Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
Location: That star on your map in the middle of the East Coast, DMV
8,128 posts, read 7,547,924 times
Reputation: 5785
Advertisements
Quote:
Originally Posted by jessemh431
Question. If this is the Blue Line they're proposing to shut down, this wouldn't be as horrid everyone makes it out to seem, would it? Looking at the system map now. From the Franconia to the Pentagon stations, the Yellow line runs with the Blue. Then from Rosslyn to Stadium Armory, it follows the same path as the Orange and Silver. From Stadium Armory to Largo Town Center, it continues to follow the Silver Line.
Is there a reason why the DC Metro is so repetitive like this? It seems like a vast majority of stations are quite overlapping with with at least one other line. I guess in a situation of a 6 month shut down, it's not such a bad thing, though right? Looking at the map, it seems like the Red Line shutting down would be more catastrophic, no?
It would have a big effect but probably not catastrophic to shut down the Blue Line temporarily. For one reason being the blue line has already experienced reduced service ever since the Silver Line opened. When the system was originally created it was meant to funnel as many downtown workers in an out and back to the suburbs as possible. Since then the core's population has boomed and Silver Line was created to funnel even more suburban commuters in, but without fixing problems in the core of DC/Arlington. Once Silver Line opened it put a severe strain on how many trains can cross downtown and pass through the Rosslyn tunnel at one time. There needs to be another east-west cross downtown option to alleviate the stress on the Orange-Blue-Silver tracks. There now is a growing need to expand Metro within its core to fit the needs of the central core of the city.
The future holds plans to separate the Blue Line by creating a second tunnel in Rosslyn and crossing over the river with a stop in Georgetown then continuing east-west across M Street downtown:
What are your thoughts of the North-South rail link, electrification and the idea of making a RER/S-Bahn for Boston? It's always struck me as one of the best transit deals for any US city (basically seems like getting a DC metro or BART at a price point where much of the cost has already been sunk in), but I don't live in Boston and follow things closely enough.
I don't care so much for the N/S Rail Link. I don't hate the concept, but I think the ROI isn't great. I'd focus on electrification, double tracking single track areas, and expanding capacity at South Station. That would make for better headways, faster trips and an overall more effective system. It would really make a lot of the more far flung cities (the Worcester, Providence, Fitchburg, Fall River, New Bedford, Newburyport, etc.) much more viable from a commuter standpoint. I'd like to see the Fairmount line converted to rapid transit or at least EMU vehicles with increased headways. I think all of these things should take place before we talk about a N/S rail link.
I don't care so much for the N/S Rail Link. I don't hate the concept, but I think the ROI isn't great. I'd focus on electrification, double tracking single track areas, and expanding capacity at South Station. That would make for better headways, faster trips and an overall more effective system. It would really make a lot of the more far flung cities (the Worcester, Providence, Fitchburg, Fall River, New Bedford, Newburyport, etc.) much more viable from a commuter standpoint. I'd like to see the Fairmount line converted to rapid transit or at least EMU vehicles with increased headways. I think all of these things should take place before we talk about a N/S rail link.
Red line / blue line connection is another thing that's always thrown around.
Red line / blue line connection is another thing that's always thrown around.
That would be ideal. The poor man's version would be a pedestrian tunnel from State to Downtown Crossing a la the DTX- Park Street tunnel. That would do the trick without running the Blue Line under Cambridge from Bowdoin to Charles/MGH. While we're at it, extend the Blue Line on the other end to Lynn Center (which would be less of a priority if Commuter Rail were improved).
^ i never used the silver line but i heard it was built to get red-liners to logan airport with only 1 transfer.
Which it does... but not particularly well. If you're coming from Cambridge or Somerville, you have to take the train into South Station, Switch to a silver line bus, meander through the Seaport District, and about 20-25 uncomfortable minutes later, arrive at Logan. With a Red/Blue connection, you would be able to transfer at Charles/MGH (thus avoiding some of the most congested stations in Park, DTX and South Station) and switch to a Blue Line train which would arrive at Logan in 10 minutes. Right now you have to take a shuttle from Airport station to the airport itself (less than 5 minutes), but construction is already under way on connecting the airport station to the airport with an indoor moving walkway.
