38 replies to this topic

[CNJRoss]

WTOP radio, 5/6:
 

Metro announces months of major single-tracking, shutdowns, rush-hour impact

 

WASHINGTON — Riders on all lines will be affected by single-tracking or station closures over the coming months to completely rebuild parts of the Metro system, Metro General Manager Paul Wiedefeld announced Friday morning.

 

The Safe Trackwork plan includes “safety surges” that will involve single-tracking for weeks at a time on some stretches, which can have a ripple effect on lines that share any stretches of track. In addition to delays, lines with single-tracking are also expected to have fewer trains running than usual during the work week.

 

As an example, Wiedefeld announced single-tracking between Franconia and Van Dorn streets from June 5-19.

 

Continue here.

[CNJRoss]

The Washington Post, 5/6:
 

Metro will shut down sections of lines for year-long subway repair work

 

After decades of maintenance neglect, Metro next month will begin a massive subway rebuilding effort that will inconvenience virtually everyone who uses the system, with portions of most rail lines shut down for up to a month at a time and reductions in train service throughout the year-long project, officials said Friday.

 

The service disruptions will have ripple effects across the region as local governments and employers will be asked to make adjustments — whether it be changing HOV-lane restrictions to ease the anticipated increase in road traffic or allowing employees to work from home or modify their schedules.

 

[The full list of the stations that will be closed or have reduced service ]

 

“It’s what needs to be done,” General Manager Paul J. Wiedefeld declared in an interview before he began outlining his ambitious plan at a late-morning news conference.

 

Continue here.

 

(News conferences is still in progress)

[CNJRoss]

WMATA news release:

 

Metro GM releases draft 'SafeTrack' plan to local jurisdictions
Accelerated plan to improve Metrorail safety, service reliability

 

 

» View Draft SafeTrack plan (pdf)

 

Metro General Manager/CEO Paul J. Wiedefeld today released SafeTrack, an expanded track work plan to improve Metrorail safety and restore service reliability.

 

Wiedefeld’s SafeTrack plan includes 15 "safety surges" over the next year that will accelerate maintenance on Metro’s rail system from the ballast up. By closing the system at midnight on weekends and expanding weekday maintenance opportunities, the plan addresses FTA and NTSB safety recommendations and deferred maintenance backlogs while restoring track infrastructure to good health.

 

SafeTrack accomplishes in one year, work that otherwise would take about three years to complete.

 

Fifteen "safety surges" are planned that will allow track crews to exponentially increase productivity and achieve safety results for customers faster. These long-duration track outages use either around-the-clock single tracking or line-segment shutdowns that will impact rush hour commutes. Metrorail riders will be encouraged to consider using alternate travel options while safety surge work is in effect on their line.

 

In addition, Wiedefeld announced a moratorium on early openings and late closings.  Closure of the Metrorail system at midnight seven days a week will begin Friday, June 3.

 

"This plan is going to take some sacrifice from all of us," Wiedefeld said. "But it is clear that the current approach is not working, more aggressive action is necessary."

 

Following the review and consideration of traffic mitigation and alternate travel options by the Department of Transportation (DOT) agencies in the District of Columbia, Maryland and Virginia, regional law enforcement, Office of Personnel Management (OPM), Department of Homeland Security and General Services Administration (GSA), a final version of SafeTrack will be released for riders on May 16.  

 

“Metro’s safety culture change depends on support from the entire region,” said Wiedefeld. “We have to begin by understanding that safety trumps inconvenience.”

 

News release issued at 11:18 am, May 6, 2016.

[CNJRoss]

WTOP radio, 4:05 pm 5/6:

Metro riders face year of ‘massive’ repairs, shutdowns, service cuts

 

WASHINGTON — Calling Metro’s state of disrepair a crisis, the transit agency’s leaders announced a year of repairs that will take entire stretches of track out of commission for weeks at a time and will require round-the-clock single tracking for other portions of the rail system in an effort to correct years of neglected maintenance.

 

“This system will never be new again,” said General Manager Paul Wiedefeld. “This is focused on the safety and reliability.”

 

Riders on all lines will be affected by the repairs over the next year, Wiedefeld announced Friday morning. He wants to finalize the plan, which he called a draft, by May 16 and begin work in June.

 

SNIP

 

The SafeTrack work plan includes 15 “safety surges” that will involve trains sharing a single track  .  .  .

 

SNIP

 

Here is the scheduled list of track shutdowns, according to Metro’s rebuilding plan:

• July 5 — 12 from Reagan National Airport to Braddock Road
• July 12-19 from Reagan National Airport to Pentagon City
• Aug. 20 to Sept. 6 from Eastern Market to Minnesota/Benning
• Oct. 9 to Nov. 2 from NoMa/Gallaudet to Fort Totten
• Dec. 6-24 from Pentagon to Rosslyn

Here is the scheduled list of continuous single tracking, according to Metro’s rebuilding plan:

• June 4-19 from Franconia/Springfield to Van Dorn Street
• June 20 to July 3 from Greenbelt to College Park
• July 20-31 from Greenbelt to College Park
• Aug. 1-8 from Takoma to Silver Spring
• Aug. 9-19 from Shady Grove to Twinbrook
• Sept. 9 to Oct. 21 from Vienna to West Falls Church
• Nov. 2-12 from West Falls Church to East Falls Church
• Nov. 12 to Dec. 5 from East Falls Church to Ballston
• March 6-14 West Falls Church to East Falls Church
• April 16 to May 8 from Braddock to Huntington/Van Dorn Street

 

More here.

