Silver Line Dulles WMATA Metrorail progress/pictures

Seems I was correct See post Thu Aug 15, 2013 7:44 am

Operator error caused Silver Line test train derailment, officials say
Lori Aratani
08 23 2013

Driving to IAD on Sept 1, there was a six car train parked on the outbound tracks right after the Wiehle station.

The photo below is from SBJ's most recent update post. What really struck me is the design of these lights. For some reason they strike me as a little bit retro in style - maybe 1960s? I cannot say yet whether I like them, but they are another sign of how different the new stations will be.

I am, however, very excited at what appears to be the new platform flooring. I like the idea of larger tiles and I assume these include modern non-slip materials.



Let There Be Light: Platform lighting has been installed on the Tysons Corner Station platform and installation of concrete pavers is almost complete.
Photo by Stephen Barna, Dulles Corridor Metrorail Project

"JDC"
I am, however, very excited at what appears to be the new platform flooring. I like the idea of larger tiles and I assume these include modern non-slip materials.

The platform finish is not new. WMATA has been using this same concrete pavers in the surface stations that have been receiving platform rehabilitation for some time now. They were first used on the Tokoma platform in 2009.

Here are pictures of them on pallets outside the McLean station shortly after they were delivered from the manufacturer:







The truncated domes (bumpy tile) brown tiles behind the granite edge in the picture you posted are of similar dimension

John - I see. That just shows I have not traveled to enough stations yet - I've never been to one following rehab, so I haven't seen anything but the original tiles. Metro, by the way, has a solicitation out for more "bumpy dome tile" in the amount of 15,000 sq. feet. See http://www.wmata.com/business/procureme ... on_id=3104

"JDC"
John - I see. That just shows I have not traveled to enough stations yet - I've never been to one following rehab, so I haven't seen anything but the original tiles.

I too have never seen the concrete pavers at the rehabilitated stations. I know about their use primarily because I read a lot of the documents WMATA publish about the various upgrade and maintenance projects they done and are doing.

Metro, by the way, has a solicitation out for more "bumpy dome tile" in the amount of 15,000 sq. feet. See http://www.wmata.com/business/procureme ... on_id=3104

This procurement is for the quarry tile version of the truncated dome "bumpy tile", The product will likely be used for repairs in station that already have them or in stations that have not had them installed.

As far as I know WMATA has no plans to convert the platforms and mezzanines of the stations in subway from quarry tile to concrete pavers.

JDC wrote:The photo below is from SBJ's most recent update post. What really struck me is the design of these lights. For some reason they strike me as a little bit retro in style - maybe 1960s? I cannot say yet whether I like them, but they are another sign of how different the new stations will be.

I am, however, very excited at what appears to be the new platform flooring. I like the idea of larger tiles and I assume these include modern non-slip materials.



Let There Be Light: Platform lighting has been installed on the Tysons Corner Station platform and installation of concrete pavers is almost complete.
Photo by Stephen Barna, Dulles Corridor Metrorail Project

This looks like a cross between the original lighting style of the outdoor stations and the new style that was used with the NY Ave/Blue Line extension stations that opened back in November and December 2004.

JDC wrote:Driving to IAD on Sept 1, there was a six car train parked on the outbound tracks right after the Wiehle station.

I have seen trains of varying lengths parked there - all the way up to an 8-car train..

Besides being somewhat retro looking, the color of the metal poles just reinforces that these new Silver Line stations "aren't your father's Metro stations". Is there any "Metro brown" in these new stations, besides the signage? For instance, managers' stations, or doors to mechanical rooms? Or is everything (besides signage) this gray-silver color?

I'm not at all a fan of the concrete pavers that are replacing the quarry tiles. The concrete seems to be quite porous and looks filthy all the time because it shows all the stains from various liquids the passengers spill on it, not to mention the thousands of pieces of chewing gum stuck to it. Quarry tile on the other hand is smooth and maintains a clean appearance with almost no cleaning required. It was a classy look that complemented the granite nicely.

Most of the outdoor platforms on the A line are completed. On the B line, Takoma, Brookland, and Ft. Totten are still in various stages of completion. I'll try to remember to take a picture soon demonstrating the untidy appearance the concrete pavers have resulted in.

I took these on July 31, but I forgot to upload them. Sorry for the bad cell phone video out of a window, but this shows a train going back and forth between the Greensboro and Spring Hill Stations. It would slowly back out of Greensboro up the incline and then go what seemed to be full speed back into Greensboro. Maybe they were testing stopping distances or something. It did this multiple times.

http://youtu.be/-IqghJ6CaoI

http://youtu.be/qKafr5zVR_M

Thanks to Mainland, who posted this pdf in another thread (http://www.wmata.com/about_metro/board_ ... 130912.pdf). According to page 10, Metro will receive 64 7000-series cars somewhere between 2014-15 for the Silver Line, and then another 64 cars between 2016-17. I assume during this period the other received 7000-series cars will be dispersed amongst the other lines....