You also have to take into account the East Boston/North Shore folks who want to get to Cambridge and Somerville and vice versa. If you live in Revere and need to get to Harvard, you either have to deal with a long bus ride, or you have to take the blue line to State or Gov't center and switch to Orange or Green for one stop to DTX or Park and then switch again to the Red Line. That's a lot of switching and waiting around. A Red/Blue connection at Charles/MGH provides a much more direct link between Cambridge/Somerville and Eastie, Revere, etc. It opens up that whole section of the metro area for Kendall or Harvard area workers who otherwise mostly don't consider it because of the commuting hassle.
D.C. metro system will be back in top form in about 5 years once all the new 7000 series cars have replaced the current fleet. Most of the problems with breakdowns are from old rail car issues. The track work is going to be done in that time frame also. People trying to compare SEPTA regional rail to the D.C. metro system have lost their minds. D.C. operates subway level headway's 3-5 minute rush hour on its' entire system. SEPTA and WMATA are apples and oranges.
Some other things that will be here in 5 years:
-Purple Line
-D.C. Streetcar
-Second Phase of Silver Line
-Potomac Yard Infill Metro Station
Do people who used to live in DC not realize how the system is falling apart?
For God's sake, the whole system was shut down for over 24 hours recently. SHUT DOWN.
Someone DIED last year. And I'm not talking falling on the tracks or having a heart attack, someone died directly because of the system being a mess.
Ridership is DECREASING. WMATA ITSELF admitted that this is "partially" due to a lack of reliability.
How can people look at ridership and say "oh, DC is great"? It is an awful system when compared to peer systems.
I ride it every day. It's nowhere near as bad as you make it out to be and do you follow other transit systems as closely as you do in DC? I'm sure they have problems too with maintenance etc. I agree, the Metro needs work and that will require some pain by area riders to catch up on long overdue maintenance issues , but it's actually a pretty decent system over all.
My complaints with DC's transit (other than weekends single tracking etc):
Metro is too expensive. It seems like subways in most other large cities are much cheaper.
Metro shuts down too early. Come on, at least run till 3am or something.
MARC (and VRE) is basically a commuter system only while systems like SEPTA and METRA run all day long and frequently so they can be used by more than just rush hour commuters.
DC transit is pretty good and it will get better with the new metro trains and purple light rail line. Hopefully they will deal with the maintenance issues quickly. I would rather shut it down for six months than deal with single tracking and delays for ten years. Metro is nearly unusable on weekends right now.
I ride it every day. It's nowhere near as bad as you make it out to be and do you follow other transit systems as closely as you do in DC? I'm sure they have problems too with maintenance etc. I agree, the Metro needs work and that will require some pain by area riders to catch up on long overdue maintenance issues , but it's actually a pretty decent system over all.
My complaints with DC's transit (other than weekends single tracking etc):
Metro is too expensive. It seems like subways in most other large cities are much cheaper.
Metro shuts down too early. Come on, at least run till 3am or something.
MARC (and VRE) is basically a commuter system only while systems like SEPTA and METRA run all day long and frequently so they can be used by more than just rush hour commuters.
I do follow other systems closely, it's an interest of mine. To clarify, I am not saying Metro is useless. I have lived in DC without a car and I would do so again. It's mostly functional.
THAT SAID, when you compare Metro to other peer systems, it becomes clear that it is a joke. In the last 5 years I have lived in DC, Boston, and Montreal, and used transit daily in each.
Montreal is well ahead of both DC and Boston in terms of having an efficient and well-maintained public transit system. I don't think that anybody would dispute that.
DC and Boston can be argued either way. I'd personally say MBTA is better.
Obviously, by North American standards, public transit in DC is good. But when you compare it to the likes of Chicago, Toronto, Montreal, Boston, etc., suddenly it doesn't seem so great anymore.
Also, lol @ thinking that the DC streetcar network will be up and running in 5 years (not you kcmo, the other poster).
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
(not you kcmo, the other poster).