38 replies to this topic

[CNJRoss]

Mobility Lab, 6/16:

 

Tracking SafeTrack: What data to count during the single-tracking  

 

The Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority’s SafeTrack maintenance program rolled into effect this week, with continuous single-tracking between East Falls Church and Ballston, and accompanying service decreases along the Orange and Silver lines.

 

 

While Arlington, the District of Columbia, and the other regional jurisdictions have enacted a number of changes to manage demand during the SafeTrack maintenance periods, the scale of the plan is largely unprecedented and there’s much to learn about how exactly commuters are responding.

 

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[CNJRoss]

The Washington Post, 6/19:
 

Dr. Gridlock

Commuters got pushed around during Surge #1 but adapted. Can they keep it up?

 

By Robert Thomson

 

 

I’m confident that the region will survive the second phase of  Metrorail’s ­15-step rehabilitation plan, but I worry for particular groups of commuters.

 

My confidence stems from the flexibility and savvy that many travelers displayed the past two weeks in adapting to single-tracking on the Orange and Silver lines. My concern is that individual commuters will learn to adapt, then need to adjust all over again for each disruption under the SafeTrack Plan.

 

It’s the same for the planners at Metro and the region’s other transportation agencies. Like commuters, they made some adjustments and picked up a few good lessons during the first disruption. But only a few of the larger lessons will be relevant for the next round and beyond.

 

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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.

[CNJRoss]

Progressive Railroading, June 2016:

 

Safety: Getting WMATA back on track

Last month, the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA) continued efforts to improve the safety and reliability of its subway system in the face of several challenges, including numerous smoke-related episodes in its tunnels. The agency has been working to bolster safety since a January 2015 smoke incident near the L'Enfant Plaza Station caused one fatality and more than 80 injuries.

 

The agency's safety problems led WMATA General Manager and Chief Executive Officer Paul Wiedefeld in March to take the unprecedented step of shutting down the D.C. area’s entire subway system for 29 hours to conduct emergency repairs.

 

Despite the shutdown, several issues persisted. For example, the agency endured two smoke incidents in one day in May after a similar incident occurred in late April. The Federal Transit Administration (FTA), which assumed safety oversight of the agency in October 2015, later criticized WMATA for its "slow and inadequate" response to last month's incidents.

A new plan

To address the continuing string of problems, Wiedefeld on May 19 released a final version of his "SafeTrack" plan, which crams three years' worth of infrastructure maintenance into one year.  .  .  .

 

 

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[CNJRoss]

Progressive Railroading, 7/15:

FTA: WMATA crews broke safety rules during 'SafeTrack' work

Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA) crews have violated numerous safety standards while working on the agency's SafeTrack accelerated maintenance plan, the Federal Transit Administration (FTA) announced yesterday.

 

Photo: WMATA

 

The violations include failing to comply with roadway worker protection rules, inconsistencies in following track maintenance standards and a lack of procedures to ensure metal debris isn't placed near electrified third rail, said FTA spokesman Steven Kulm in an email.

 

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[CNJRoss]

WTOP radio, 7/17:
 

5 things to know about Metro track work: July 17-23

 

WASHINGTON — Commuters will need to be nimble this week as three different track work situations will be in place during rush hours.

 

Here are the key things to know:

 

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[CNJRoss]

WTOP radio, 7/21:
 

Lessons learned from first rounds of Metro track work

 

WASHINGTON — Permanent travel changes could leave their mark on the D.C. region after Metro’s 24/7 track work is done, as the region looks to translate lessons learned in the early work zones into actions that can help people across the area avoid the worst possible delays between now and March.

 

“The key is … getting information to travelers so that they know what their alternatives are,” Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments transportation engineer Eric Randall told regional leaders Wednesday.

 

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[CNJRoss]

WTOP radio, 7/25:
 

A look at Metro track work behind the scenes

 

WTOP's Max Smith gets a behind-the-scenes look at Metro's track work. See photos.

 

[CNJRoss]

WTOP radio, 10/14:
 

Metro can’t say if rebuilding projects have improved service

 

WASHINGTON — Metro has no measure of whether the recent rebuilding work has improved rides when work zones wrap up, according to Metro leaders.

 

“I really want to hear how this process has, thus far, made our system more reliable in those places,” Prince George’s County Metro board Member Malcolm Augustine asked Thursday. “Have we seen an uptick in reliability in those areas? We should see it, or I hope that we see it.”

 

Metro Chief Operating Officer Joe Leader said it could take months to have a clear measure of reliability on each stretch of track.

 

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[CNJRoss]

WTOP radio 5/22/18:
 

Final Metro ‘SafeTrack’ report finds success — and some planning mistakes

 

 

WASHINGTON — Metro’s initial 13 months of 24/7 track work had some major accomplishments, but a final federal oversight report finds some pieces of the program that Metro called “SafeTrack” left a lot to be desired.

 

The Federal Transit Administration’s final project management oversight report notes that SafeTrack successfully replaced 95 percent of the system’s defective rail ties, leaving about 2 percent (4,000) remaining across the system, but that planning failed to account for how bad the tracks were to start with.

 

That led to problems getting enough materials to do the work, and to the rapid expansion of the program including more shutdown areas than initially planned.

 

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