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Washington Metro

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Red Line train at Metro Center, hub of the system

The Washington Metro is the public transportation system of Washington, D.C., and neighboring suburban communities in Maryland and Virginia, both inside and outside the Capital Beltway. In Maryland service is provided in Prince George's County and Montgomery County; in Virginia in Fairfax County, Arlington County, the City of Alexandria, and the City of Falls Church.

Since opening in 1976, the subway network has grown to five lines, consisting of 86 stations and 106 miles (170.5 km) of track. The original plan of 83 stations on 103 miles (165.5 km) was completed on January 13, 2001. There were 190 million trips on Metrorail in 2004, meaning about 520,000 passengers use the system every day.[1] The system is the second busiest in the nation – behind only the New York City Subway.

Washington's Metrorail is well known for its design by Chicago architect Harry Weese. Weese's design is an exemplar of late-20th-century modern architecture. With its heavy use of concrete, and the repetitive nature of its design motifs, it demonstrates aspects of Brutalism, which, in Washington, is also exemplified by the FBI's J. Edgar Hoover Building. Simultaneously, however, with its coffered groin and barrel vaults (seen here [2] in the Metro Center station), it reflects the neoclassical style of architecture that can arguably be described as the closest thing to an "official" federal style in Washington, D.C., as demonstrated in such buildings as the U.S. Department of the Treasury and the former U.S. Patent Office building (now the Smithsonian American Art Museum), by Robert Mills, the White House, by James Hoban, and the Beaux-Arts Lincoln Memorial, by Henry Bacon. The innovative design of Metro's stations additionally facilitates the cleanliness and safety which are are a hallmark of the system.

The Metrorail (subway) system, as well as Metrobus (bus) services, are owned and operated by the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA) - a multijurisdictional, quasi-governmental agency. WMATA also operates a paratransit service for the disabled. However, the expression "Washington Metro" usually refers to Metrorail exclusively.

Metrorail network

Metrorail system map.

The network was designed with a spoke-hub distribution paradigm, which makes the subway ideal for getting from a suburb to any part of the city, or vice versa, but unattractive for suburb-to-suburb travel; a Purple Line has been occasionally proposed to remedy this (see below). The system is also noteworthy as a system with a limited number of lines that nevertheless makes extensive use of interlining (running more than one line on the same track).

There are five lines, described from the south or west towards the north or east:

  • Red Line: Runs from Shady Grove in Montgomery County, through downtown Washington, and back into Montgomery County ending at Glenmont. This is the busiest line and the only one which does not share its track with another line.
  • Orange Line: Runs from Vienna/Fairfax-GMU in Fairfax County, through Arlington County and central Washington, ending at New Carrollton in Prince George's County. Shares the same tracks as the Blue line from Rosslyn (Arlington County) through Stadium-Armory (Washington).
  • Blue Line: Runs from Franconia-Springfield in Fairfax County through Alexandria, Arlington County, and Washington, ending at Largo Town Center in Prince George's County. Shares the same tracks as the Yellow line from King Street (Alexandria) to Pentagon (Arlington), then shares the same tracks as the Orange Line from Rosslyn (Arlington) through Stadium-Armory (Washington).
  • Yellow Line: Runs from Huntington in Fairfax County through Alexandria and Arlington, ending in Washington at Mount Vernon Square/7th St-Convention Center. Shares the same tracks as the Blue Line from King Street (Alexandria) through Pentagon (Arlington), then it crosses the Potomac River into Washington where it shares the same tracks as the Green Line from L'Enfant Plaza through the end of the line at Mount Vernon Square/7th St-Convention Center.
  • Green Line: Runs from Branch Avenue in Prince George's County through eastern Washington, where it crosses the Anacostia River, and back out into Prince George's County ending at Greenbelt. Shares the same tracks as the Yellow Line from L'Enfant Plaza through Mount Vernon Square/7th St-Convention Center.

Half of the system, including most of the stations in the District of Columbia, are underground, but most suburban stations are on elevated rails or at grade. In the case of the western Orange Line, the tracks run in the median of Interstate 66. However, the deepest stations in the system are not in Washington, but at the northeastern end of the Red Line, with Wheaton having the longest escalator in the western hemisphere at 230 feet (70 meters), and Forest Glen being even deeper than that; so deep, the only way to the surface is by elevator.[3]

Smithsonian Metro station on July 4 2000.

