Posts about CSX

Union Station's tracks don't line up VRE and the Brunswick MARC

At Union Station, VRE trains coming from the south enter the station from the First Street Tunnel, at the far eastern end of the station. But the Brunswick Line's tracks come into the station at its far western end.

A Brunswick train crossing from the CSX Metropolitan Subdivision tracks on the west side of the station to the through tracks on the east side would have to cross all the tracks at Union Station, blocking trains on the other MARC, Amtrak and VRE lines.

That doesn't mean crossing over is impossible. It just makes scheduling more difficult. If in the future, for example, Acelas leave (and arrive) every 30 minutes and Regionals leave/arrive every 30 minutes, and MARC Penn trains leave and arrive every 20, there aren't many gaps for trains to cross over, and doing so can cause delays.

The Penn Line trains wouldn't face this problem, and as the highest-ridership line, that is the most logical one for through-running. But this is also the line with the most high platforms and thus the greatest incompatibility between MARC and VRE.

There isn't enough reverse-direction capacity

The Penn Line tracks do line up with the First Street tunnel; that's what Amtrak trains use to get to Virginia. Those trains could continue south to Alexandria, or even farther south. This could be a great asset for Penn Line riders, who could stay on the train to L'Enfant Plaza if they want the Metro Orange, Blue, Yellow or Green Lines, or ride to Crystal City or Alexandria if they work at jobs in Virginia.

Unfortunately, this would run into a second problem. There isn't enough track capacity south of Union Station. Right now, there are 2 tracks across the Potomac on the Long Bridge, and 3 through the L'Enfant Plaza area. CSX controls these tracks, and doesn't let VRE use all of the tracks.

Right now, VRE trains run almost entirely one-way. The trains head into DC on one track in the morning, and back out to Virginia on one track in the afternoon; in between, the trains sit at a yard near Ivy City in DC. The VRE schedule lists just one reverse-direction train, on the Manassas Line each morning and evening. Amtrak's trains go both ways all day, but there are only a few of those and mainly not at rush hours.

The bottom line is, if Virginia and Maryland wanted to have all or even some Penn Line trains continue past Union Station at least to Alexandria, there wouldn't be enough track space.

A similar problem applies to letting VRE trains continue north of Union Station. CSX has resisted letting Maryland's MTA add more MARC trains on the Brunswick and Camden Lines without also demanding Maryland invest some money into improvements along the route.

Stations are limited

Another issue with through-running is the design of the VRE stations at L'Enfant and Crystal City. These stations each have just one platform on one side of the tracks. That means trains can only serve the stations in one direction at a time.

This means the reverse peak direction trains on the Manassas Line each morning and afternoon can't stop at Crystal City or L'Enfant, because the trains running in the peak direction are using the platform track.

If Brunswick (or other MARC) trains could run south of Union Station today, they couldn't stop at L'Enfant or Crystal City, which is where most of the MARC riders would likely want to go.

Most of the other stops on the Manassas Line have the same configuration, with platforms only on one side as well. This will prove to be an obstacle for additional reverse peak direction trains, whether they're MARC or VRE.

Maryland Ave plan and Long Bridge study could fix this

There is hope on the horizon. The recent Maryland Avenue study recommended building a fourth track at L'Enfant Plaza. CSX could then let passenger trains travel in both directions at high frequency in that area. It would also transform the station from just one platform to 3, with a combination of high and low platforms for both types of trains.

Proposed L'Enfant commuter rail station layout. Image from the DC Office of Planning.

The next bottleneck would be the 2-track Long Bridge across the Potomac, and there's another study going on for that. VRE's 2004 strategic plan recommended adding a 3rd track from the Long Bridge to Crystal City, where the line widens to 3 tracks, and giving the Crystal City station an island platform to serve trains in both directions.

Combined with needed improvements at Union Station, we might one day see a truly regional rail system, at least from Baltimore and maybe Frederick to Alexandria, alongside more frequent service from Fredericksburg and Manassas to DC. To make this happen, however, Maryland and Virginia will have to make it a priority. With an 8-year-old VRE plan and a 5-year-old MARC plan mostly collecting dust, riders will need to push their leaders to put resources into commuter rail.

