Some random thoughts and observations:
First, per Metro's twitter account, more than 32,000 people used the new Silver Line stations.
https://twitter.com/wmata/status/493398810719428610. That seems a healthy figure for an opening day crowd and Metro personnel seemed very capable of handling the crowds and all of the minor technical glitches that occurred.
Second, has anyone else noticed
the new 'neighborhood' maps in the Metro stations (the backlit ones next to the regular Metrorail maps)? Metro has been updating them to show the Silver Line, but has also started using a new format. The Metro lines, which used to be in the color of the line, are now solid black, and instead at each Metro station there is a large circle divided into the colors of the lines serving that station. This mirrors Metro's new bus maps, which show Metrorail lines in black and than a circle divided into each color at the stations. See for example:
http://www.wmata.com/pdfs/bus/DC_System_Map.pdf?. It makes sense for the bus map, which uses colors for the bus lines, but I am not sure I like it on the neighborhood map as much....but then again, if you're already at a station looking at the neighborhood's amenities, having 3 lines representing B/O/S running in the middle may be a bit distracting from what you're searching for. What I do like, however, is that the new maps (if I recall correctly) do a better job of indicating that a station has multiple entrances/exits and where they are in relation to the streets.
I also want to point out something else that caught my eye: the new neighborhood maps being used downtown (I can specifically recall those at L'Enfant) are otherwise
identical to the existing neighborhood maps: they use the same color scheme and style, for instance showing schools or museums in different colors. If you walked past in a hurry you might not even notice they are new, since only the black lines and circles for stations are new features.
For the new Silver Line stations, however, Metro has completely revamped the neighborhood map. It also uses the black line to represent the Silver Line and a circle at each station showing it's serviced by the Silver Line, but the style and presentation are completely different than the neighborhood maps used in the other stations. See for example this pdf of the McLean Station neighborhood map shown online, which is exactly the map that is backlit at the station side by side with the Metrorail map.
http://www.wmata.com/rail/evacuation/Mc ... _FINAL.pdf
Living in Broadlands, VA; Working at Half & L SE, DC.