor 10
by tom a. on Feb 12, 2010 7:10 am • link • report
by Andy R on Feb 12, 2010 7:42 am • link • report
I was just looking at the GSA Telework site, and I wouldn't have been any better off teleworking this week. GSA's Telework sites are almost all in the outer burbs and not Metro-friendly either. If we want teleworking to succeed, GSA and OPM are going to have to rethink where to site the telework centers.
by Matt W on Feb 12, 2010 8:45 am • link • report
The "next train" signs via the WMATA website have displayed the end-of-line station as a destination all week, despite the fact that no trains were getting through. At least right now, trains are still only operating between Glenmont and White Flint (Grosvenor and White Flint opened a little while ago). So don't expect to get through just because the computer next train display says so. I suppose the coding can't handle short-turns.
The platform signs have been working, however, for the most part. They do not seem to work very well during single-tracking, but otherwise they display the correct terminus (even if not the end-of-line).
by Matt Johnson on Feb 12, 2010 8:59 am • link • report
by Catoe Nomo' on Feb 12, 2010 10:00 am • link • report
by Jasper on Feb 12, 2010 10:24 am • link • report
The "Next Train" signs are inaccurate because train travel times are less predictable. With aboveground speeds limited to 35 mph and lower frequencies increasing station crowding, it's not easy for the signs to adjust to the conditions.
@Jasper:
Long headways are due to a couple of things:
1. Single-tracking: Because railyards are still buried in snow or are inaccessible (West Falls Church, Shady Grove railyards), many of the railcars stored in tunnels are still there. One reader reports that trains were stored on Track 1 [New Carrollton] on the Orange Line over the entire distance between Ballston and Clarendon. This means that this morning, the Orange Line was operating on one track between Court House (non-inclusive) and East Falls Church (inclusive). This means lower headways.
2. Speed restrictions: Aboveground service is limited to 35 mph today due to snow accumulation and low-adhesion conditions. Lower speeds mean fewer trains and lower throughput. This translates to longer intervals between trains.
3. Railcar availability: With at least half the railcar fleet buried under snow in the railyards, Metro does not have as many cars available for service. Fewer trains means longer wait times.
@tom. a.:
After riding on the system this morning, I have a theory about the "Next Train" signs on the website and the platform. The ones on the platform and website seem to be accurate as long as the destination station is a coded destination in the train's computer. For instance, over the weekend, the signs on Red Line trains and on the platforms said "Medical Center" and "Union Station".
When the final station is not a coded destination, the signs on the platform default to the scheduled terminus of the train. For instance, White Flint is not a coded destination. So platform signs default to the scheduled terminal (Grosvenor or Shady Grove) and the train signs say "special".
by Matt Johnson on Feb 12, 2010 11:08 am • link • report
The arguments make little sense.
1: Single-tracking: If you reduce headways, you need more trains, less storage and less single-tracking.
2: I am not sure if lower speeds change anything else than a longer travel time. Why would it mean less trains? A 5 minute headway is a 5 minute headway, whether you go 60 or 35. In fact, with lower speed limits you get less problems with time lost due to the stops.
3: Railcar availability: Apparently, there are enough trains stored underground to force them to single-tracking. Ride more trains and you get less single-traking and shorter headways. See argument 1.
My points is that the reasons *sound* ok, but they are bullshit. Perhaps there are other things I am not aware off, but WMATA isn't telling.
Quite frankly these reasons piss me off in the same way the "we'll be moving momentarily" lie does.
by Jasper on Feb 12, 2010 11:27 am • link • report
Single tracking from Courthouse to East Falls Church means that only one train can occupy the whole distance from CH to EFC. However long that train takes to travel that distance round trip will be the headway. They can't drive that fast outside, so the headways are longer.
They can't put the stored trains in service because the in-service tracks won't fit that many trains. During normal service, a lot of those trains would be in rail yards or servicing outer stations, which are not in service at this time. At five or six minute headways, there would be probably around 10-15 trains operating on tracks that are now covered with snow.
by Michael Perkins on Feb 12, 2010 11:44 am • link • report
Sorry if I was clear. Brevity often sacrifices clarity.
RE 1: You are correct, but it takes time. If all the trains stored between Ballston and Clarendon left at the same time for New Carrollton, it wouldn't do anyone any good. As the day goes on, those trains will be put into service. Many of them may already be in service.
I suspect that the empty train that appeared at Court House 9:05 which was reported by Tim in the "How was your commute" post was one of those trains being put into service. Let's say there are 10 trains stored there. If one is put into service every 10 minutes, it will still take 100 minutes to clear Track 1. During that period, single-tracking would be in effect.
RE 2: Actually, lower speeds lower the throughput. If it takes a train twice as long to clear a "block" because it's moving more slowly, the following train can't enter the next block as soon, and so on. It actually does lower the number of trains that can be put into the system. This has been the case for over 7 months now on the Red Line in particular because of the loss of automated operation (and therefore slightly slower speeds).
RE 3: See number 1 and Michael Perkins' statements thereto.
by Matt Johnson on Feb 12, 2010 11:51 am • link • report
by Matt Johnson on Feb 12, 2010 11:52 am • link • report
What does station crowding have to do with the accuracy of the "next train" signs?
by Marian Berry on Feb 12, 2010 12:14 pm • link • report
Station crowding increases dwell times.
For instance, if a train is at Rhode Island Avenue, a sign at Fort Totten might think the train is coming in 4 minutes. But if Brookland is packed for some reason and the train takes 2 minutes to board and alight passengers, that 4 minutes suddenly becomes 6.
And while that 4 becomes 6, Fort Totten's platform gets more crowded, which increases the train's dwell time there, which makes it even later at Takoma, and so on.
With slower speeds, the PIDS system can adjust relatively quickly to average travel times. But station dwell times can vary greatly, especially with low service, and that is one of the factors creating problems today.
by Matt Johnson on Feb 12, 2010 12:17 pm • link • report
I guess it comes down to metro not being very prepared to deal with this sort of thing, because they are barely capable of running the system under normal circumstances. That's what you get for structural underfunding.
by Jasper on Feb 13, 2010 1:45 pm • link • report
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