More tracks would serve a new L'Enfant station

The Maryland Avenue SW plan recommends building a new and larger L'Enfant rail station where the current station is today, and extends it farther east. Currently the rail line has 3 tracks through the area, and Amtrak, CSX, and the commuter railroads all want to expand it to 4. The expansion would let more commuter trains stop at L'Enfant, while allowing the Amtrak and freight trains to pass through without delay.

Diagram of proposed L'Enfant commuter rail station expansion.

A 4th track would help MARC to run trains past Union Station to L'Enfant Plaza, letting MARC riders directly connect to the 4 Metro lines that don't serve Union Station and thus get to jobs in the area more easily.

Right now, one of the other challenges to through-running MARC trains to L'Enfant is that MARC trains use high platforms at the level of the train floor, while VRE uses low platforms with stairs to the trains. The Maryland Ave plan recommends building platforms on both sides of some of the tracks in the new station, so that both high-floor and low-floor trains could use the same tracks and just open their doors on the side that accommodates their train height. These new platforms would also be longer than those in the current station.

That's not the only logistical question to work out. The MARC Penn line uses electric wires for power. CSX has expressed concerns that their double-stack trains might not be able to reliably coexist with wires. They haven't opposed putting wires on a new 4th track, but are reluctant to allow them on a second track, reducing the number of wire-free tracks to 2. Officials will have to work this out and hopefully convince CSX that the wires won't interfere with their operation.

Poor pedestrian connections in the area today. Photos from the DC Office of Planning.

Streets would connect in a grid

The other major set of recommendations in the plan reintroduces a grid of streets, as once existed, but elevated above the railroad tracks.

The development known as the Portals, which includes the Mandarin Oriental hotel, decked over a short piece of the tracks to create a new Maryland Avenue west of 12th Street, which now ends in a circle. The plan suggests adding 3 more decked blocks here, from 12th west to 9th.

Composite of 2 study options reflecting the final recommendation for reconnecting the street grid.

Immediately east of 12th Street is the "12th Street Expressway", which branches off from the Southwest Freeway. There are off-ramps to D Street in each direction. The expressway then dives below the Mall to 12th Street NW. The plan recommends making this into a regular street, called 11th Street. It would have a regular intersection with the new Maryland Avenue where the off-ramps are today.

When the Department of Energy's Forrestal complex is redeveloped according to the SW Ecodistrict plan, Virginia Avenue and C Street could also be restored through the site. The new 11th Street would continue through to Independence Avenue. The ramp to the tunnel under the Mall would be rebuilt to split off from 11th Street just north of the Maryland Avenue intersection, then go under C and the Mall.

Proposed new grid and public realm, potentially reconnecting Virginia Ave.

We need to plan the track expansion now

The report estimates it would cost $429 million to build all of this. That money is not even close to available now, but there is something important that DC needs to do: the preliminary engineering for the station, tracks and deck. A more detailed architectural and engineering design will figure out exactly where the new platforms and station could fit.

That's important because CSX is going to be spending a lot of money on these tracks to fit the double-stack trains it wants to run along its major east coast route, which passes right through DC. It's going to lower the tracks here to fit those freight cars under some of the bridges. The plan notes that recreating Maryland Avenue will require lowering some of those bridges even further, which means lowering the tracks more.

And do some of the tracks need to shift a few feet here and there for the future L'Enfant rail station? When CSX lowers and rebuilds the tracks, that's the time to put them in the right spot. CSX certainly wouldn't pay to move the tracks later, and might not even allow DC to do it; once the line is running, they'll want to keep it in use for freight trains.

CSX's project will happen in the next few years. DC should fund enough engineering right now so it can push CSX to locate the tracks properly and design them to accommodate any neded infrastructure like electric wires. Then, whenever money comes up to create a new commuter rail station or deck Maryland Avenue, there's no need to touch the tracks or disrupt freight trains again.

Perhaps one day, some people will move to homes at L'Enfant Plaza station and enjoy walking around a lively mixed-use neighborhood on top of the tracks, and be amazed when people tell them that once upon a time the neighborhood had no residents, no walkable Maryland Avenue in that area, restaurants almost all in underground malls, and a generally inhospitable feel. If people can't tell that the neighborhood once felt like it does, that'll be the best success of all.