[CNJRoss]

The Washington Post, 5/6:
 

Party’s over: Metro’s massive rebuilding will put crimp on nightlife

 

Just about 16 years after Metro first allowed Washington to party into the wee hours with extended weekend service, a massive rebuilding program is forcing the subway to once again impose a midnight curfew on riders.

 

Beginning next month, Metro trains will turn into pumpkins at the stroke of 12 every weekend, and some of the businesses that thrive on the city’s nightlife are already feeling the buzzkill.

 

“It’s pretty devastating,” Nizam Ali, owner of Ben’s Chili Bowl, said in an interview at its flagship restaurant on U Street. “It’s shocking that the system has gotten to this point of needing this level of repair. It’s going to hurt business. It’s going to hurt our employees trying to get to work and get home, as it is for all D.C. residents.”

 

Continue here.

[CNJRoss]

The Washington Post, 5/6:

 

Letter to the Editor
 

Metro employees stand ready to make the system safer

 

Members of the Amalgamated Transit Union Local 689, Metro’s largest union, are often blamed for Metro’s shortcomings, but the facts from the National Transportation Safety Board hearing last week and its report tell a different story. We have been at the forefront of the safety conversation for years. 

 

It is wrong to imply that Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority employees don’t understand the safety issues of the system that we serve day in and day out. We are aware of rail operators performing “visual track inspections” when asked about smoke in tunnels. WMATA does not report every command and misstep to us. It is only when unfortunate events such as the fatal L’Enfant Plaza incident last year happen that we discover the extent of the problem. 

SNIP

 

.  .  .  And, shortly after the L’Enfant Plaza incident, we outlined four major benchmarks Metro needed to meet immediately, which The Post reported. Local 689 has been the loudest voice calling for safety changes, and we stand ready to work with Metro to take positive long-term action to implement a safety culture that will not end when the NTSB investigation is complete.

 

David Stephen, Washington

The writer is communications coordinator of Amalgamated Transit Union Local 689.

 

More here.

[CNJRoss]

The Washington Post, 5/6:

 

The Post's View
 

‘Tough medicine’ for Metro and the Washington area

 

“TOUGH MEDICINE” was the characterization Metro General Manager Paul J. Wiedefeld used in announcing a subway rebuilding program that will cause massive disruptions over the next year. “We have to take it,” he said Friday in unveiling the ambitious plans. “And the sooner we take it, the better we’re all going to be.”

 

Washington commuters really have no choice. They will have to go along. They will have to swallow the inconveniences and hardships to their lives, jobs and businesses. And, like Charlie Brown with Lucy and the football, they will hope that this time will be different; that their trust will not be betrayed and Metro might actually keep its promise to fix the system.

 

SNIP

 

Assuming that the repair work is done well and on time, it will be important to heed Mr. Wiedefeld’s warning against backsliding on future maintenance. That means Virginia, Maryland and the District must finally create a safety oversight body and, equally important, devise a stable and continuing source of revenue for Metro.

 

More here.

[CNJRoss]

The Washington Post, 5/9:
 

5 facts about Metro’s ‘SafeTrack’ plan

 

Between the full shutdown of segments of the Metro system and extended single-tracking in other portions, the SafeTrack plan that Metro unveiled Friday has a bit of “tough medicine” for all commuters, in the words of Metro General Manager Paul J. Wiedefeld.

 

So you’ve heard the gist of the impact:  Longer waits at the platform, bus bridges in some areas, crowded trains likely, more drivers on the road, and in some cases a need to find other modes of transit to get where you need to be. Remember this is a draft plan, and Metro officials have yet to provide specifics about traffic mitigation and alternate travel options.

 

 

Here are the highlights:

[CNJRoss]

The Washington Post, 5/9:
 

Dr. Gridlock

Deja vu on Metro rebuilding plan? Here’s why.

 

By Robert Thomson

 

“The system wasn’t maintained the way it should be, and we have to make up for that now. That’s why we’re doing this intensive work.”
— Richard Sarles, then Metro general manager, May 2011

“It is clear that the current approach is not working, more aggressive action is necessary.”
— Paul J. Wiedefeld, Metro general manager, May 2016

 

“I appreciate the need for the rebuilding effort and generally support the plan. One question that I have though is that Metro has been rebuilding for years now and things seem to be getting worse, so why should we have confidence that this rebuild will be better?”
— A reader’s comment submitted for Monday’s Dr. Gridlock online chat

 

Everyone in the D.C. region — Metro riders, residents, employers, employees, civic leaders — has a right to wonder how much better Metrorail service will be a year from now under the new SafeTrack Plan. The new strategy that Wiedefeld outlined Friday will increase the extent of service disruptions that many riders already said was unacceptable. Meanwhile, much of the track work that will be done is the same type of track work that has been underway for five years.

 

The crews won’t be building a new railroad. They will continue rebuilding the old railroad.

 

Robert Thomson is The Washington Post’s “Dr. Gridlock.” He answers travelers’ questions, listens to their complaints and shares their pain on the roads, trains and buses in the Washington region.

 

Continue here.

[CNJRoss]

WTOP radio 5/11:

FTA orders immediate Metro track repairs

 

WASHINGTON — Metro has been ordered to take action right away in certain parts of the rail system to reduce the chances of another smoke or fire incident.

 

And the directives might delay the start of Metro’s plan to attack safety troubles system wide.

 

SNIP

 

Read the full letter:

FTA letter to WMATA — Actions Before Safe Track

More here.