The system is not centered on any single station, but Metro Center is considered the hub, as it is the busiest station, located at the intersection of the three busiest lines, and the Metro Information Center and Gift Shop are located there. Other notable transfer stations include Gallery Pl-Chinatown, which is located by the MCI Center; Stadium-Armory, which is located by RFK Stadium and has importance because the Washington Nationals and the DC United play there; and L'Enfant Plaza, the only station in the system with four lines, and supplies easy access between downtown Washington and Virginia.

Smithsonian lies under the National Mall, and is the busiest station for tourists; however, it is closed down on July 4 every year since the September 11, 2001 attacks, due to its entrances being located within the security perimeter. Other stations of note for tourists are Capitol South, just three blocks from the United States Capitol, and McPherson Square is just two blocks from the White House. Even though Woodley Park-Zoo/Adams Morgan's name claims that it's the proper station to visit the National Zoo, Cleveland Park is not only a few feet closer, but uphill from the zoo, making it an easier walk. Several universities are accessible through the Metro, including the University of Maryland, College Park at College Park - U Md., Georgetown and George Washington at Foggy Bottom, American University at Tenleytown, Howard University at Shaw-Howard, George Mason University at Vienna-Fairfax, and Catholic University at Brookland. Pentagon station offers direct access to the Pentagon; after the September 11, 2001 attacks, this entrance was closed and passengers must leave the station to get into the Pentagon.

See also: List of Washington Metro stations.

History

Intersection of ceiling vaults at Metro Center

During the 1960s, there were plans for a massive freeway system in Washington. However, opposition to this freeway system grew and the funds to construct it were reallocated toward construction of the Metro system.

Construction on the subway began in 1969, with groundbreaking on December 9. The system opened March 27, 1976 with 4.6 miles (7.4 km) available on the Red Line with five stations from Rhode Island Ave to Farragut North. The final 103 mile (166 km), 83 station system was completed with the opening of the Green Line segment to Branch Ave on January 13, 2001. This does not mean the end of the growth of the system, however: a 3.22 mile (5.18 km) extension of the Blue Line to Largo Town Center and Morgan Boulevard stations opened on December 18, 2004, the first in-fill station (New York Ave-Florida Ave-Gallaudet U on the Red Line between Union Station and Rhode Island Ave-Brentwood) opened November 20, 2004, and plans are being discussed for an Orange Line extension to Dulles Airport.[4]

The system began in the District of Columbia, with Arlington, Virginia being linked to the system on July 1, 1976; Montgomery County, Maryland on February 6, 1978; Prince George's County, Maryland on November 20, 1978; and Fairfax County, Virginia and Alexandria, Virginia on December 17, 1983.[5]

The highest ridership for a day was June 9, 2004, with 850,636 trips; thousands of people went to Washington to view the funeral procession of Ronald Reagan, and to the U.S. Capitol to view his body as it lay in state. Also, since many streets in Washington were closed that day, many people may have felt it wiser to use Metro just to get around. The previous recordholding days were January 20, 1993 (the first inauguration of Bill Clinton) and October 16, 1995 (the Million Man March).[6]

Rules & Regulations

Metro strictly forbids riders from eating or drinking while on board a Metrorail train or while in a station. On October 23, 2000, a 12-year old girl was arrested, searched, and handcuffed for eating a french fry while in the Tenleytown-AU Metro station. She was taken downtown where she was booked, fingerprinted, and detained until her mother arrived to pick her up. Another widely noted case occurred on July 16, 2004, when an EPA employee was entering the Metro Center station. Before passing through the faregates, she popped the last bite of a Payday candy bar into her mouth, continuing to chew the candy bar while in the station. She was subsequently arrested by Metro Transit Police.

While sometimes seen as excessive, Metro's zero-tolerance policy when it comes to food, as well as trash and other forms of disorder, embodies the broken windows philosophy of crime reduction. Supporters argue that this, combined with how the station environments were designed with crime prevention in mind, has contributed to the fact that Washington Metro is among the safest and cleanest subway systems.

Accidents

File:I22913-2004Nov03L.jpg
The November 3, 2004 accident at Woodley Park-Zoo/Adams Morgan station.
The accident at Woodley Park-Zoo/Adams Morgan station as seen the next day from the station mezzanine. Trains were sharing the same track through the station at this time.

There have been only three collisions reported on the Metrorail system since its opening.