Governors Bob McDonnell and Martin O'Malley announced plans to spend $10 billion to build a new freeway across the Potomac River in order to accommodate the Metro riders, but added that funding is too scarce to contribute more to speed up the Metro repairs. "We think this is the best way to use our state transportation dollars to help commuters," said Virginia Secretary of Transportation Sean Proaughton.

In addition, MARC will add new service on the Brunswick Line. CSX announced that it would allow MARC to run more trains and actually tell its dispatchers to give priority to passenger trains on the line, as opposed to previous times when they claimed to have done so but dispatchers did not actually follow through.

Metro is launching a new public relations campaign around the closure, called "Red Line: Deal With It." Customers will see construction walls at Red Line station entrances with slogans like, "8 Months Isn't So Bad, Is It?" and "No More Delays. No More Red Line."

Organizers of large national events are also being informed. A national tea party convention has already modified its website to inform attendees driving to the region from points north on I-95 to take the Beltway to Vienna instead of driving to Glenmont or using any other station.

Metro will suspend all work on other lines, including Silver Line construction, in order to complete the work in 8 months. "We hope that by the time the Red Line reopens, we'll only have to single-track twice a month," said WMATA CEO Richard Snarles.

Dessel said Metro is working with Mayor Gray to hire thousands of unemployed District residents to help with the 24-hour repairs. The program is part of a new employment program called "One City, One Line."

A social media component of the program, called "Metro Fast Forward," will equip track workers with helmet video cameras and editing software so that they can produce videos of the work in real time.

This concept has actually been in the works for over a year. Previous WMATA spokesperson Lisa Dystone planned not to tell riders about the closure, arguing that nobody would notice. However, Michael Perkins noticed an obscure footnote in a WMATA Board presentation and encouraged officials to mount a larger campaign to inform riders.

Some have already criticized Metro's plan. The critical blog DeCrapify DC Metro said 8 months is far longer than needed to finish the work. Another blog and popular Twitter account, WTF WMATA, wrote that customers deserve better treatment and vowed to hold Metro accountable.

How will you adjust to the Red Line closing? Let us know in the comments.

Construction may require temporary closure of the 295 Eastbound on-ramp at 8th Street and Virginia Avenue. This would force drivers heading across the 11th Street Bridge to use the on-ramp at 11th and N Streets.

As part of the NEPA process, CSX and DDOT will hold several public meetings, and this first one was billed as a "scoping meeting." Here's the presentation.

Left: NEPA process overview. Right: NEPA schedule.

While CSX provided plenty of nametagged people to talk to members of the public and address questions, the open format left more that a few people scratching their heads. A number of attendees expressed their disappointment that CSX didn't begin the meeting with some kind of general presentation about project basics, like tentative designs and schedule, need and potential impacts.

"I don't even really know what's happening," said one nearby resident. "Is this tunnel only one option? I'm not a shy person, so I have no problem asking questions of these people, but I could see how a lot of people can get intimidated."

That may indeed have happened. The organizers boasted about 100 attendees signing in, but it appeared that only half of those were in any way engaged in asking questions of submitting comments, with many others quickly scanning past the placards before heading off into the night.

What's more, the meeting had a decidedly superficial feel to it. The placards scattered about the room contained very little information beyond introductory NEPA facts, a very basic project scope, and a lot of pro-freight rail propaganda, including some nifty computer animations about the National Gateway project.

As David Garber, ANC Commissioner for the affected neighborhood, pointed out, the meeting was lacking in answers to residents' most important questions: what happens during construction and what does the community get out at the end? "Virginia Avenue is not a great public space currently," Garber said, "so there's an opportunity here to change that."

So while many residents were left wondering why they should be made to endure huge, several year long disruptions to their daily lives, there was no sign anywhere of CSX's proposed community amenities.

CSX is clearly making significant efforts to reach out to the community. They're going to need it to overcome an earlier snafu in which the railroad and its consultants used old satellite images for preliminary planning. The old photos left planners unaware that Virginia Avenue was no longer a strip of vacant parcels, but instead a burgeoning neighborhood of new row houses and a senior apartment building.

Still, this event did little to answer residents' questions or quell their fears that the project would be a major disruption to their daily lives. While asking for comments, questions and alternatives is a laudable effort, it is difficult for the public to make reasonable suggestions if they no so little about the actual impacts they can expect.

