Retro Metro -- September 22, 1982 -- Blue & Yellow Lines

[coneyraven]

ALEXANDRIA ANGERED BY DELAYS IN OPENING OF SUBWAY
The Washington Post

For several years, Alexandria officials have watched with frustration as Metrorail tracks stretched closer to the city and the date for the first trains on those tracks slipped further away.

The five-mile extension of the Blue Line from National Airport to Alexandria was supposed to open late this year.  Nine months ago delays in delivery of new train cars forced Metro officials to move to next fall the date for arrival of the subway in Alexandria.

Now even that date seems in doubt.  Metro, concerned about train breakdowns, reliablility of service and the size of its fleet, is considering plans that would use at least two dozen new cars, expected to begin arriving next year, to improve service on existing lines.

That could delay service to Alexandria until as late as June 1984 -- a postponement that has some Alexandria City Council members fuming over what they describe as Metro's "cavalier" attitude toward the city.

"I think we're getting jerked around by WMATA," said Vice Mayor James P. Moran, referring to the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority, or Metro.  "If this was a business enterprise, no executive would have stood for these constant delays.  Every year goes by and they invariably notify us of another delay or additional cost.  You reach the end of your rope.  You just keep looking for that goal beyond the rainbow, but instead we just keep getting rained on."

"We've paid out about $43 million for Metrorail," said council member Donald Casey, "and we still don't have any service."

"It bothers me terribly," agreed council member Margaret B. Inman at a council session last week.  "Alexandrians have paid a very heavy proportion of their taxes for Metro.  We have contributed so long.  Why are we being told that we come last?"

The four Metro subway stations in and south of the city are finished.  The rails at King Street, Braddock Road, Eisenhower Avenue and Huntington station, which form a north-south arc along the western edge of Old Town, are complete.  The rails have been electrified since early this year, and Metro has been running tests since then.  To those near the stations, the test cars braking and pulling out of the four new stations have become a familiar sight.

One reason for the delayed delivery of the new Metro cars was a strike by the brake manufacturer.  But that strike has been settled, which means that the 94 cars on order, as well as 100 more, should be delivered at a rate of two a week starting sometime next year, according to a Metro spokesman.  Among them should be the approximately 28 cars needed to start up Alexandria service.

Full speed ahead, then?  Not exactly.

The new wrinkle, according to Alexandria Assistant City manager Clifford Rusch, is the unreliablility factor.  Metro trains hve been breaking down at record rates and causing delays in service, and Metro officials would like to increase the size of the subway fleet.  Ideally, spare cars should number about 15 percent of the fleet, but Metro has been operating with considerably fewer, according to Metrorail scheduling engineer Donald Hamburg.

Transit payments by Alexandria have increased steadily over the past few years, from $3.3 million in 1978 to $5.7 million last year.  At the same time, the percentage going for bus service has decreased steadily as the city has phased out bus lines.  Next year,the city bill for rail construction and service alone will be $1.14 million.

"We've paid through the nose on this thing, and the least we could do is get some commitment from them," Vice Mayor Moran said at last week's council meeting.

"Right on," agreed his colleagues.

Last week, at its first regular meeting of the fall, the council decided to send Metro a letter.  "Metro is looking at a lot of service options," said Assistant City Manager Rusch.  "We want them to know we'll be watching."

But at least one council member has more faith in personal lobbying than in pen and paper -- even if the letter carries the city seal.

"I don't think a letter will do much,"  Moran said after last week's meeting.  "What this will do is give Chuck [Mayor Charles E. Beatley Jr.] a green light to go down there and kick a--."

[coneyraven]

As you read this, you can tell it was before someone had the bright idea that the Yellow Line required fewer cars -- so -- run the line as Yellow instead of Blue -- of course, this was supposed to be a temporary fix....I'm still waiting for it to revert back -- it seems that there is greater odds that the Yellow will go to Franconia before Blue goes back to Huntington

[WMATAGMOAGH]

The Yellow to Huntington is no longer a temporary arrangement, it is permanent.  Ironically of course, Blue Line service to F/S is about to be cut as a result of the Dulles Line and general congestion at C&K Junction.

[coneyraven]

I wouldn't say that Blue is being cut -- moreas, if they follow the more reasonable approach, more trains will be Yellow -- Yellow will have dual terminals -- At least that's the way I feel it should be done.....

[WMATAGMOAGH]

Blue is cut, more trains will be Yellow, 6 of one, half a dozen of another.  I agree they should make it dual Yellow terminals and not introduce a new color if possible.

[coneyraven]

Oren, you are ABSOLUTELY RIGHT!!! -- I saw a map on another web site saying that they wanted to introduce
Brown as a color operating from Franconia, then across the Fenwick Bridge to Greenbelt.....IT LOOKED HORRIBLE!!!
I wonder though, just how many trains does Huntington really need, if perhaps they DID reverse it back so that Huntington was ONLY BLUE and Franconia was ONLY YELLOW -- would this solve the capacity problem at Rosslyn when the Silver opens?

[WMATAGMOAGH]

That would not be a solution, because both Huntington and Franconia Springfield get the same number of trains per hour during rush hour.  They need enough room for all the Orange Line and all the Silver Line trains coming from Court House, as well as whatever Blues come up from Arlington Cemetery and Pentagon.  Since those trains coming from Court House only have one way of getting to DC, whereas a train coming from Pentagon has two, they need to shift them over to the 7th Street trunk.  It doesn't matter whether they start at Huntington or at Franconia-Springfield, but Franconia is more used than Huntington, has better highway access, and more people want to go from there to Farragut West, which is why the temporary swap became permanent.

If this new routing involves sending many trains to Greenbelt, then I am in favor of a new color because then the Yellow Line would have 5 terminals (Franconia, Huntington, Mount Vernon Square, Fort Totten, and Greenbelt), and most likely, that will be the case.  Therefore, a new color may be helpful.  I preferred aqua over brown though, since aqua is a blue/green blend, and that is what this new line would be.

[coneyraven]

Aqua would work ... or ... since we're still waiting for it... steal the purple for use and make the east-west route a different color altogether....but, in the end, I'd still use Yellow, and end the Ft Totten terminus ....send them all to either MVS or Greenbelt, because, you're right, five terminals is a bit much.

[rideonrulez]

Since you guys are on this subject, I did here recently that it has been in the talks at WMATA board meetings. They are trying to decide if it will be a colored line or just call it some kind of special train. It might not be a color as I heard it might only start out as 5 trains per rush that would be doing this. I guess we'll see what WhyMATA will decide soon.