WMATA - SafeTrack (spring 2017)

[JDC]

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/dr- ... 047c17acdf

Metro has announced the final component of its Safe Track program, which continues into spring (or summer) 2017. Note that the dates of the final surges are not yet set.

[JDC]

The same info from Metro's website, which is better formatted. https://www.wmata.com/about/news/safetr ... e-2017.cfm

[JDC]

Passing King Street station this morning, and there are a lot of new ties waiting for the next surge.

[JDC]

Waiting at Eisenhower Ave station during this surge and it looks to me like they are putting down wood forms to pour new concrete slabs for the third rail and maybe the rails themselves. They also have heavy equipment further towards King Street where there are the separate branches heading from the yellow line to the Blue Line in the Alexandria yard.

[JDC]

Got to see an interesting thing at National airport station during the surge. I was on blue line train to Franconia Springfield waiting on a red signal. Then a yellow line train pulled into the middle pocket track and discharged its passengers. During the surge there are extra yellow trains to from Mt Vernon square and the airport. And then finally a yellow line train to Mt Vernon square pulled into the station on the far track. So three trains at once berthed.

[srepetsk]

Waiting at Eisenhower Ave station during this surge and it looks to me like they are putting down wood forms to pour new concrete slabs for the third rail and maybe the rails themselves. They also have heavy equipment further towards King Street where there are the separate branches heading from the yellow line to the Blue Line in the Alexandria yard.

Those would be wood forms for replacement grout pads. They sit under the rail and under the fasteners; the fasteners' bolts secure down into them to ensure no rail movement.

[Chris Brown]

Got to see an interesting thing at National airport station during the surge. I was on blue line train to Franconia Springfield waiting on a red signal. Then a yellow line train pulled into the middle pocket track and discharged its passengers. During the surge there are extra yellow trains to from Mt Vernon square and the airport. And then finally a yellow line train to Mt Vernon square pulled into the station on the far track. So three trains at once berthed.

I wish every Metro station had that three track design like Reagan National. It really solves a lot of problems. Anytime a train is held up with door problems or running late, it doesn't necessarily have to cause a traffic jam like it does now. That third track in every station allows trains to pass each other at stations to stay on schedule. Its also great for maintenance and single tracking. A real missed opportunity there. Never mind express tracks. This would be almost as good.

[Sand Box John]

"Chris Brown"
I wish every Metro station had that three track design like Reagan National. It really solves a lot of problems. Anytime a train is held up with door problems or running late, it doesn't necessarily have to cause a traffic jam like it does now. That third track in every station allows trains to pass each other at stations to stay on schedule. Its also great for maintenance and single tracking. A real missed opportunity there. Never mind express tracks. This would be almost as good.

Doing so would have been cost prohibitive. The vast majority of the station in subway could not be built that way because the underground easement isn't wide enough. Every station would have to be 12' wider then upper level of L'Enfant Plaza to accomadate the two 21' 8 1/2" wide platform. A simpler and cheaper solution would have been to have put double crossovers between every station, two or more between stations that are 4,000' or more apart.

[JDC]

From today's morning commute I confirmed that they have begun ripping out the grout pads under the rail on the track that leads from Huntington toward King St. They have also removed all of the track circuits in this section and are seemingly replacing the switch that allows trains to access the flyover to Alexandria yard.

[srepetsk]

From today's morning commute I confirmed that they have begun ripping out the grout pads under the rail on the track that leads from Huntington toward King St. They have also removed all of the track circuits in this section and are seemingly replacing the switch that allows trains to access the flyover to Alexandria yard.

C98 switches 5 and 7 (5A, 5B, 7A, 7B) are set to be replaced starting tomorrow

[farecard]

I wish every Metro station had that three track design like Reagan National. It really solves a lot of problems. Anytime a train is held up with door problems or running late, it doesn't necessarily have to cause a traffic jam like it does now. That third track in every station allows trains to pass each other at stations to stay on schedule. Its also great for maintenance and single tracking. A real missed opportunity there. Never mind express tracks. This would be almost as good.