If you live or work near Virginia Avenue or frequent the SE-SW freeway, DDOT and CSX want to hear your concerns. The NEPA process requires a 30-day comment period, leaving interested members of the public until October 14th to submit their comments. Comments can be submitted via email to contact@virginiaavenuetunnel.com or via the project website.

Update: The boards from the meeting are now posted online.

Options 3 and 6, where one direction runs several blocks farther east or west than the other direction, were cut because they're too confusing for riders. In option, 3 which used 14th Street for the northbound direction, Some residents were also concerned about negative affects to historic buildings along 14th, particularly viewsheds of the Frederick Douglass House.

Alignments 7, 8, and 10, which would have served the Poplar Point site, were deemed too far removed from the existing community to be effective. While some residents wanted the streetcar away from downtown Anacostia entirely, others didn't want the project to ignore the heart of the community.

Any development in Poplar Point a future streetcar might serve is years away, hasn't even been designed yet, and requires federal reviews. DDOT would have to avoid adverse affects to Anacostia Park, and can't connect to the land using their current right-of-way.

View alternative: 1   2   3   4   5   6   7   8   9   10  
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Three of the four remaining alignments serve the main business district along MLK, while also moving one set of tracks off of MLK at its narrowest section. One alignment serves 13th Street and the residential neighborhood to the east of the main district.

The other two options serve Shannon Place and Railroad Avenue, respectively, the two streets between MLK and the CSX railroad tracks. Both streets have significant potential development along their lengths.

The alignment serving 13th Street could provide better transit service to the residents there and also bring more activity to the churches along that street. However, the potential for new development is low because the street is primarily low-density homes. It's unlikely that higher density apartments or condos would replace those.

DDOT's goal for the streetcar is also to connect activity centers, not serve interior neighborhood streets, like buses do. Running the streetcar along 13th Street could better connect those residents to MLK, but the purpose of the streetcar is not simply to improve local circulation.

Instead, the Anacostia streetcar is part of the larger 37-mile network. The streetcar will serve the business district of the neighborhood while also better connecting Anacostia residents with the rest of the city.

The options along Shannon Place and Railroad Avenue are fairly similar because both alignments have a higher development potential and both serve the business district. There are few residences along these streets, which are primarly industrial.

Running along Shannon Place could be more effective, because those tracks are closer to MLK. Railroad Avenue is one block farther west, which expands the core service area and could make the streetcar less useful.

One of the consultants from HDR, the firm working with DDOT on the study, noted that longer distances between the tracks could be confusing. Riders would also have to walk farther to connect to either direction. Railroad Avenue doesn't connect directly to the 11th Street bridge either, so DDOT would have to construct a right of way there.

In both of these cases, one track separates from MLK to help mitigate traffic congestion and potential loss of parking spaces. Many residents have expressed concern that losing on-street parking could hurt local businesses.

The final alignment, along the CSX railroad tracks, has the least community impact and up front is almost $30 million cheaper. However, it does not serve the existing business district or any residential streets. DDOT would have to purchase the right of way from CSX, which would add to the cost. The state of those negotiations are also unclear and DDOT staff weren't able to say when they might conclude.

Historic preservation could also play a role in the CSX alignment. The streetcar would have to make a sharp right turn at the intersection of the 11st Street bridge and Good Hope Road, where a historic building, formerly the Green Derby, stands. The minimum turning radius for a modern streetcar is about 62 feet and this turn could clip part of the property. DDOT might have to acquire the property in this case, but would not for any of the other routes.

The study team has also posted their presentation from the meeting.

Last night's meeting was more productive than the March meeting because residents were able to talk with DDOT staff and examine the options more closely. In March, residents discussed the options in small groups, then presented to the whole room. It was a good opportunity for dialogue, but also gave some opponents an opportunity to grandstand against the project.

The next stage in the planning process is to develop a locally preferred alternative, which DDOT hopes to do by late fall. There is a "no-build" alternative which maintains existing transportation options. DDOT would then reallocate funds for the project to other areas.

As a result, passengers on the earliest afternoon Brunswick Line train waited at the station for almost an hour and a half after their scheduled departure, and four other Brunswick Line trains left the station late as well.

