Wednesday, May 15, 2013
Three stations will be closed along the Green Line in Prince George's County the weekend of May 17-19, according to WMATA.
If you were hoping to avoid some of the traffic along Route 1 this weekend, when thousands of University of Maryland students and their families will be on campus for commencement, take note that three Metro stations will be closed along the Green Line. According to the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority, College Park metro station will be closed this weekend along with the Greenbelt and Prince George's Plaza stations while crews perform track upgrades—"including tie and insulator renewal, interlocking maintenance and work associated with construction of a new test track for 7000-series railcars." The stations will be closed from 10 p.m. Friday through Sunday and will reopen Monday morning. However, if you must use metro to …
Thursday, May 2, 2013
Metrorail to go to OT if Caps do.
Metrorail, which has a station near Verizon Center (Gallery Place/Chinatown), will stay open an hour later if any Washington Capitals hockey playoff games run late or go into overtime, according to The Washington Post. The Capitals open their quest for the Stanley Cup against the New York Rangers on at 7:30 p.m. Thursday. Last year, Game 3 of the Capitals’ playoff series against the Rangers went to triple overtime, ending well after midnight—when Metro typically closes on weekdays. The Post reports that an announcement will be made inside the Verizon Center by 11 p.m. Metro riders will be able to exit the transit system at any station, but will only be able to enter at Gallery Place (all entrances), Judiciary Square (only on F Street) and …
Friday, March 8, 2013
New Metrorail line will connect Largo with Reston when opened later this year.
The Washington Metropolitan Transit Authority will be hosting three open houses across the DC region, including one in Prince George's County, next week to share information about Metrorail's soon-to-open Silver Line. When it opens later this year, the new Metro line will initially provide commuters with a transfer-free link between Largo Town Center Metro station and the new Wiehle Reston East Metro station in Reston Va. Phase 1 of the Silver Line using 11 miles of new track to reach up Virginia's Route 267 corridor, passing through Tysons Corner before reaching Reston. Eventually, the line will go all the way to Dulles Airport. Once completed, Laurel-area residents will be able to make it to Dulles Airport, a trip which can take hours …
Wednesday, March 6, 2013
Metro is aiming to give two hours advance warning should bus service be suspended.
Metro is operating on a normal weekday schedule Wednesday as the Washington region braces for a potentially major snowstorm. MetroAccess service and certain Metro commuter bus routes have been canceled. Metrorail customers are advised to plan extra time for their commute. “You may encounter minor delays due to snow and ice clearing efforts, as equipment that removes snow and ice from the third rail operates between regularly scheduled trains,” Wmata said in a statement. Some Metrobus routes may be detoured and bus service may be reduced or suspended as conditions deteriorate, according to Metro. Metro is aiming to notify Metrobus riders two hours in advance if service is suspended. Metro is advising checking your route online ahead of time…
Sunday, January 13, 2013
Plan your commute carefully on Jan. 21.
While fewer people are expected to attend President Obama's second inauguration on Jan. 21, projections still show between 600,000 and 800,000 people will be there. That alone would cause an increase in traffic on Washington, DC's roads, buses, trains and sidewalks. For safety and security reasons, a number of roads surrounding the National Mall will be closed on Jan. 21. Some Metrorail stations and Metrobus routes will be affected as well. The District of Columbia's Presidential Inauguration 2013 website details the status of road access into Washington, DC, on Inauguration Day: The following roads will be closed from 3 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Monday, Jan. 21: The website also lists all of the "emergency no parking zones" in effect between 7 a.…
Friday, January 4, 2013
Recent deaths on New York City subways may demonstrate need for plan.
Two high profile incidents involving deaths in the New York City subway system may provide an opportunity for exploring plans for dealing with emergencies while navigating underground transit. What would you do if you encountered an emergency situation while riding Metro? A recent article in The Washington Post illustrates that many riders tune out the assistance information messages broadcast on the trains: If you are in urgent need of police assistance while riding the Metro system, please call Metro Transit Police at 202-962-2121. “I hear it so often I don’t pay attention anymore,” said one woman interviewed for the story. Between the Transit Police phone number, 911 and on-site Metro and police personnel, riders have at least three …
Sunday, December 23, 2012
On New Year's Eve, Metro trains will run later than usual for a weekday.
This New Year's Eve, "hurrying to make the last Metro" will not be a good excuse to gulp down the Champagne: Metro will remain open until 2 a.m. on New Year's Eve (technically New Year's Day by that time) "for the benefit of holiday revelers," Metro reported on its website. Here's the holiday schedule for Metro: On Christmas Eve, Metro will be open for regular weekday service. The Metrorail system will be open from 5 a.m. to midnight. On Christmas Day, Metrorail and Metrobus will operate on a Sunday schedule. Metrorail will operate from 7 a.m. to midnight. MetroAccess subscription trips will be canceled. On New Year's Eve, Metro will be open for regular weekday service. The Metrorail system will stay open two hours later than usual (…
Thursday, November 29, 2012
Trains will single track it between Greenbelt and College Park on the Green Line.
Metro anticipates delays for some riders on the Green, Red and Orange Lines this weekend while it performs work, which will begin at 10 p.m. Friday and continue through closing on Sunday. Green Line trains will single track between Greenbelt and College Park, with every other train terminating at College Park instead of Greenbelt. Metro says riders traveling to or from Greenbelt Station should allow 10 additional minutes of travel time. Buses are slated to replace trains on the Red Line between Fort Totten and Forest Glen. Silver Spring and Takoma stations will be closed. Metro says riders traveling through the work zone should budget for an additional 30 minutes of travel time. Trains will single track between Stadium-Armory and …
Saturday, July 7, 2012
WMATA says the extreme heat caused a kink in the rail line sending three rail cars off the track near West Hyattsville.
Friday, July 6, 2012
A Metro train has derailed in West Hyattsville, WMATA reports, but there were no injuries.
Update, 8 p.m.: It took rescuers nearly an hour to safely remove all of the passengers on a Metro train that derailed Friday afternoon near the West Hyattsville Metro station. The train was traveling toward DC after departing from Prince George's Plaza Metro Station, when the last three cars derailed, leaving 55 passengers in harms way around 4:45 p.m. A total of 95 fire and rescue crew members responded to the accident, Prince George's Fire Chief Marc Bashoor said, with the first responders arriving within five minutes of it being reported. Two dozen firefighters entered the tunnel to execute the rescue, Bashoor added. It took 10 minutes for the firefighters to reach the train, which had come to rest in the tunnel running underneath Ager …
Pachacutec
2:31 pm on Thursday, May 16, 2013
OK, Metro has to do their work, but really - who at Metro figured that closing the College Park station on the same weekend that commencement activities were due to take place was a good idea? I mean, it's not like this doesn't happen every year around the same time, right? Nobody at Metro - nobody? - said "hey, maybe we should check on this" before scheduling the work? Unbelievable. Or maybe … more ›