  • On January 13, 1982, three people were killed and many more were injured when a train backed up and derailed at an interlocking near the Smithsonian Station. Coincidentally, this accident occurred on the same day as Air Florida Flight 90 crashed into the 14th Street Bridge during a major snowstorm, producing probably the worst transit situation in Washington history.[7]
  • On January 6, 1996, during the Blizzard of 1996, a train operator was killed when a train overran the Shady Grove station and crashed into a parked train.[8] See 1996 Gaithersburg Metrorail Accident for more information on the 1996 accident.
  • On November 3, 2004, an out-of-service train lost its brakes, rolled backwards into the Woodley Park-Zoo/Adams Morgan Station, and hit a revenue train servicing the station. No one was killed, but 20 people were injured.[9] The 2004 accident reinforced the finding from the 1996 accident of the tendency of Metro rail cars built or rehabilitated prior to 2001 to telescope when involved in a head-on collision.[10]

The system is not immune from passenger suicide. There have been a number of suicides over the years; one was 18-year-old Victor Zoubak, who lay on the trackbed of the Blue/Orange Line in Metro Center in 2004 until a train came, which struck and killed him. According to Zoubak's sister, the young man would lose consciousness and would be dazed and disoriented when he returned to his normal state of mind. Officials later determined that he did not know what he was doing at the time [11]. There have also been deaths at Grosvenor, Forest Glen, Union Station, Brookland, and Minnesota Avenue, among other stations.

Accountability

Since the turn of the century, Metrorail has been plagued with deteriorating quality of service and excessive delays. In addition to the November 2004 accident, other serious incidents included an electrical fire on March 18, 2004 during morning rush hour. The fire occurred deep underground, on the Red Line between the Woodley Park-Zoo and Dupont Circle stations. This caused a major disruption in service that sent thousands of stranded passengers onto Connecticut Avenue, with no good plan by authorities to deal with the situation. Occurring just days after the Madrid train bombings, this incident highlighted Metro's shortcomings when it comes to emergency preparedness.

On July 27, 2004, storms flooded a control room that is located at the Silver Spring station, damaging electronic equipment that is used for operating Red Line trains between the Takoma and Forest Glen stations. As a result, Red Line trains were manually operated for two weeks, with speed reductions through the affected area, which caused delays for passengers.

With aging infrastructure, the Metrorail system has experienced numerous incidents of rail cracks that have required single-tracking (trains in both directions sharing the same track) during rush hour. Unlike the New York City Subway and other systems, the original design of the rail system provides just two rail tracks (one in each direction) throughout the entire system; Therefore, when an incident occurs (no matter how minor, such as a sick passenger), trains will be single-tracked, causing trains to be backed up and significantly delayed. Another cause for delays are the frequent mechanical break-down of Metrorail trains, while they are in service. This causes the entire train to be offloaded, with passengers attempting to reboard onto subsequent trains that are often packed during rush hour.

Further controversy surfaced in 2004, when it became known that employees of Penn Parking, the company contracted by Metro to collect parking fees at Metrorail stations, had stolen substantial amounts of cash. Metro terminated the contract with Penn Parking, and on June 28, 2004, implemented a cashless parking system, where customers are required to pay for parking with SmarTrip cards. These stored-value cards cost five dollars, available at Metro sales facilities, and are sold for ten dollars (five dollars for the card and five dollars in fare) at vending machines near the farecard machines. As the card is reloadable, customers can add additional money to the cards using SmarTrip-equipped farecard machines. As well, SmarTrip cards can be used to pay fares for Metrorail and Metrobus, saving time while entering stations and boarding buses.

In 2005, WMATA CEO Richard A. White has led efforts to improve accountability and dialogue with customers. This has included independent audits, town hall meetings, online chats with the CEO and other management officials, and improved signage in stations.

Funding

While fares and advertising provide some revenue for Metrorail, the bulk of funding is contributed by each jurisdiction that is served by Metro, as well as by the states of Maryland and Virginia. Washington Metro is unique among major public transportation systems, in that it has no dedicated source of funding. Instead, each year, WMATA must ask each local jurisdiction to contribute funding, which is determined by a formula that equally considers three factors - (1) population density, as of the 2000 Census; (2) average weekday ridership; (3) number of stations in each jurisdiction. Under this formula, the District of Columbia contributes the greatest amount (34%), followed by Montgomery County (18.7%), Prince George's County (17.9%), Fairfax County (14.3%), Arlington County (9.9%), the City of Alexandria (4.7%), the City of Falls Church (0.3%), and the City of Fairfax (0.3%) [12].

