Metro's revised track work & maintenance plan

[JDC]

Metro's GM is expected to announce tomorrow at a Board hearing Metro's new program for track work and system maintenance. Stay tuned.

[MCL1981]

I've been chomping at the bit to see this. I'm glad P-Dubs is not living an alternate reality like past leaders, pretending everything is just fine. The reality is there is no way to fix stuff with the limited available hours to work. It will require more time, which will require disruptions to normal service. Metro, the customers, and the politicians must accept this reality. But for it to be accepted, Metro better have a good comprehensive plan to show that it will be worth it. And in order to be successful, Metro needs to be accountable for the work they're doing. It's become quite clear that Metro employees and managers have been falsifying maintenance records or brushing off the fact that it wasn't done. There must be accountability to inspect the work and certify that what needed to be done was actually done.

[octr202]

Just out of curiosity, does WMATA have sufficient buses and drivers to be able to handle bus bridges for weekend or multi-day closures of rail line segments? Here in Boston, these have become almost a standard feature of life on the subway lines - during the warmer months it's almost unheard of that there isn't a weekend shutdown somewhere, sometimes more than one, all with replacement buses providing service. Would that cause undue strain on the Metrobus fleet, driver pool, or has it just been avoided to reduce OT costs?

[MCL1981]

Just out of curiosity, does WMATA have sufficient buses and drivers to be able to handle bus bridges for weekend or multi-day closures of rail line segments?

On the weekends, they can manage. But recognize it will still be slower and with much longer "headways". On the weekday rush hours, you might as well not even bother. One rail car holds more people than a single bus. And the busses run on the road through rush hour traffic. Just go somewhere else.

[JDC]

WAMU has a sneak peak at Metro's proposed intensive track work and maintenance plan: https://wamu.org/news/16/05/05/massive_ ... ab_program.

"Metro will conduct extensive track work over a months-long timetable on all lines except for new portions of the Silver Line, in a major rehabilitation program general manager Paul Wiedefeld will unveil on Friday, according to transit authority sources familiar with the plan. The program may begin as early as June.

For days or, in some locations, weeks, segments of track — covering two to three stations at a time — will undergo either around-the-clock single-tracking or complete closures including during the work week, sources said. The work — described as surges — will take place along stretches of track both inside and outside the downtown core, which sources said are among the oldest in the system and in most need of urgent repair."

[JDC]

A longer story by the post previewing today's Board hearing. https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/tr ... story.html

[JDC]

The GM is speaking now, live reporting from NBCWash, and is showing a powerpoint presentation of his plan. Will post link once available.

[JDC]

The GM is speaking now, live reporting from NBCWash, and is showing a powerpoint presentation of his plan. Will post link once available.

GGW has a link to a pdf, but their website is crashing under the server load. Here it is anyway. http://files.greatergreaterwashington.o ... tdowns.pdf

[JDC]

A longer story by the post previewing today's Board hearing. https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/tr ... story.html

Another story https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/tr ... ge%2Fstory

[JDC]

The GM is speaking now, live reporting from NBCWash, and is showing a powerpoint presentation of his plan. Will post link once available.

GGW has a link to a pdf, but their website is crashing under the server load. Here it is anyway. http://files.greatergreaterwashington.o ... tdowns.pdf

In the meantime, here is the story from GGW: http://greatergreaterwashington.org/pos ... -on-track/

[JDC]

Finally, Metro has a post about the plan and a link to it: http://www.wmata.com/about_metro/news/P ... aseID=6103

[JackRussell]

Finally, Metro has a post about the plan and a link to it: http://www.wmata.com/about_metro/news/P ... aseID=6103

I had a chance to look it all over. There are two bits to it really.

The first has to do with earlier closing times to expand work hours. I can't tell exactly, but the implication is that this is mainly directed at the "inner core" which is primarily underground.

The second has to do with extended single-tracking, and these are almost exclusively in the outer sections that are outdoors. Some of these are only a week in duration. Vienna->WFC has 42 days in Sept/Oct. WFC->EFC have two scheduled - one in Nov for 10 days, and again in March for 14 days. Not sure why they divided it up like that.

[jamesinclair]

Just out of curiosity, does WMATA have sufficient buses and drivers to be able to handle bus bridges for weekend or multi-day closures of rail line segments?

On the weekends, they can manage. But recognize it will still be slower and with much longer "headways". On the weekday rush hours, you might as well not even bother. One rail car holds more people than a single bus. And the busses run on the road through rush hour traffic. Just go somewhere else.

MBTA does pretty well with planned bus shuttles.

Many times you get better service than with rail because buses leave every 30 seconds vs every 8 minutes (weekend headways)

Obviously emergency shuttles dont do so well because it takes 30+ minutes for them to arrive

[schmod]

I hope that Metro (and the surrounding region) can step up to the plate and provide really good bus service. They have an opportunity to pull this off and do it right.

I'm surprised at the very long NoMA -> Fort Totten closure (particularly that they can't single-track to Rhode Island Ave at a minimum). It's going to be very challenging to provide buses between that gap.

Will they finally start switching to concrete ties? It's a little ridiculous that they haven't become the standard for WMATA yet.

[YOLO]

They kept talking about the need to replace wooden ties so I don't think they'll ever switch to concrete. Apparently all of the rocks have to be replaced for that to work and it costs $$$