Silver Line Dulles WMATA Metrorail progress/pictures

[JackRussell]

The DCAC met back in Dec. Rail project update here:

https://www.dullestollroad.com/toll/dec ... ry-meeting
https://www.dullestollroad.com/sites/de ... 5_2019.pdf

There is discussion of several ongoing issues:

• Precast concrete panels
• Crossover hardware issue
• Ballast in the yard.
• Insulated joints.
• Cracks in precast panels in the buildings at the yard.
• Tight gauge in #8 switches

Adam Tuss is reporting that the Silver Line opening might be pushed to early 2021.
https://twitter.com/AdamTuss/status/1224717812507332608

NEW: Silver Line Phase 2 opening could slip to 2021. Latest project schedule has a substantial completion date of October 2020. But there’s months of testing after that, meaning that for the first time, 2021 is being talked about as a possible opening date

[JDC]

Obviously none of this is good, but it may be expected with such a large project. What is welcome, though, is that hopefully all of these issues are being spotted and addressed, or at least flagged for future tracking (like cracks and need to re-apply sealants).

[Sand Box John]

Curious, the window for the opening of the Silver may have been widened:

Weekend trial run for Metro’s summer shutdown plans
Max Smith
02 06 2020, 10:18 AM

Both Silver and Orange line trains will run through East Falls Church without stopping. Orange line trains will short turn at West Falls Church.

Adam Tuss as mentioned above by JackRussell may be just blowing smoke.

[JDC]

GM Wiedefeld is predicting, though I use that term loosely, a spring or summer 2021 opening for phase II. https://wtop.com/tracking-metro-24-7/20 ... into-2021/

[Sand Box John]

JDC
GM Wiedefeld is predicting, though I use that term loosely, a spring or summer 2021 opening for phase II. https://wtop.com/tracking-metro-24-7/20 ... into-2021/

It seem to me like WMATA is engaging in an excessive level of CYA while MWAA is expressing confidence that things proceeding as expected and setbacks are being dealt with. The interlocking warped crosstie issues have been resolved. The out of spec track ballast in the yard is being corrected along the turnout tight gauge and defective insulated rail joints. The making of the Alstom (GRS) hardware and software (phase I) and the Ansaldo STS (US&S) hardware and software (phase II) being able understand each other should be a reasonably easy fix. Virtually everything necessary to accommodate the movement of passengers through the stations is done. The only real issue that needs to be resolved is the warranty on the precast panels and that should not effect the safe operation of revenue trains.

[perfbill]

Whether or not the extension opens this year or 16 months from now (this year SHOULD be a priority, but...), another question remains. Lately I have found that even when I get to the Metro garage at Wiehle at 7:45 AM or so, I'm often having to go down to Purple or Green to park, and that after 8:30 there are people parking outside of the pillars. The trains are often at standing capacity during Rush Hour by the time they get to Clarendon - some days and times before even that.

When you add on six new stations, consider that there might be around a 25% shift between Wiehle and the further west stations in terms of ridership, since many of us will simply go to a closer station. However, others who have demurred from that garage or Metro because of those issues might now join in the fray if they live in Loudoun or further west, and we also need to consider the additional airport-to-downtown traffic.

I am wondering if during the 7:00 to 9:00 period that trains will reach entropy by the time they get to Wiehle or Spring Hill, given current results. There are a few New York Sardine days now on the Silver and Orange Lines. This could potentially become worse, especially with periods like this summer with 16-18 minute intervals. I wonder if they might consider doing what has been done with the Red Line - having every other train go the distance while the alternates start at Wiehle or Spring Hill instead. Too early to tell, of course, but I would hope that it is a point of discussion this far in advance.

Just putting it out there.

[Sand Box John]

@ perfbill
I happen to believe a plurality of the boardings generated will not go beyond Rosslyn. I also believe selected trains operating only between Ashburn and McLean could be well patronized.

[Sand Box John]

Wiehle tie-in: How the Silver Line got held up . . .
Max Smith
WTOP 103.5 FM
03 23 2020 15:50 EDT

. . . Or how bean counter got in the way of engineers trying to do their jobs.

[perfbill]

For the first years of Wiehle being open, there was always an issue with train operators being able to "stick the landing" due to, I thought at the time, the ATC. They usually had to stop part way into the station, then slowly proceed to the end point. Almost as aggravating as Red Line east between Metro Center and Gallery Place, which routinely is slow and/or full of stops. Now it makes sense that part of the problem may have been these EOL oriented circuit boards making sure that the train would not overrun the station rather than trusting the operators. It also explains the weekend shutdown for tie-ins, which did not make sense to me before, but having to replace the electronics instead of just upgrading the software ties this together.

Still, they shoulda coulda oughta have had this figured out in 2015 rather than last year (d'oh, of course). This would likely be factored in should they ever want to proceed down I-66, which is unlikely to happen for a variety of other reasons, but you never know. It does help, however, to explain some of the ongoing delays and frustrations. Now if we could just have them RESOLVED, as opening is already two years behind schedule. (Ask the people in Honolulu how their ten year train construction project is going for contrast.)

[njtmnrrbuff]

In 2016, I rode the Silver Line to Wiele and it was on a day that there were many significant delays. I was standing at Metro Center for about an hour. Once I was on the train, then the trip was fine.

[Sand Box John]

perfbill
For the first years of Wiehle being open, there was always an issue with train operators being able to "stick the landing" due to, I thought at the time, the ATC. They usually had to stop part way into the station, then slowly proceed to the end point.

Was the signal protecting the entrance into the interlocking beyond the end of the platform displaying a red aspect?

If so that was the reason why the train stopped before reaching the berthing point at the end of the platform. All terminal and short turn pocket track interlockings will do that when the signal protecting the entrance into the interlocking is displaying a red.

[Sand Box John]

Looks like another year:

Silver Line Extension Likely to Open in Spring 2021
Fatimah Waseem
03 31 2020 14:30
Reston Now

[trainhq]

Glad to see this project get done finally. I helped do the environmental planning on this nearly 20 years ago. We looked at a lot of options for this; ran up the bills on WMATA on it too (LOL)! It’s a good idea that took a
long time to be built. Can remember flying out of Dulles more than 40 years ago. Nothing out there but cows!

[Jeff Smith]

Not nearly as bad as East Side Access, but not nearly the complexity either!

[Sand Box John]

"Jeff Smith"
Not nearly as bad as East Side Access, but not nearly the complexity either!

More like different complexity.

• Issues over the integrity of the column piles built in the 1980s.
• The 2 years it took to relocate the miles of underground utilities in Tysons Corner.
• The installation of the 30 plus mile long exclusive use double redundant 35KV power line duct banks, much of which had to be trenched through bedrock.
• The soil condition being different at the sites of all 11 of the stations.
• The third rail conduits between the tracks and substations and power line duct banks that had to be hand mined through bedrock at multiple location.
• The soil condition for the column piles along the roughly 17 miles of elevated.
• The removal of bedrock that was above finished grade in the yard and at one of the stations . . .