Metro in its death throes as an elite system?

[Scrabbleship]

I know it's GGW. I know that GGW gets a bad rap here. GGW does have valid points though.

(Projected) Cuts would make Metrorail headways worse than most (other heavy rail systems)

Our region must commit to maintaining transit

If the Doomsday rail cuts came into play, would Metro survive? Or is the party over?

[Perry]

No, Metro will just go away, they can just roll up the tracks like it's a Lionel set, throw away their buses and call it a day.  Stop buying into the paranoia of groups with another set of agendas.

Is it a good idea to slash headways?  Not if you don't have to, but unless you want to lose a ton of bus lines, have fares triple and cut the service area, you aren't going to be able to do too much else.  Even eliminating some "high" paying jobs will only save you so much.  It's a problem that most large transit systems are going through.  It's an expensive venture and unless you have some brilliant idea of how to stop them from doing it, I'm not sure what else they would do.

[Tritransit Area]

I dunno... WMATA's off-peak headways are already quite poor.  I fear that reducing them further would just tip the scale the wrong way.

Honestly, DC Area is not poor, and WMATA's base fares are actually now considered dirt cheap compared to other systems.  It wouldn't be bad to raise the base fare a bit, or at least get rid of "reduced fare" pricing.  I'd keep the top end fares the same, though.

Actually, the disturbing part is that all these cuts seem to be made to avoid any sort of fare increase whatsoever.

I still don't think eliminating 8 car trains is a wise idea...it will provide minimal savings.  Those trains get REALLY crowded during the rush hours, especially in places where service can't be increased (where two lines run together).  4 trains of 8 cars per hour would save more (labor) money than 5 trains trains of 6 cars in my opinion.  Is there a union resistance to such a practice?

I they follow through with this, though, I hope they start providing printed timetables for the lines.   As a matter of fact, they DO have such schedules!  Maybe they will be more available in ALL stations.

[Scrabbleship]

Two months later and ten cents a ride more, two pieces of Metro cynicism to chew on.

1: In the mess of in-jokes and memes that make up comments to posts on DCist came this comment to a post on speed restrictions further destroying Metro's efficiency under manual operation.

I work in transportation and heard from a colleague who has been talking to the interim GM that Metro is not only in deep debt, but the system require more than 100 million to upgrade just to keep it safe. Apparently the impending report from interim GM will recommend that if Metro cannot make those investments, it should entirely shut down for safety reasons. That's sure to start a [crap] storm. Stay tuned

I know the odds of that happening are unrealistic (if NYC could be in worse shape and not shut down), but outside of using it to get more funding how realistic would this be. I think it's the perfect thing to get increased funding and possibly emergency funding. Of course, there are people who think the NTSB is holding up Metro getting more money...

2: Dr. Gridlock at the Post says that Metro shouldn't eliminate 8-car trains because eliminating them would anger the money they got to upgrade to 50% 8-car train capabilities.

Dr. Gridlock makes sense and until ATO is back on or until employees are trained to stop at the sign with a 6 or 8 on it, 8 car trains should not go. Think of the crowding on high-use days and at stations with end of platform entrances (Gallery Place upper, Fort Totten Lower, National Airport, Takoma, White Flint, etc. etc.).

[WMATAGMOAGH]

The issue with stopping at the 6 car mark versus the 8 car mark is simple:  When the safety system that had the doors opening automatically is being used, it isn't possible for the doors of an 8 car train to open unless the train is at the 8 car marker.  The fact it is going to take a year from now to get it fixed is unreasonable in my opinion, and I feel very sorry for any operator who lost his or her job over this situation if that has happened.

Dr. Gridlock should be advocating for the elimination of 6 car trains.  If they are looking to make this sort of cut, I honestly believe the system would run more reliably if for every 4 6 car trains, they ran 3 8 car trains instead.  Same capacity, but the 8 car train fills the platform, people know to spread out along the entire length, and you save money by reducing the number of operators, something that I think can be done through normal attrition rates.

Your list of stations that are problematic due to end of platform entrances is a bit much.  The only real problems are at Gallery Place Upper, and only on the Shady Grove side.  White Flint has had all trains stopping up front (or back) for years, with the exception of 6 car trains oddly enough.  Same for Takoma.  Even on the busiest of days, most of the stations you list aren't that busy.  Before composing such a list, why not post stations where there are actually documented problems, such as Union Station, instead of listing a bunch of stations that are coping well all things considered with the current situation?

[Tritransit Area]

Dr. Gridlock should be advocating for the elimination of 6 car trains.  If they are looking to make this sort of cut, I honestly believe the system would run more reliably if for every 4 6 car trains, they ran 3 8 car trains instead.  Same capacity, but the 8 car train fills the platform, people know to spread out along the entire length, and you save money by reducing the number of operators, something that I think can be done through normal attrition rates.


Oren, that's what I've been wondering the longest time since they advocated for the elimination of 8 car trains.  The savings would be more significant with fewer trains in the system, and could probably help with the bottlenecks, especially since the system will remain in manual 'til almost the end of the year.

[Scrabbleship]

The issue with stopping at the 6 car mark versus the 8 car mark is simple:  When the safety system that had the doors opening automatically is being used, it isn't possible for the doors of an 8 car train to open unless the train is at the 8 car marker.  The fact it is going to take a year from now to get it fixed is unreasonable in my opinion, and I feel very sorry for any operator who lost his or her job over this situation if that has happened.

Hasn't the automatic door opening system been off for the better part of 2 years. I know it was in response to the doors randomly opening in tunnels crisis which was in Spring 2008. By the time it's fixed, that's nearly 3 years which is very unacceptable.