To reduce delays in case of another power outage, CSX has installed two additional high-speed fax machines and a new high-speed printer in the crew room at Union Station. CSX is also discussing expanded power back-up capabilities with Verizon, Westbrook said.

On June 8, three morning trains on the Camden Line were disrupted when a disabled CSX freight train coming from Selkirk, New York, blocked access to Baltimore's Camden Station from the Riverside Yard facility, where MARC stores the train equipment.

CSX will consider adjusting the schedule of this daily freight train, said Rob Surgeoner, CSX Director for Passenger and Commuter Operations in Baltimore.

In addition, in the future, if MARC is unable to get the train equipment out of the yard, MARC will not cancel the trains, said John Hovatter, director of MARC Train and Commuter Bus Services. Instead, MARC will end northbound Camden Line trains at Dorsey, turn the equipment back for southbound service, and run a bus bridge between Dorsey and Camden Station.

The MARC Riders Advisory Council meets on the third Thursday of every month at 4:30 pm, at the Hall of the States near Union Station. Meetings are open to the public.

Taylor, 24, was in his fourth year with the Redskins. In the twelfth week of the 2007 season he had 5 interceptions—third in the league, according to the Elias Sports Bureau. His reputation as one of the hardest hitting players in the league and his all-out style of play had endeared him to fans.

News of his death during a home invasion on November 27, 2007 quickly spread across the region, leaving his teammates and fans in a state of disbelief and grief. While the Redskins organization honored Taylor's memory on the field, an established DC graffiti artist took to the red line in a public display of deference.

"The Red Line has been a hot spot since the mid-80's, but became the spot in the early 90's," according to Roger Gastman, a Bethesda native and author of Free Agents: A History of DC Graffiti and the forthcoming The History of American Graffiti. "If you wanted to be someone in the DC graffiti scene, you had to hit the Red Line."

"The Brookland station, you can walk right up to it. It is a very good location, if you can pull it off," says Gastman.

"The best writers interact with their environment," asserts Gastman, citing graffiti as the fastest growing art movement of the past forty years.

CERT

Beginning his graffiti career with the tag of "CERT" in 1992 at the age of 14, the well-known writer of the Sean Taylor mural declined an interview request for this article.

"The Red Line was CERT's backyard. He basically lived there and owned it. CERT could disappear, but, to this day he holds enough respect that his spots will remain untouched for years to come," reads CERT's profile in Free Agents that describes his graffiti as "hardcore and illegal" and "always in highly visible spots."

"Graffiti to me is my childhood, my teen years. That's what I was about 100 percent. But I'm still representing. Don't count me out. Don't forget me. I can come back at any moment and in a month I'll take king of the Red Line again," contends CERT in the 2001 book.

"Whatever his reasons for slowing down, CERT is a true D.C. king. It's time for him to sit back and let the mark he left on the city soak in. And like he said, don't count him out. With a closet full of paint and heart that's true to the game, CERT will be back," Gastman foretold in the conclusion of CERT's profile.

The mural has remained untouched since its appearance more than 3 years ago. Gastman says there is a code among writers that is being followed.

"Brookland station can be considered a museum for DC graffiti, because of the pieces that have endured over the years," says Saaret Yoseph, a graduate student at Georgetown University. "Brookland is unique in that the art is eye level. The graffiti is looking right at you as you wait for your train."

Yoseph is directing, "The Red Line D.C Project," a documentary exploring the "communal experience" of graffiti on the Red Line as a public art space. It will be released later this year.

Rider Reactions

"What struck me about that one was here was a memorial to someone we actually knew—or knew of. So much graffiti is inscrutable. Who are the people named there? What's the purpose of it? But this was one we could grasp immediately," said John Kelly, a writer for The Washington Post and Red Line rider since 1983. "And then a few years later, just across the platform was another one that fell into that category: some memorial paint for Michael Jackson."

On a recent morning at the Brookland Station, riders' reactions to the graffiti suggested a sense of pride in the station's distinction as the home of the Sean Taylor mural.

"If they cleaned it up we would be really hurt behind that one," said Milford Obendorf, a Brookland resident waiting with his wife on the northbound train to Silver Spring.

"It's been here since he passed away. People come here to look at it," said Marquette Obendorf.

"It's real creative," said LaWanda Swain, a custodian with Metro for 6 years. "He played here so they have respect for him."

