Can you believe it ... just as our benefits administrators have gotten used to the SmartBenefits changes for 2010, Metro is now saying that it will delay implementation of them after all!
I asked my HR person about this. She's trying to verify the details with Metro before sending out a message to the whole staff, but in the meantime, she said I didn't have to turn in the SmartBenefits form along with the other open-enrollment forms.
I'm relieved that I probably won't have to worry about "purses" for another year, but I do think that WMATA has done a lousy job of communication on this whole issue.
And I'm starting to think that Metro should issue separate "smart cards" for transit and parking. Call the latter SmartPark or something. Better yet, install cash registers at Metro parking facilities. I mean, that's why cash registers were invented in the 19th century in the first place -- to reduce employee theft from the till!
Today, I was returning home on the red line from Union to Shady Grove, and was on Alstom car 6183. I was right in front of the cab, and I swear, that damn #1 door o nthe right side as soon as we came out of the tunnel was rattling, and whistling so bad that I was waiting for the door to fall off.
WMATA didn't seem to care when I spoke to the motorman. I told the operator a Shady Grove, but he basically left the cab and hoped on an outgoing train in about fifteen seconds. I told the new motorman this, and he replied, "yeah the seals do that" but still, I have heard bad weather seals on the doors over the years on Metro. However, this was the first time I heard a whistling noise louder than anything else around, and it was the first time I had ever seen a door shake so violently that I thought it was going to slide open.
Lord forbid, if one of those little kids started to bounce a little too close, or someone leaned on it. I was able to see between the cracks in the door. I never thought, I'd say this, but the new 6000's IMO feel less safe than the damn Rohr cars, and look to be more junk than the CAF cars were.
Disruption at Forest Glen. Trains are sharing the same track between Forest Glen & Silver Spring due to a report of a person struck by a train at Forest Glen. Expect delays in both directions.
ETA: Customers on the Red line should expect delays from Glenmont to Silver Spring throughout the rest of tonight's rush hour
*Congress to give 34 million for new railcars. (Shame it will take several years before those cars could enter service, and cars are about 4.8 million per A/B set.) *Offending train made an emergency brake application roughly 100 yards *Signal wiring shows shunts during test, and may be the cause of the accident. *Congressional hearings scheduled for July.
More rhetoric about Metro not upgrading the old 1000-series Rohr cars for better crash worthiness or rescinding them from service. As we all know Metro's new railcar acquisitions are to increase service and expand 8-car trains. Metro's explosive ridership grown could not handle retiring a quarter of the fleet three years ago.(25% based on 2006 fleet)
1000 series Rohr = 300 2000 sereis Breda = 76 3000 series Breda = 290 4000 series Breda = 400 5000 series CAF = 192 6000 series Alstom = 184 7000 series Kawasaki = 748 (on order for FY2012-FY2013, mostly for the Dulles Expansion and 1000 series replacement) 8000 series TBA = 350 (order to be determined at a later date (2015?), replacing 2000 and 3000 series)
Tuesday Red Line service altered as a result of Monday collision For immediate release: June 22, 2009
Tuesday Red Line service altered as a result of Monday collision
Red Line service will be severely impacted on Tuesday, June 23, as a result of a fatal collision on the Red Line on Monday, June 22, between the Fort Totten and Takoma Metrorail stations.
Red Line riders will have several options on Tuesday morning, however if they are able to avoid the Red Line, that may be the best option for Tuesday.
The Red Line will be operating in two sections on Tuesday. Trains will run back and forth between the Glenmont and Silver Spring Metrorail stations and between the Shady Grove and the Rhode Island Avenue-Brentwood Metrorail station. All trains will be six- and eight-car trains on the Red Line and they will be running about 8 to 10 minutes apart. Trains are expected to be very crowded. The Brookland-CUA, Fort Totten and Takoma Metrorail stations will be closed to Red Line traffic.
Free Metrobus shuttles will be available to take customers around the incident between the Silver Spring, Fort Totten, Brookland-CUA, Rhode Island Avenue-Brentwood and Georgia Avenue-Petworth Metrorail stations. People can expect long waits for buses as a full Metrorail train often carries 100 people or more per car and a bus can only hold about 50 people at a time.
Metro officials recommend that customers who normally use the Red Line between the Glenmont and Silver Spring Metrorail stations should commute to Metrorail stations between the Shady Grove and Grosvenor-Strathmore Metrorail stations, or to use the following Metrobus lines to avoid the service disruption:
• Metrobus C8 line (Glenmont to White Flint) • Metrobus Q2 line (Wheaton to Rockville) • Metrobus C2, C4 line (Wheaton to Twinbrook) • Metrobus J1 line (Silver Spring to Medical Center) • Metrobus J2, J3, J4 line (Silver Spring to Bethesda) • Metrobus L7, L8 line (Friendship Heights)
Metro officials also recommend that people utilize the Green Line from Greenbelt to the Fort Totten Metrorail station for service into downtown DC.
