Tuesday, April 16, 2013
Rodrigo Bitar was Metro's first general superintendent for elevator and escalator programs.
Rodrigo Bitar, Metro’s first general superintendent for elevator and escalator programs, is taking over the agency’s track and engineering services unit, according to The Washington Post. Bitar joined Metro’s quality assurance group in 2008 and worked on the 2000, 3000 and 5000 series railcars, which the Post reports experienced problems with brake pads falling off of them. The Delphi Automotive and General Motors veteran was promoted to the escalator post in December 2010, shortly after an incident that injured four passengers when an escalator at L’Enfant Plaza Station sped up to dangerous levels, according to The Post. Metrorail has a total of 588 escalators—more than any transit system in North America. As of July 2011, more than 100 …
Thursday, March 21, 2013
Traffic information for Northern Virginia commuters, including traffic jams, delays, Metro, ART, DASH, Fairfax Connector and more. Click on the grey tabs below for more information.
Problems on your commute today? Tell other readers about it in the comment section below. Updated traffic information: Delayed Metro trains, buses and cars sitting in endless traffic on I-66 and the Beltway—even a 10-minute commute in the DC metro area can be extreme some days. In fact, a March 2013 report from the Census Bureau shows people in the DC metro area have the second-worst commute in the country. That report came on the heels of a Texas Transportation Institute report in February that DC area commuters face the worst traffic in the country. Patch is here to help! Click on any of the grey tabs above to expand it and get more information about congestion, delays or other traffic alerts. On the Metro rail map, click on any …
Tuesday, March 12, 2013
After Daylight Saving Time switch, Metro charged some riders peak fares even though they traveled during off-peak hours.
A yet unknown number of Metrorail riders accessing the system at unknown stations were charged peak fares Monday morning even though they traveled during off-peak hours, The Washington Post reports. Peak fares were charged until 10:30 a.m. instead of ending 9:30 a.m. Caroline Lukas, a metro spokesperson, discussed the accidental charges withThe Washington Post: Lukas said she didn’t know what caused the additional hour of peak fares, and she wouldn’t speculate on whether the problems stemmed from the change to daylight saving time. NBC Washington's transportation reporter Adam Tuss tweeted Monday afternoon that only a few faregates were impacted. "Metro says its clocks were NOT adjusted to daylight saving time this am," Tuss tweeted. It's …
Tuesday, March 5, 2013
Metro has cancelled track work in order to prepare for Wednesday morning's commute.
Metro announced Tuesday afternoon that all previously announced evening track work for Tuesday evening has been canceled. The cancellation will allow personnel to focus on clearing snow from tracks, platforms, parking lots and walkways in preparation for Wednesday morning's opening, according to a release sent by Metro. Metro has snow-related service information available on its website at wmata.com/snow. There, customers can find information and maps showing pre-planned Metrobus route adjustments that may be necessary tomorrow due to road conditions. Metro urges customers to sign up for MetroAlerts email and text messages for up-to-the-minute information about weather-related service changes on Metrobus or Metrorail. To sign up, visit …
Monday, February 25, 2013
Current escalator upgrades and maintenance, and future expansion plans for Metrorail could both be scaled back with sequestration.
If Congress doesn’t stop sequestration by Friday’s deadline, Metrorail users could be walking up and down more broken escalators. Sequestration—billions in automatic spending cuts set to start Friday—will hit the DC Metro area hard, with thousands of federal and government contracting employees bracing for furloughs as their agencies and companies look for ways to cut spending. Federal employees account for 40 percent of Metro’s ridership, WTOP reported, and passenger fares make up about 58 percent of Metro’s funding. Last week, James C. Dinegar, CAE, president & CEO of the Greater Washington Board of Trade, and Karen Young, chairwoman of the Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments Board of Directors, co-signed a letter to Congress …
Thursday, February 14, 2013
McKay recently wrote a letter to the Board Members of WMATA asking them to avoid taking sides.
After reading in Wednesday's issue of The Washington Post about WMATA offering the 78 acres of land it owns at the Greenbelt station to promote the relocation of the FBI headquarters, Supervisor Jeff McKay said he was surprised and disappointed. McKay wrote a letter to the WMATA Board Members Thursday asking them to avoid taking sides and to be fair. According to McKay's letter, the WMATA planning staff said moving the FBI to the Greenbelt station would encourage reverse commuting. To that explanation, McKay said in his letter: Reverse commuting would be equally, if not better, served at other sites such as Virginia’s Springfield site, adjacent to the Franconia/ Springfield Metro station. That location is Fairfax County’s priority site and…
Thursday, January 24, 2013
A look at what you need to know about Metro this weekend.
Taking the Metro to get around this weekend? Here's what you need to know. The Blue and Yellow lines will operate on a normal weekend schedule. According to a Metro news release: Red Line Orange Line Green Line
Friday, January 4, 2013
A look at what you need to know about Metro this weekend.
Taking the Metro to get around this weekend? Blue, Yellow and Green line trains will operate on normal weekend schedules. If you are taking the Red or Orange lines this weekend, you will want to read on. According to a Metro news release: Red Line Red Line trains will single track between through two work zones: Throughout the weekend, trains between Shady Grove and Glenmont will operate every 24 minutes. Between 9 a.m. and 9 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday, additional trains will operate between Grosvenor and Judiciary Square, resulting in service an average of every 12 minutes between these stations. Customers traveling through either work zone should allow 15 minutes of additional travel time. Orange Line Buses will replace Orange Line …
Friday, December 28, 2012
Metro has scheduled limited track work for the weekend before the New Year's holiday.
Taking the Metro to get around this weekend? Here’s what to expect Saturday and Sunday. According to a Metro news release: The only planned work will take place on the Green Line, and will only affect customers traveling to or from Greenbelt Station. Green Line trains will single track between Greenbelt and College Park to allow for construction associated with a new track to test 7000-series railcars. As a result:
Friday, November 2, 2012
A look at what you need to know about Metro this weekend.
Taking the Metro to get around this weekend? Here’s what to expect. While there is no scheduled work on the Green or Yellow lines this weekend, extensive work on other lines will make for some logistically complicated metro travel. Read up and plan ahead! According to a Metro news release: Blue and Orange Lines Buses will replace Orange Line trains between Foggy Bottom and Court House and Blue Line trains between Foggy Bottom and Pentagon to allow for tie and insulator renewal, joint and fastener renewal, tunnel leak repair, station sign installation and fiber-optic cable work. Two stations — Rosslyn and Arlington Cemetery — will be closed. Throughout the weekend, Orange Line trains will operate in two segments: Blue Line trains will …