"It spices things up. If they cleaned it up then you'd be staring at a wall for 15 minutes," said Mike Young, 20, a cell phone sales rep downtown. "People remember Sean Taylor because he shouldn't have died. He hit the hardest like when he cracked yungin' in the Pro Bowl."

Numerous videos on YouTube have compiled Taylor's highlights as a Redskin, including a tackle of punter Brian Moorman in the Pro Bowl that lifted Moorman off his feet to a point where he was parallel to the field.

However, some riders expressed frustration with the station's illegal art.

"It grows and grows until they clean it up," said Joe, an older man in a white dress shirt, a Brookland resident for more than two decades. "The kids that do it are talented, but they can put their talents to better use."

As a regular rider of the red line for more than a decade, I can remember the walls at Brookland being cleaned, "buffed" in the language of graffiti, about five years ago.

"The graffiti is on CSX property, not Metro property. Typically, when we become aware of graffiti, our goal is to remove it within 24 hours," said Angela Gates, a Media Relations officer with Metro.

CSX did not respond to email and phone call requests for comment.

"There have been no graffiti-related arrests or citations in the last year at Brookland-CUA," said Gates who emphasized that the property is outside of Metro's jurisdiction.

With no apparent plans to clean the walls and a lack of enforcement around graffiti, the Sean Taylor mural will continue to be a distinctive cultural landmark for the Brookland Metro station.

A print version of this article will appear in the forthcoming spring edition of The Brookland Heartbeat.

The MTA plans to add a crossover at Randolph Road (near White Flint) in 2011. In 2012, they will add another interlocking at Clopper's, between Metropolitan Grove and Germantown, and complete an interlocking at the Pepco power plant in Dickerson. This will reduce the distance between interlockings to 5-7 miles.

Jim Knighton, Director of the MTA's Office of External Affairs, says that roughly one-third of the money will come from the federal government, through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009. The remaining $12 million or so will come from the Maryland Transportation Trust Fund.

According to the MTA's TIGER grant application from September 2009, the MTA sees the additional interlockings as an intermediate step towards the capacity the 2007 MARC Growth and Investment Plan envisions by 2035 through adding a third track.

Right now, Brunswick Line MARC trains typically run in one direction on one track, while freight trains run in both directions on the other track. For MARC riders, more interlockings will mean fewer delays due to engine breakdowns, signal failures, or track work, because of CSX dispatchers' improved ability to send operating trains around the problem.

More crossovers will also mean fewer delays for MARC trains due to "freight congestion". The new interlockings will increase the effective capacity of the tracks by allowing CSX dispatchers to move faster trains around slower trains, rather than simply segregating freight and passenger trains by track.

Of course, CSX will benefit too. With the increased track capacity, there will also be fewer delays for CSX trains due to freight congestion. And, because stop-and-go commuter trains can be slower than freight trains, there will be fewer delays due to what might be described as "passenger congestion".

So why is only the MTA paying for the improvements?

The answer is certainly not because the MTA has lots of extra money. The Maryland Transportation Trust Fund is down 13% since 2007.

CSX, on the other hand, reports a net profit of $414 million (up 43%), an operating profit of $825 million (up 39%), and revenue of $2.7 billion (up 16%), in the third quarter alone.

The answer is rather that, as the MTA's TIGER grant application explains, "The work identified in these projects is driven by the need for greater reliability and frequency in commuter trains. CSX, on its own, would not have initiated this work."

This also happens to be one of the major points in James McCommons's excellent and enlightening Waiting on a Train: The Embattled Future of Passenger Rail Service, a book that explores the current sorry state of American passenger trains and suggests how trains might once again become a real transportation option.

According to McCommons, the major railroads, including CSX, are not opposed to passenger trains on their tracks, as long as the tracks have enough capacity to handle both their own freight trains and the passenger trains. But if capacity is insufficient, it's up to the public agencies that operate the passenger trains to invest the money to fix the problem.

Needless to say, these public agencies have generally not had the money to invest. The MTA's announcement therefore demonstrates Governor O'Malley's continuing support for MARC—especially when compared to his predecessor, former Governor Ehrlich.

Over the past month, Brunswick Line riders have had reason enough to despair. With this announcement, they now have reason to hope, as well.