It is often argued that this formula places disproportionate burden on District of Columbia taxpayers. WMATA and District officials have pleaded that the Federal government should contribute more funding, reflecting the fact that a substantial portion of the Federal workforce use Metro to commute from the suburbs. Tourists also comprise a significant portion of ridership, and Metro provides an instrumental role in transporting people during special events, such as inaugurations. As well, a substantial number of stations located in the District serve these purposes, rather than serving local residents. In 2005, a bill has been introduced in Congress that proposes $1.5 billion, over ten years, for WMATA. This offer is contingent upon WMATA implementing more accountability measures and providing the Federal government two seats on its board of directors.

Future expansion

File:LPAMap-December2004.gif
Approved expansion plan to bring the Metro system to Washington Dulles International Airport.
Largo Town Center station, which opened December 21, 2004.

Rumors have abounded for years about transit service out to Dulles and points west either by Metro or other systems. There was even a study in the early 1990s that proposed a series of civil tiltrotor stations as a possible commuting option from places such as Reston, Manassas, Leesburg, Columbia, and other points in the greater Washington area. Like many other plans, this stopped at the initial assessment stage for fiscal and political reasons. Light rail systems and express bus lines have also been floated as a possibility within the District or Northern Virginia. Plans to extend Metrorail to Dulles have been in the works since the beginning of the system's construction. A test station was built at the airport around 1970 and was located some 28 feet below the parking lot area[13], but until recently, rail transport there was not a reality.

Finally, in 2002, plans were formalized to bring a 23-mile extension to the Orange Line from the West Falls Church station to Route 772 in Loudoun County, Virginia. This would mean a mass transit connection from Washington proper to the important business centers of Reston and Tysons Corner, and most importantly, provide a link to Dulles Airport. On June 10, 2004, the Federal Transit Administration approved the first phase of the project to begin.[14] See also: Dulles Corridor Rapid Transit Project.

Controversy has attended proposals to build a Purple Line (now designated the Bi-County Transitway by state planners), linking Bethesda and Silver Spring, Maryland, thereby connecting the two branches of the Red Line to the north of the city by rail. It would later be possibly extended around the whole district, linking the Metro endpoints together, as seen in a proposal from the Sierra Club[15]. This line has been conceived as a light rail line traveling along a private right-of-way for at least some portion of its length, and also as a rapid bus line. The proposal has met fierce opposition from some of the residents along the certain areas of the line. Others have noted difficulties in obtaining the funds to build it.[16]

Metro broke ground on a light rail line in the Anacostia area on November 13, 2004. The project is a demonstration to examine the usefulness of building a light rail line that would help people who live too far away from subway stations by ferrying them to the main Metro network. The line consists of 2.7 miles (4.3 km) and six stations centered. Service is expected to begin in autumn 2006.[17]

Rolling stock

A train of Rohr cars arrives at Cheverly station.

Metro's rail fleet consists of 952 75-foot rail cars, delivered in five shipments. The original order of 300 Metro cars was manufactured by Rohr Industries, with delivery in 1976. These cars are numbered 1000-1299, and were rehabilitated in the mid-1990's. The second order of 76 cars was ordered through Breda Costruzioni Ferroviarie (Breda), with delivery in 1982. These cars are numbered 2000-2075, and were rehabilitated in 2003 and 2004 by Alstom in Hornell, New York. The third order consisted of 290 cars, also ordered from Breda, with delivery in 1987. These cars are numbered 3000-3289 as originally delivered, and are currently undergoing rehabilitation by Alstom in Hornell, New York. The fourth order consisted of 100 cars from Breda, numbered 4000-4099. These cars were delivered in 1991. The fifth order consisted of 192 rail cars from Construcciones y Auxiliar de Ferrocarriles (CAF) of Spain. These cars are numbered 5000-5191, with delivery beginning in 2001. Most recently, Metro has ordered 182 rail cars from Alstom, the same company that is rehabilitating the Breda cars. Delivery is expected to begin in late 2005.[18]

Signaling and Operation

During normal operation on revenue tracks, trains are controlled by an automatic train control system (ATC) which accelerates and brakes the train automatically without operator intervention. However, all trains are manned with train operators who operate doors, make station announcements, and supervise their train. The operator can switch a train into manual mode and drive by hand if necessary.

Fixed signals are only present at interlockings. They show a red over red aspect for "Stop and Stay", a lunar (white) aspect for "proceed" and a flashing lunar aspect for "proceed on diverging route" (only present on newer interlockings; older interlockings are being updated with signals that show this aspect). Tracks are divided into block sections, which can only be occupied by one train at a time, a method to protect against collisions used by most railway systems worldwide, but there are no fixed signals to protect block sections. Virtual signal aspects are transmitted to the train by a cab signaling system and displayed to the operator in the cab, as well as transmitted to the ATC system. Entering of an occupied block is prevented by an automatic train protection system (ATP), which supervises both manual and ATC operation and stops the train well before it would enter an occupied block.

