Metro's revised track work & maintenance plan

They're also talking about replacing ballast, so it sounds like the rocks are being moved anyway.

schmod wrote:

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.

At least the Green/Yellow will carry the through traffic....

Concrete ties aren't necessarily the best option for WMATA. They have more of a useful application in freight because of their ability to handle high loads. The only real advantage concrete has over wood in transit applications is ride quality, which WMATA's vehicles and tighter gauge do really well, given that the track is within tolerances.

From a maintenance standpoint, wood ties are more desirable as they are lighter and are more forgiving (a failure in concrete usually call for the removal of the tie). If you take care of your track, wood can last you a long time.

All of the ballasted portions of N line are concrete, so we can have a direct comparison of the two.

I'm told the NoMA-Ft Totten issue is the roadbed is bad shape, not just the ties but the ballast underneath.

farecard wrote:I'm told the NoMA-Ft Totten issue is the roadbed is bad shape, not just the ties but the ballast underneath.

You are correct. Almost all the mainline turnouts between Silver Spring and NoMa have mud spots; you can see it on Google Earth, the white areas on the tracks. There's also a mud spot in Fort Totten platform limits. Definitely a ballast issue.

"JackRussell"
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.

Fewer folks to be effected, track work Issues to be addressed are more extensive then the issues with concrete track beds

Beyond the track surge Safe Track implements, Metro's regular track work schedule is extremely intense. It used to show an entire 6-month period, now it just shows about 1 month and still it's as long as the 6-month schedule. http://wmata.com/rail/trackwork.cfm. Wiedefeld is cracking the whip.

JDC wrote:Beyond the track surge Safe Track implements, Metro's regular track work schedule is extremely intense. It used to show an entire 6-month period, now it just shows about 1 month and still it's as long as the 6-month schedule. http://wmata.com/rail/trackwork.cfm. Wiedefeld is cracking the whip.

I saw Adam Tuss interview Wiedefeld on the news this morning. Not a whole lot new in the interview to those of us here - there was discussion about the exploding insulator issue, and the FTA letter that came as a result, and of course the SafeTrack initiative. The whole thing was about 11 minutes or so. Early in the morning they can slip in more substantive things, I guess..

Wiedefeld himself didn't see the video of the exploding insulator until about 4 in the afternoon.

Lots of people asking why they should pay for rush hour fares when they won't be getting rush hour service. But the answer is basically that doing this would foul up the finances even further. As I look at it, during many parts of the rebuilding, many other parts of the system will be unaffected.

Finally Tuss asked Wiedefeld if he had considered resigning rather than have to deal with one crisis after another. And while he talked about how he enjoyed the challenge, Wiedefeld basically ducked the question and said that his wife had asked him the same thing.

Interview can be watched here:

http://www.nbcwashington.com/traffic/tr ... 53346.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Wiedefeld already knows how to deal with such a crisis. He was MTA Maryland's administrator when Light Rail had extensive rail wheel problems. He basically ordered Light Rail shut down (only 7 cars were not affected and ran service, completely packed) and had Metro/Heavy Rail assist with inspections and wheel truing.

STrRedWolf wrote:Wiedefeld already knows how to deal with such a crisis. He was MTA Maryland's administrator... and had Metro/Heavy Rail assist with inspections and wheel truing.

If only this were an option for WMATA. "Hey MARC and VRE, get over here - we need you to inspect and repair all of our cars. And you, MTA MNRR/LIRR, get down here and repair our 750 vdc systems! Amtrak, you're on ATC repair duty."

I'm also glad part of this push is cleaning up the dump that the right of ways have become. Broken windows.

The FTA has just directed Metro to tackle three problem areas first, rather than as Metro proposed in Safe Track. http://greatergreaterwashington.org/pos ... nce-plans/.

The three areas, which Safe Track was going to address but later on, are:

[*]Medical Center to Van Ness
[*]Potomac Ave to the "D&G junction," where the tracks split toward Minnesota Avenue and Benning Road
[*]East Falls Church to Ballston

JDC wrote:The FTA has just directed Metro to tackle three problem areas first, rather than as Metro proposed in Safe Track.

The tone of the letter is interesting. Almost like someone giving instructions to a juvenile delinquent for what they need to do to make restitution for their actions.

They are requiring WMATA to re-establish within 30 days a debris removal and insulator cleaning program. The thing I don't get is that why they haven't done this already? It has been abundantly clear for months that such a program is needed - what's the holdup?

"JackRussell"
They are requiring WMATA to re-establish within 30 days a debris removal and insulator cleaning program. The thing I don't get is that why they haven't done this already? It has been abundantly clear for months that such a program is needed - what's the holdup?

Fear of ridicule from inconvenienced paying passengers. Fact is, for WMATA it's hell if you do as well as hell if you don't.

Indications are that Metro is already working on a revised Safe Track proposal, as ordered by FTA, and moving the 8th surge (Stadium Armory to D&G) to 1st slot.