I'm amazed more that they never put a switch on the operator's console to open the doors from the console. Would save a good 10 seconds per stop for a system that by far has the slowest doors of any.

Dr. Gridlock should be advocating for the elimination of 6 car trains.  If they are looking to make this sort of cut, I honestly believe the system would run more reliably if for every 4 6 car trains, they ran 3 8 car trains instead.  Same capacity, but the 8 car train fills the platform, people know to spread out along the entire length, and you save money by reducing the number of operators, something that I think can be done through normal attrition rates.

This makes so much sense, WMATA would never listen to it! Less headway with equal capacity, makes too much sense!

Your list of stations that are problematic due to end of platform entrances is a bit much.  The only real problems are at Gallery Place Upper, and only on the Shady Grove side.  White Flint has had all trains stopping up front (or back) for years, with the exception of 6 car trains oddly enough.  Same for Takoma.  Even on the busiest of days, most of the stations you list aren't that busy.  Before composing such a list, why not post stations where there are actually documented problems, such as Union Station, instead of listing a bunch of stations that are coping well all things considered with the current situation?

I left Union Station off because Union Station has a second exit mid-platform. That kind of alleviates the crunch there that happens in rush hours (and I've been there many a rush hour with both escalators broken among other issues).

Another problem to consider will be Navy Yard post-baseball games this season: Metro frequently gates off the north end of the platforms so people can't backtrack when they get off the escalators. This renders the first 2 cars of a train useless and will create more crowding problems though they did let people move back the one time I went to a game post-Fort Totten crash.

[WMATAGMOAGH]

Time to debunk more myths...

I'm amazed more that they never put a switch on the operator's console to open the doors from the console. Would save a good 10 seconds per stop for a system that by far has the slowest doors of any.

There is such a button, but why would you want it used?  The reason the operator crosses over is to visually look at the platform is to ensure the entire train has platformed.  OK, so the purpose of this is really for ATO, but still.  You don't want inconsistent SOPs.  And the slowest doors of any system?  Ever been to Chicago or San Francisco?  They have their inefficiencies, too.  Of course, it sounds like the only thing that might make you happy is a Paris style system of passenger operated doors where some T/Os activate them before the train stops, meaning the last door can start opening before the train is even in the station, and you can get off a moving train!

I left Union Station off because Union Station has a second exit mid-platform. That kind of alleviates the crunch there that happens in rush hours (and I've been there many a rush hour with both escalators broken among other issues).

That second exit isn't so useful for people coming off MARC, and many people don't realize how they can access the other mezzanine from inside Union Station.  That problem is still a major one, regardless of the presence of the second mezzanine, and is a frequent complaint of riders at that station.  It is pretty bad even under normal operating conditions, the current situation doesn't make it any better.

Another problem to consider will be Navy Yard post-baseball games this season: Metro frequently gates off the north end of the platforms so people can't backtrack when they get off the escalators. This renders the first 2 cars of a train useless and will create more crowding problems though they did let people move back the one time I went to a game post-Fort Totten crash.

Perhaps you should go to more baseball games.  The first two cars of the train are not "useless."  They get utilized once the back of the train fills up.  Otherwise, everyone would just hang out by the front to get to the Red Line transfer at Gallery Place and even more capacity would be wasted and you would bitch and moan even more at WMATA not utilizing all the capacity.  Or, the train would become overloaded, require discharging, and then you'd complain about that.  You can't have everything.

[Scrabbleship]

The Gallery Place problem makes the printed word.

I still think Metro should have trained their operators to merely stop at the marker that says "6".

[WMATAGMOAGH]

WMATA does train their operators to do that.  However, there are other issues at play:

The 6 and 8 indicators look very similar on the console and therefore, apparently, cannot always be trusted to give the right reading. 

Imagine operating a 6 car train all day and then all of a sudden you get an 8 car train assigned to you and you stop short once and open the doors.  Momentary brain fart and someone could get hurt. 

Perhaps instead of making ridiculous claims such as this one, you should be critical of the things that WMATA is actually doing wrong in this case:  Disabling the safety system that would prevent the doors from being opened on an 8 car train if it is stopped at the 6 car marker! 

[Tritransit Area]

*face palm*  They actually HAVE such a system in place?  Then why, pray tell, did they disable it?!

So much for "safety"...

It's honestly pretty much a shame that there are people out there that would actually step off a train into the tunnel if the doors happened to open there.

For the "Galley Place Problem", couldn't they just put up some directional signs, such as "All Trains Stop Here"?  Therefore, the "gap" would be eliminated.  Besides, the regular riders should certainly know better...

[WMATAGMOAGH]

It got disabled because there was an incompatability with the 2000/3000/5000 and possibly 6000 Series cars (I forget if they had this problem, I think they did) where sometimes the doors opened on the wrong side of the train or on both sides of the train.  Supposedly this was caused by interference from the electrical systems in the wake of adjustments made for 8 car operations.  So the "solution" was to have the doors open manually.  I would be concerned if the doors opened on a crowded train while the train was still in the tunnel and someone was absentmindedly leaning against the door, especially if it was on the wrong side for that upcoming station.  However, I know of no injuries ever occuring as a result of this sort of situation, either now or in the past when door trouble has happened.

The Gallery Place situation can't be remedied with signs.  If the next train is an 8 car train, then the last 2 cars go underutilized (they probably do anyway).  But the real issue is if you get off a Yellow Line and head upstairs, and just then a (6 car) Red Line comes in, even if you know you need to move up the platform, you have to make it through a wall of people to get to your train, while they want to get to the mezzanine or the downstairs platform.  And the Gallery Place platform is standard width, unlike at Metro Center or L'Enfant Plaza.