Non-revenue tracks (storage tracks, yard tracks) are not equipped with ATC. Green signs with letters reading "START ATC" and "END ATC" mark the beginning and ending respectively of ATC (Automatic Train Control) territory.

At switches entering into pocket tracks in a direction reverse to the normal operating direction, there is a "P Signal". The P Signal is a single lunar signal that displays the letter "P" and is found at the entrance to some but not all pocket tracks and other selected main line interlockings in the reverse direction of the normal flow of traffic. Below the P signal on the same post is a punch box to allow the train operator to manually set the switch to the diverting direction (reverse) when the P Signal is lit. The P signal is only lit when a train occupies the two track circuit approaching the P Signal and all possible routes into the interlocking are not occupied.

Two trackside signs exist: The "S"-Sign is posted at revenue tracks and indicates to the operator that a station is ahead. It is located at a distance no greater than 1200 feet (365.75 m) before a station platform. The "TB"-Sign is posted to indicate to the operator that an eight-car train (the longest used in the system) is clear of an interlocking when the train front is flush with the sign, and that the train can turn back in the direction from which it came on the opposite track.[19]

Trains are usually four or six cars, usually six cars during rush hour and four cars during weekends and late evenings. Eight car trains are used on special event days or to help move more people past a major delay, while two car trains are sometimes used for very low ridership days like major holidays.

Two car trains are only used in certain parts of the system, because each rail car has only one "shoe" or power coupler, connecting the train to the third rail carrying 700 volts of DC power, used to provide power to the trains. The third rail may be on one side of the track or the other depending on where the train is, but the rail will only be on one side; there are no places where there are overlapping third rail coverage. On a two-car train, both cars are placed so that the operator controls for each train face in the direction away from the other car; this allows the train to be driven forward in either direction depending on which way it has to go. However, this means that in some parts of the system, there are "gaps" in the third rail sufficient that the shoe from one car could leave connection with the third rail on its side before the other car reaches connection with the third rail on its side. This would result in the train being trapped "dead", between third rails and without power.

Intermodal transport

Smithsonian Metro station.

WMATA has a stated goal of integration of its rail and bus networks. In 2004, SmarTrip readers were installed on all buses, enabling paperless transfers between lines and with the rail system.[20]

In December 2001 Metro initiated a relationship with Flexcar, a private company which operates car sharing networks in several North American cities. A competitor, Zipcar, began service in the region contemporaneously. With either service, cars are parked at major Metrorail stations and made available for rental on an hourly basis, with the goal of reducing car dependency and increasing transit ridership.[21]

Metrorail connects with both commuter rail and intercity rail systems.

Metrorail's Yellow and Blue Lines serve Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport. Express bus service from L'Enfant Plaza and Rosslyn is provided to Washington Dulles International Airport. Baltimore-Washington International Airport is served by express bus from Greenbelt, and by rail from Union Station by MARC and Amtrak.

Additionally, several Metrorail stations offer connections to HomeRide, a bus service which connects Virginia Tech, Radford University, James Madison University, and the University of Virginia to the northern Virginia area. Many students at these schools are originally from the northern Virginia area, and especially for freshmen and other students without cars, HomeRide offers an attractive method for getting home on weekends.

See also

References

  1. ^ WMATA Facts (PDF)
  2. ^ Ibid.
  3. ^ WMATA History (PDF)
  4. ^ Ibid.
  5. ^ Ibid.
  6. ^ Metrorail Track and Structures at Clouse.org
  7. ^ Dulles Corridor
  8. ^ Purple Line proposal from the Sierra Club
  9. ^ Bickering over Purple Line could cause funding woe — Gazette.net
  10. ^ WMATA press release — Metro and the District of Columbia break ground on the Anacostia light rail demonstration project
  11. ^ WMATA History (PDF)
  12. ^ Report of the 1996 crash from the NTSB
  13. ^ WMATA History (PDF)
  14. ^ Report of the 1996 crash from the NTSB
  15. ^ Man Killed by Train Identified as 18-Year-Old — Washington Post
  16. ^ Information on the cars from The Schumin Web Transit Center
  17. ^ Full System Track Schematic Legend and Nomenclature
  18. ^ WMATA press release — Entire Metrobus fleet now equipped with new SmarTrip fareboxes
  19. ^ WMATA History (PDF)
  20. ^ WMATA Subsidy Allocation Methodology (PDF)
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