Posts tagged Safetrack
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Metro Reasons: Are shorter hours really helping Metro maintenance? Here’s what the data show.
Should Metro return to late night hours or keep them to make more time for badly-needed maintenence? As the debate continues in the region, there's been a dearth of data showing how useful the shorter service hours have actually been. But now we have data to help answer that question. Keep reading…
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Metro Reasons: WMATA’s draft 2020 budget could be good news for riders
A Metro press release issued early Monday morning offers something that Metrorail riders haven’t had very much of recently: potential good news. The agency’s General Manager is proposing to extend rush hour service and reduce weekend fares, among several other rider-friendly proposals. Keep reading…
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Never waste trackwork: Let’s install pop-up bus lanes for Metro closures
This summer, Metro is again shutting down part of the Red Line, this time for a month and a half. Instead of merely bemoaning the inconvenience, we should use this opportunity to experiment with other transit options that could benefit the area after track work ends. Keep reading…
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But don’t call it SafeTrack: WMATA shifts focus to station platforms
Braces — which by all accounts should only be a temporary patch — supporting the platform not only indicate structural support issues, but also block easy access to quickly get out of the way of an oncoming train. Keep reading…
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Big changes to Metrorail and Metrobus service start Sunday
New Metrorail and Metrobus schedules go into effect this Sunday, June 25. The system will also charge higher fares and reduce its overall operating hours. All of this is part of an effort by WMATA to balance what customers want with what it can afford and what it needs to perform maintenance on. Keep reading…
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Metro is getting rid of the 1000 and 4000 series railcars. That’s great… mostly.
Metro announced on Wednesday that all 1000 and 4000-series railcars will be gone by the end of the month. This might sound good because the 1000s and 4000s don’t work well, but it’s only happening because fewer trains will be running starting June 25th. Keep reading…
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Upcoming Metro shutdowns signal a new, better approach to track work
On Thursday, Metro announced that three sections of Green, Red, and Yellow Line tracks will shut down for up to 15 days between August 2017 and May 2018 so that crews can perform trackwork. The shutdowns indicate that Metro may be shifting how it approaches track maintenance, going from using single-tracking and overnight maintenance that can mean drawing things out to simply shutting and getting a job done all at once. Keep reading…
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Metro’s latest reliability numbers are out. Not great, but could be worse.
Metro wants an 85% customer satisfaction rate for rail and bus, and it’s currently not hitting that. But there are some signs that railcars are becoming more reliable, which could help curb the system’s loss of riders. This comes from Metro’s released latest quarterly vital signs report, which is essentially a report card on how the agency is performing. Keep reading…
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Metrorail changes mean even shorter hours than other transit systems
WMATA claims that reduced hours are necessary to properly maintain the system, but most other cities’ rapid transit systems manage with longer operating hours and later closing times. Keep reading…
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Wiedefeld says Metro’s woes won’t go anywhere without dedicated funding
Last Wednesday, Metro’s General Manager released his plan to pull WMATA out of its downward financial spiral and make operations sustainable. The plan focuses on Metro’s big, multi-year safety and capacity projects as well as properly scheduling and and completing them on time. Addressing funding for both means both raising new money and getting costs under control, and if that doesn’t happen, Metro service could worsen and ridership could keep dropping. Keep reading…