How are WMATA's trains moved to different lines?

[Chris Brown]

I have never seen any tracks where trains can move from line to line outside of where trains share tracks with other lines. What are the locations where they move the rail cars to different lines? How do trains move from the green line (where brand new trains are delivered) to the red, orange, blue and silver lines? Do they have special tunnels where they switch tracks?

I've always wondered this. Because if all the lines are connected, that means Metro can actually change all its current routes without adding any new track or tunnels.

[YOLO]

Connector tunnels nearby McPherson Sq, Fort Totten, I'm sure there are others

It's a single track so you really can't run service through it

[srepetsk]

Connector tunnels nearby McPherson Sq, Fort Totten, I'm sure there are others

It's a single track so you really can't run service through it

Nope, just those. C&A connector between McPherson Square and Farragut North, and the B&E connector between Fort Totten Red and Fort Totten Green/Yellow.

[Sand Box John]

"Chris Brown"
I have never seen any tracks where trains can move from line to line outside of where trains share tracks with other lines. What are the locations where they move the rail cars to different lines? How do trains move from the green line (where brand new trains are delivered) to the red, orange, blue and silver lines? Do they have special tunnels where they switch tracks?

I've always wondered this. Because if all the lines are connected, that means Metro can actually change all its current routes without adding any new track or tunnels.

Three location:
A&C connector, south of Farragut North track A2 on the A route Red line to west of McPherson Square track C2 on the C route Blue, Orange and Silver lines.
B&E connector, south of Fort Totten between the mainline tracks on the B route Red line to east of Fort Totten track E1 on the E route Green line.
C&J connector (actually know as Alexandria east yard leads), east of Alexandra Yard between the mainline of the J route Blue line to north of Eisenhower Avenue on the outside of the mainline tracks of the C route Yellow line.

The connector tracks were configured for non revenue moves only. The B&E connector was modified to accommodate revenue moves during the period of time the Green line Shortcut was operated between Greenbelt and Farragut North prior to the opening of the mid city segment of the E route Green line between U Street and Fort Totten.

Both connections are shown on these maps:
129 Mile Area Regional System Track Schematic.
WMATA 129 Mile Area Regional System Map

[smallfire85]

Remember for Green to Blue/Orange/Silver moves you have the Yellow line bridge. So a train can move from Branch Avenue to Vienna with turnarounds at L'EnFant, Pentagon, and Rosslyn, though you'd have to run opposite normal traffic from Pentagon to Rosslyn. The non-revenue connector tracks are primarily to connect the Red Line to the rest of the system.

[Sand Box John]

"smallfire85"
The non-revenue connector tracks are primarily to connect the Red Line to the rest of the system.

In the beginning it was the other way around, the Red line was built and opened first and had the only yard with a shop at Brentwood. The second yard with a shop was Alexandria it came on line in 1982.

[mtuandrew]

Remember for Green to Blue/Orange/Silver moves you have the Yellow line bridge. So a train can move from Branch Avenue to Vienna with turnarounds at L'EnFant, Pentagon, and Rosslyn, though you'd have to run opposite normal traffic from Pentagon to Rosslyn. The non-revenue connector tracks are primarily to connect the Red Line to the rest of the system.

Yep, exactly. It's a piece of cake to route a train originating at Greenbelt as a Yellow Rush Plus to Franconia-Springfield, thence Blue Line service to Rosslyn to enter the B/O/S lines.

Would be interesting to see any future Blue/Silver Georgetown line be more firmly attached to the Red Line via revenue-capable (not necessarily revenue-use) connectors.

[Chris Brown]

Thanks guys! Good info.

The map is awesome too. It shows every pocket track, interlock and connector track.

[Sand Box John]

"Chris Brown"
Thanks guys! Good info.

The map is awesome too. It shows every pocket track, interlock and connector track.