A platform-less passing track would offer many of the advantages with less space and lower costs. I believe the majority of disruptions are doors and brakes, and manifest themselves at platform stops. If an inbound train broke down on Track 2 at say Ft. Totten, trains behind it could bypass that platform rather than backing up behind it. The shanghaied passengers could get off at Catholic and backtrack, etc.

Plus, skip-stopping express trains could pass locals at the platform.....

[Sand Box John]

"farecard"
A platform-less passing track would offer many of the advantages with less space and lower costs. I believe the majority of disruptions are doors and brakes, and manifest themselves at platform stops. If an inbound train broke down on Track 2 at say Ft. Totten, trains behind it could bypass that platform rather than backing up behind it. The shanghaied passengers could get off at Catholic and backtrack, etc.

Plus, skip-stopping express trains could pass locals at the platform.....

A bidirectional platform-less "bypass track" would have to duck under the station to eliminate the need to widen the station. The duck under opens up another can of worms as as you need distance for the ramps on either side of the station.

The real solution is spend the money on meticulous infrastructure and rolling stock maintenance to make in service breakdowns and malfunction the exception not the rule.

[farecard]

A bidirectional platform-less "bypass track" would have to duck under the station to eliminate the need to widen the station.

I'm not talking retrofitting; I meant in the original design of the station.

And while fewer breakdowns is highly desirable, zero is unobtainable.

The longer the line gets, the more useful a passing track. The utilization of the system decreases as transit time goes up; more people say "I'll just drive.." One reason I'm disgusted with the Dulles extension is it does not deliver people where they want to go. (Ditto SEATAC, SJC, MDW, etc. CLE is ideal, EWK is close.) And longer = breakdown afflicts more people.

Imagine an express train from IAD that stopped only at WFC and then Ballston; then all stops. Ditto any aboveground parts of the western end of the Redline, etc.

[Sand Box John]

"farecard"

I'm not talking retrofitting; I meant in the original design of the station.

Neither was I. You would still have to duck under to eliminate the need to widen the stations. The same issues would have to be dealt with.

And while fewer breakdowns is highly desirable, zero is unobtainable.

I said that in a different way.

The longer the line gets, the more useful a passing track. The utilization of the system decreases as transit time goes up; more people say "I'll just drive.." One reason I'm disgusted with the Dulles extension is it does not deliver people where they want to go. (Ditto SEATAC, SJC, MDW, etc. CLE is ideal, EWK is close.) And longer = breakdown afflicts more people.

The Dulles route will deliver more people to more places then if it were to serve the airport only.

Imagine an express train from IAD that stopped only at WFC and then Ballston; then all stops. Ditto any aboveground parts of the western end of the Redline, etc.

If that schema was put forward as an all or nothing proposal we would have end up with nothing.

In my humble opinion, folk need to knock the 20/20 hindsight idea out of the heads that if that were built or this added WMATA wouldn't be dealing with the problems they are having today. From day one reasonable attention should have been made to meticulous maintain the infrastructure and rolling stock to keep things running smoothly. The enterprise that used the motto "Standard Railroad of the World" no longer exists because it did what WMATA did before WMATA did it.

[farecard]

In my humble opinion, folk need to knock the 20/20 hindsight idea out of the heads that if that were built or this added WMATA wouldn't be dealing with the problems they are having today.

Not my drift at all. I'm saving that if stations had passing tracks in their initial design, there would be some advantages.
That would not replace the need for RoW & rolling stock maintenance.
And yes the platforms would had to have been spaced slightly further apart.

The Dulles route will deliver more people to more places then if it were to serve the airport only.

Never said it should do that. I want it to serve the terminal itself, not the parking lot. And an open-air station is oh so attractive on nights like tonight [29F, 20 kts] & mid-August vs. an underground one.