Wash Metro could shut down entire rail lines for 6 months

[AmtrakBlue]

https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/trafficandcommuting/2016/03/30/fba8ae0a-f688-11e5-9804-537defcc3cf6_story.html

Metro could shut down entire rail lines to do extended maintenance, board chair says

Metro’s top officials warned Wednesday that the transit system is in such need of repair that they might shut down entire rail lines for as long as six months for maintenance, potentially snarling thousands of daily commutes and worsening congestion in the already traffic-clogged region.

Board Chairman Jack Evans and General Manager Paul J. Wiedefeld put rail riders on notice about possible extended closures at a high-level conference of local leaders. The discussion also revealed strong resistance to what Evans said was a “dire” need for more than $1 billion a year in additional funding for Metro.

 

[Bob Dylan]

Wow! Imagine shutting down BART, the L, SEPTA,MTBA,NJT or the New York Subway system for 6 months!

 

[jebr]

Wow! Imagine shutting down BART, the L, SEPTA,MTBA,NJT or the New York Subway system for 6 months!

The CTA actually did something similar with the Red Line south of the loop a few years back. It was closed for 6-8 months for a full rebuild.

 

[Ryan]

Chicago did it, and it ended up very well.

 

[AmtrakBlue]

Wow! Imagine shutting down BART, the L, SEPTA,MTBA,NJT or the New York Subway system for 6 months!

They're not planning to shut the whole system down at once, but whole lines within the system.

 

[afigg]

What I don't get is that WMATA has been doing significant disruptive shutdowns of stations & segments and a lot of single tracking on weekends for circa 4 years now. From all the recent problems, it is not at all clear that the repair and maintenance work was being done properly. How much of the work that needs to be done is do-over or repeat work?

Honestly, WMATA needs to repair or fix the maintenance and repair department and the quality inspector teams first before they do long shutdowns of major portions of lines. Fortunately, I think the board ended up hiring the better choice in Paul Wiedefeld to manage WMATA than the CFO or finance turn-around expert most of the board was fixated on last year. WMATA needed an experienced manager who can deal with maintenance, repair, and operational staff and management of a transportation system, not a CFO.

As for the Chicago Red Line shutdown, there was an nearby alternative line they could bus people to. None of the lines in the DC Metro system branching outside of the core really have any alternatives other than moving people to buses running through already clogged traffic.

 

[jis]

Wow! Imagine shutting down BART, the L, SEPTA,MTBA,NJT or the New York Subway system for 6 months!

NJT actually does shut down entire lines from time to time for maintenance. Yeah not the NEC. But they have shut down the M&E, the Gladstone Line, the Pascack Valley Line and even the NJCL for such at times.

 

[crabby_appleton1950]

https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/trafficandcommuting/2016/03/30/fba8ae0a-f688-11e5-9804-537defcc3cf6_story.html

Metro could shut down entire rail lines to do extended maintenance, board chair says

Metro’s top officials warned Wednesday that the transit system is in such need of repair that they might shut down entire rail lines for as long as six months for maintenance, potentially snarling thousands of daily commutes and worsening congestion in the already traffic-clogged region.

Board Chairman Jack Evans and General Manager Paul J. Wiedefeld put rail riders on notice about possible extended closures at a high-level conference of local leaders. The discussion also revealed strong resistance to what Evans said was a “dire” need for more than $1 billion a year in additional funding for Metro.

Does Congress pay for that $1 billion in funding? Would Congress pass the spending?

 

[Ryan]

Funding is a mix of federal and local funding.

 

[fairviewroad]

As for the Chicago Red Line shutdown, there was an nearby alternative line they could bus people to. None of the lines in the DC Metro system branching outside of the core really have any alternatives other than moving people to buses running through already clogged traffic.

This is a fair point. But if done with enough advance notice and coordination, they could at least work with MARC and VRE for some alternatives. Not that MARC and VRE can magically add cars and service, but there *might* be some way of making that happen to a limited extent. That would help some METRO passengers.

 

[afigg]

GM Paul Wiedefeld is backing off or walking back Chairman Evans statement that entire lines might have to be shut down for months for repair and maintenance. Evans talked about shutting the Blue Line which doesn't make much sense since most of the Blue Line is on shared corridor segments with the Yellow, Orange, and Silver lines.

Washington Post (Apr 5): Metro general manager says no lengthy line closures are needed to make repairs. Starting excerpt:

Metro General Manager Paul J. Wiedefeld said Tuesday that he has no plans to close any rail lines for months at a time to do maintenance work, saying that targeted repairs can be done by shutting down segments of track temporarily.

“I don’t see any need for a long closure of any part of the system,” Wiedefeld told reporters after a lunch meeting in Rockville with the Montgomery County Council.

Tracks, for example, could be shut down between a couple of stations, he said. In that case, bus bridges would carry passengers between stations. He said he’s also considering the possibility of limiting the train schedule to allow more time for overnight work. Wiedefeld said he will announce a plan in the next few weeks, specifying which lines or other parts of the system need attention first.

WMATA has been doing partial closures and single tracking on most weekends for 4 years, so I am not clear on what will be different. Well, maybe more extended weekend partial closures rather than single tracking. Either way, the pain will continue. Or is it the beatings will continue until moral improves and the maintenance & repair crews do their job properly the first time around?