See post by dcd00d under thread title [meta excrementpost] Looking for Recently posted Metro Map where Rails, Station Outlines, and Railyards were shown at reddit.com/r/washingtondc

[schmod]

Unlike the others, the C&J connector is double-tracked for some reason. You could probably run a revenue service over it, although I'm not sure why you would want to, unless there was a need for a Franconia - Huntington shuttle.

Although, to be fair, WMATA should have built that kind of flexibility into other parts of the system (particularly around Pentagon and Rosslyn)

[mtuandrew]

Unlike the others, the C&J connector is double-tracked for some reason. You could probably run a revenue service over it, although I'm not sure why you would want to, unless there was a need for a Franconia - Huntington shuttle.

Although, to be fair, WMATA should have built that kind of flexibility into other parts of the system (particularly around Pentagon and Rosslyn)

The C&J connector is double track, but the switches are set up the wrong way. You can't run from J to C line without a backing move, a trip through the yard, or some sort of wrong-side running fiasco from Van Dorn crossover to Alexandria Yard. You could theoretically run from C to J in service, but there's invariably equipment parked on WBYL track (the westbound yard lead) parallel to the viaduct.

If there was some permanent demand for a Huntington-Franconia shuttle, and if that couldn't be accomplished with a small fleet of buses on the Beltway, WMATA could install switches from OBYL to J1 and from IBYL to J2. But short of a railfan dream, why?

[JDC]

The C&J connector is double track, but the switches are set up the wrong way. You can't run from J to C line without a backing move, a trip through the yard, or some sort of wrong-side running fiasco from Van Dorn crossover to Alexandria Yard. You could theoretically run from C to J in service, but there's invariably equipment parked on WBYL track (the westbound yard lead) parallel to the viaduct.

If there was some permanent demand for a Huntington-Franconia shuttle, and if that couldn't be accomplished with a small fleet of buses on the Beltway, WMATA could install switches from OBYL to J1 and from IBYL to J2. But short of a railfan dream, why?

I concur. It sounds nice, but having traveled this segment many, many times, it's not that hard of a journey to travel between Franconia-Springfield and Huntington with a switch at King St. If F-S and Huntington were very distant from one another, and if King St. was an inconvenient switching point, AND if there was large demand for that route, then it may make sense. But, none of those conditions are true, and the only one that could become true would be a surge in travel between F-S and Huntington, which is unlikely. If anything, the build out of Eisenhower Ave may prompt more F-S/Van Dorn travel to Eisenhower Ave station, but not Huntington....and doing all of that work simply to take riders from F-S/Van Dorn to Eisenhower Ave directly instead of a layover at King St. would never make sense.

[Sand Box John]

"mtuandrew"
The C&J connector is double track, but the switches are set up the wrong way. You can't run from J to C line without a backing move, a trip through the yard, or some sort of wrong-side running fiasco from Van Dorn crossover to Alexandria Yard. You could theoretically run from C to J in service, but there's invariably equipment parked on WBYL track (the westbound yard lead) parallel to the viaduct.

That could be addressed by making the single crossovers between the yard leads and the mainline double crossovers. ATC would also need to be installed and the trackage in curves would need to be super elevated.

[mtuandrew]

Sand Box John: exactly. But again, why?

The only reason I can imagine is if there is ever a Beltway Metro route. That's so far down the pike, it's invisible; even the proposed National Harbor Yellow extension is decades away, and it certainly won't go to Franconia.

[Sand Box John]

"mtuandrew"
Sand Box John: exactly. But again, why?

The only reason I can imagine is if there is ever a Beltway Metro route. That's so far down the pike, it's invisible; even the proposed National Harbor Yellow extension is decades away, and it certainly won't go to Franconia.

The Beltway Metro route died when Virginia chose to build toll lanes on their portion of the Beltway and Maryland chose to build the Purple line as light rail.

It might be of use if the C and J routes were ever extended further south.

To me it make more sense to serve National Harbor from a branch off the F route south of Congress Heights or serve it from an extension of DC Anacostia Streetcar line once DC DOT figures out how they are going to connect it to the rest of their planed network.