Page 55-56 make clear that, by the end of the 2014-16 business plan (which is actually through 2017), all 1000-series cars will be retired and 50% of the rolling stock will be 7000-series cars.

In my mind, if Metro had the money and you could just order up railcars like candy, replacing 50% of the fleet with 7000 cars would make an instantaneous and dramatic improvement in Metro with happy customers, less maintenance, less breakdowns, etc. I look forward to fall 2016.

[quote="JDC"]Thanks to Mainland, who posted this pdf in another thread (http://www.wmata.com/about_metro/board_ ... 130912.pdf). According to page 10, Metro will receive 64 7000-series cars somewhere between 2014-15 for the Silver Line, and then another 64 cars between 2016-17. I assume during this period the other received 7000-series cars will be dispersed amongst the other lines....[/i]

When the first of the 7k cars arrive on the property and pass acceptance they will not be sent to Virginia for exclusive use on the Silver line. They will likely be confined to trains dispatched out of Greenbelt Yard until there are sufficient numbers of them on the property and sufficient maintenance employes working in the other shops that are qualified to work on them, same applies to the train operators. This was the practice with the 5 and 6k cars when they first arrive on the property.

Page 55-56 make clear that, by the end of the 2014-16 business plan (which is actually through 2017), all 1000-series cars will be retired and 50% of the rolling stock will be 7000-series cars.

Sounds like WMATA is going to start decommissioning the 1k cars before all of the fleet growth cars needed to accommodate Silver line service arrive on the property.

In my mind, if Metro had the money and you could just order up railcars like candy, replacing 50% of the fleet with 7000 cars would make an instantaneous and dramatic improvement in Metro with happy customers, less maintenance, less breakdowns, etc. I look forward to fall 2016.

WMATA need to increase the fleet size so they have at least 50 percent spares during peak. By doing so it would reduce the the annual mileage, allow more time to perform routine maintenance, increase the overall reliability and lengthen the service life of the entire fleet.

My dream is to have a fleet size great enough to allow 90 second headway on the trunk segments of the system with 50 percent spares.

John - I agree that in the past Metro has evenly circulated the new cars (5000 and 6000) and that likely was because of the dispatch yard and to be fair. And I imagine they will do that again. But, there is 1 difference from the 5000 and 6000 series purchase: if I recall correctly, MWAA itself paid for some of the new 7000 series cars and these cars were intended to service the Silver Line extension because of the fleet constraints you mentioned. When I read the slides, I took them to mean that while 7000 series cars are coming and will be distributed among the fleet, the MWAA paid for 7000 series cars are also coming and will be 'dedicated' to the Silver Line so that new line will be populated by new, shiny cars as soon as possible. It's good PR, I guess.

Since this is Metro's first mass retirement of rolling stock, my biggest interest is how they will go about re-configuring the current consists. Although Metro has a fleet constraint that does not seem to be getting better (as judged by the speed with which they intend to retire the 1000 cars so there will be little excess capacity when 7000 and 1000 series cars overlap), I wonder whether as every 8 car 7000 series train hits the tracks an equal number (8) 1000 cars will be pulled from existing trains and those trains reconfigured. I would hope that Metro will reconfigure the trains to be consists entirely of one model, i.e. all 6000, all 5000, etc. I rode a 6 car train of all 6000 series cars this morning, and it was noticeably better.

Back to the fast retirement of the 1000 series, which leads to less excess capacity even with the 7000 series cars arriving. As you note, it would be better to have excess capacity for all of the reasons you mention. I just wonder whether, as I noted in my post before your post, Metro is simply sick and tired of the 1000 series cars and wants to get them out of here as fast as possible. 2017 is not really that far off when you think of it. As I noted, I wonder whether Metro's thinking is that a large, flexible fleet of 1000 AND 7000 cars (and space to store them all) is outweighed by getting the 1000 series (and all of their problems) off the rails, never to return, and relying on the 7000 series trains to pull the extra load, which they should be able to handle because they're new. I also thought it was interesting that the 4000 series was only mentioned once (pg 10) in connection with the 1000 series cars being retired, but it was not mentioned again elsewhere with specific dates.

One more addition to Metro's fleet of websites: a new website devoted to spreading the gospel of the Silver Line. http://silverlinemetro.com/

Also, according to a WP piece (http://www.washingtonpost.com/local/tra ... story.html), "Metro is planning an “inaugural ride” on the Silver Line for officials of various jurisdictions, business and community leaders, board members and the 10 Metro riders who win a contest that likely will be based on trivia about the Silver Line. Metro said it is still working on details of the contest." I think John might win that, hands down.

Another WP piece (http://www.washingtonpost.com/local/tra ... ml?hpid=z2) adds to the discussion above about the new 7000 series cars - Metro is purchasing an additional 220 of them, so bring the order to 748 7000 series cars, supposedly all in revenue service by 2018.

A "Silver Line Marketing Plan" was discussed at this month's Board meeting. See http://www.wmata.com/about_metro/board_ ... erLine.pdf. I like the new signage color scheme, see pg 17, and per page 5, there will be a Smartrip commemorative card.