MARC's Brunswick Line service will be suspended on Tuesday due to the proximity of its tracks to the accident scene.
Metro safety and operations officials are working hand-in-hand with the National Transportation Safety Board investigating the cause of the accident.
People who believe that their relatives may have been on board the train can call 311 to find out which hospital they have been taken to for medical assistance. A family reunification center has been established at 501 Riggs Road, NE in Washington.
"This is an incredibly tragic day and our hearts go out to the families of those who suffered fatalities and to those whose loved ones are injured," said Metro General Manager John Catoe. "We are committed to investigate this accident until we determine why this happened and what must be done to ensure it never happens again."
Metro officials do not know the cause of the 5 p.m. Monday collision and are not likely to know the cause for several days as the investigation unfolds. Both trains were on the same track headed toward Shady Grove Metrorail station, according to preliminary reports. The female operator was on the trailing train.
The only other time in Metrorail's 33-year history that there were customer fatalities was in January 1982, when three people died as a result of a derailment between the Federal Triangle and Smithsonian Metrorail stations. The only other time that Metrorail had a collision was in 2004 when two trains collided at the Woodley Park/Zoo-Adams Morgan Metrorail station, in which there were some minor injuries.
Just in, preliminary reports of an accident on the Red Line at Fort Trotten. Early reports state a head on collision between two train sets single tracking just south of the Fort Trotten Station, injuries reported. More to come as it arrives. Expect significant delays to ALL red line trains.
Updated: Wednesday, 17 Jun 2009, 4:45 PM EDT Published : Wednesday, 17 Jun 2009, 4:45 PM EDT
WASHINGTON, D.C. - Transportation leaders in the Washington region have voted unanimously to add the purple line to the region's long-term plans.
Wednesday's vote by the National Capital Region Transportation Planning Board helps clear the way for officials to seek federal funding and start construction on the proposed 16-mile transit line in Montgomery and Prince George's counties.
Plans call for 21 stations between New Carrollton and Bethesda.
The $1.4 billion proposal calls for work to start in 2012, with the purple line running by 2017. Maryland officials haven't decided whether the transit line would be light rail or bus rapid transit.
Nothing really new here of regular visitors to the WMATA site.
Riders asked to take basic actions to stay healthy. Metro is using an environmentally friendly, hospital-grade disinfectant cleaner to wipe down surfaces throughout the Metro system to help keep riders and employees from catching the flu.
Each flu season, Metro uses the special hospital-grade disinfectant to protect riders and employees from contracting flu viruses. Though the traditional seasonal flu season has ended, Metro is continuing to use the hospital-grade disinfectant because of the recent outbreak in swine flu cases.
I got off work yesterday,and for some odd reason, all the lights save for the emergency ones at L'Enfant plaza were out. The escalators didn't work (which is always nice at a deep Metro station). And there were no signs or station managers telling people.
When I got to the fare gates, there was a huge line. Only two incoming fare gates were operational. This is at 4:30, the beginning of rush hour. And the station managers weren't forthcoming with the problems were. There were no signs for the next incoming trains (not for the Blue and Orange line anyways.)
"Montgomery County planners today endorsed building a light rail system along the proposed east-west Purple Line and recommended running the trains mostly above ground and next to the Capital Crescent Trail, a heavily used hiker-biker route.
"The 16-mile east-west link proposed to connect Montgomery and Prince George's counties would have up to 22 stations, at locations including Silver Spring, the Takoma and Langley Park areas and the University of Maryland's College Park campus."
"Beginning next year, tens of thousands of Metro riders who transfer from bus to rail will save 50 cents a trip if they use electronic SmarTrip cards, officials said yesterday. The long-promised change is scheduled to go into effect Jan. 4, the same day the agency is eliminating paper transfers."
"Metro officials announced today that they will begin randomly inspecting backpacks, gym bags and any other containers that riders carry with them onto the bus and rail system, in an effort to deter possible terrorist attacks."
Because we all know how many terrorist attacks have been prevented thanks to random searches, right?
Metro will roll out its new red-and-silver buses Monday, October 27.
Most of the 22, 60-foot articulated or ultra-long accordion style buses will travel the U8 line, which runs from the Capitol Heights Metrorail station in Prince George’s County, Md., to Benning Heights in Southeast Washington. Two of the compressed natural gas (CNG) buses will be tested beginning Monday, November 3, on the popular 5A Route, which runs from L’Enfant Plaza Metrorail station to Washington Dulles International Airport. ( MORE )
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