Posts about Ask GGW

Dan Stessel, WMATA spokesperson, said the 364th 7000-series car, which will replace the last 1000-series, is scheduled for 2016. That assumes nothing changes; he notes, "While we have not adjusted the delivery schedule due to this year's events in Japan, we are closely monitoring supply chains and will be in a better position late this year to know what, if any, impact there may be to the production timeline."

So what will happen with the 1000s? Kurt Raschke has some thoughts:

They'll almost certainly be scrapped, like PATH is doing now with the PA1-4 cars now that all of the PA-5s have been delivered. It would be excellent if at least one married pair were to be preserved (preferably 1000/1001 at minimum), but today's WMATA is not a terribly nostalgic agency.

Then there's the issue of what to do with the preserved cars; you could send them to the National Capital Trolley Museum, but I don't know if they have appropriate facilities for them (considering that they are a trolley museum), and I doubt WMATA would just leave them on the property indefinitely.

As far as using the scrapped cars for various projects, that may or may not happen. As an example, London Underground is in the process of scrapping the 1967 Tube Stock fleet, and the company doing the scrapping has been instructed by Transport for London to not permit any "sizable pieces" off the property (to include whole train cars). It's not clear why this is, but it may have to do with liability, or accounting or tax issues.

One of these stations is East Falls Church, where all westbound Orange Line trains from downtown terminated this past weekend due to the Dulles Corridor Metrorail Project. Thus, Orange Line trains bound for East Falls Church display "SPECIAL" all the way from New Carrollton to East Falls Church. This work has been going on throughout 2011, and will continue in 2012, based on Metro's track work schedule.

Because the PIDS (the in-station "next train" display boards) are also driven by trains' destination codes, more often than not they only display "Train".

Regardless of the destination code set, the train operator can manually override a train's side destination signs, forcing them to "SPECIAL" or "NO PASSENGERS" with the use of a switch in the cab. In certain circumstances (especially when there's no track work going on), it may be the case that the train operator has the right destination code entered but has failed to set the train identity control switch appropriately. In those cases, a kind word on the intercom or through the cab window will often get the problem resolved.

The situation is an accessibility and wayfinding nightmare. While operators of "SPECIAL" trains are supposed to make frequent public address announcements with regard to the train's route, they're often inaudible to the majority of passengers, and at their best, they still do nothing for hearing-impaired riders.

Where a station without a destination code is a frequent terminal due to work (like East Falls Church), the best solution would be for WMATA to revise the destination code table plugged into each railcar's display system. Unfortunately, that requires bringing every railcar into the shop, an expensive and time-consuming proposition.

In the meantime, riders may find it helpful to know that if, for example, there's track work on the Orange Line, but not the Blue Line, then westbound trains at downtown stations that display "SPECIAL" are almost certainly operating on the Orange Line and terminating at East Falls Church.

Even if Metro can reduce the use of "SPECIAL" destination signs for frequent work, these trains will always exist. Not every station can have a destination code; there simply aren't enough codes.

Sometimes trains will need to terminate at a certain station due to work very infrequently, and for them it's probably not worth it to reset the codes for a one-time event. That was the case this past weekend, when Green Line trains from Greenbelt terminated at Georgia Avenue. Their destination signs displayed "SPECIAL" while going southbound, but the switch replacement work on the Green Line at U Street was a one-weekend event.

In any circumstance, since they're going to continue to exist, Metro should make more of an effort to communicate the route and destination of "SPECIAL" trains to customers.

Current Metro fares. Graphic by the author.

During off-peak periods, fares fall into one of three buckets. Trips equal to or less than 7 miles cost $1.60 $1.95. If your trip is between 7 and 10 miles, the cost is $2.15. Any trips over 10 miles in length cost $2.75.

If you travel during peak periods, the formula is a bit more complex. The first 3 miles cost $1.95. For each mile between 3 and 6, riders are charged 29.9 cents per mile, in addition to the $1.95 base. For any mile beyond 6 miles, the per mile rate is 26.5 cents. Fares stop increasing at $5. The $5 cap does not include the peak-of-the-peak or paper farecard surcharges.

Under the current fare structure, after 14 miles, fares stop increasing. That means that if we added the Silver Line without changing the fare structure, the fare cap would keep fares at a maximum of $5. That probably won't be the case, however.

Currently, the suburban jurisdictions pay half the difference of what the actual fare would be without the cap. With the Silver Line being so long, that arrangement may not continue to be feasible.

Many riders are probably unaware of the cap, and therefore assume that longer lines will automatically result in higher fares. Without the cap, Metro fares would hit a maximum of $9.05 for a trip from Franconia to Shady Grove without peak-of-the-peak or farecard surcharges.

Metro fares without a $5 peak cap. Graphic by the author.

If the Silver Line was added into a fare structure without the $5 cap, the maximum fare would rise to $11.80. That would be the cost of a trip from Route 772 at the end of the Silver Line to Largo Town Center at the end of the Blue Line.

Under that scenario, the fare from Dulles to Metro Center would be $7.80.

Metro fares after Silver Line, without $5 cap. Graphic by the author.

But it's unlikely Metro will have uncapped fares. What is a far more likely scenario would be for Metro to raise the cap, and perhaps add a fourth tier to both peak and off-peak trips. The chart below shows one potential scenario.

Graphic by the author.

In this scenario, fares are capped at $6.20 during peak periods. Above 14 miles, riders are charged 20 cents per mile. Additionally, off-peak fares receive a fourth tier of fares. For trips longer than 15 miles, riders are charged $3.50.

Let's look at a few potential fare possibilities.

Under the current fare structure, fares would have 3 buckets for off-peak, and would be capped at $5. In that case, trips from selected stations on the Silver Line would look like this:

Under the scenario with giving off-peak and peak fares a fourth tier and a peak cap of $6.20, fares would look like this:

Finally, what would fares look like under the current structure, if they were not capped at $5?

You can see possible fares between all stations and each Silver Line station on the full spreadsheet (XLS).

Glebe Road and the Chain Bridge, from the 1961 Arlington General Land Use Plan

This interchange remained on the books until 1975, when the County removed the proposed bridge and a number of other road projects (including, for a period of four years, I-66) from its Plans.

Glebe Road and the Chain Bridge, from the 1975 Arlington General Land Use Plan

On a related note that may become a later post on Greater Greater Washington, and as recounted by Zachary Schrag, Arlington County at the time was in a war with the state and the Federal Highway Administration over Interstate and Metro plans. In 1979, I-66 was restored in a compromise with the two other parties to run Metro underground in Arlington. However, the two other proposed bridges (the I-266 Three Sisters Bridge near Spout Run Parkway, and the Arizona Avenue Bridge suggested above) never made it back in after various battles.