Transit on Thursday: Red Line Delays Edition
Commenter Nate asked if we would look into what's been happening on the Red line lately, which he describes as having been suffering from "morning and/or afternoon delays every day for nearly two weeks now." Indeed, we've heard others grumbling about the Red line of late, which is usually one of Metro's speediest rush hour options.
WMATA explains that the current Red line delays are due to ongoing work needed to replace pieces of flawed track. Track workers are installing new sections of rail at several locations overnight and into the weekend, but until the repairs are complete, trains are operating at a slower speed for safety.
The delays are annoying to be sure, but probably a lot less annoying than a Red line derailment. Hopefully the most of these problems will be cleared up by next week.
After the jump, an extra hour of Metro service this weekend, and your usual weekend track work notifications.
Photo by parikha49
Fall Back, Get an Extra Hour of Metro:
Thanks at least in part to Big Candy, we got an extra week at the tail end of Daylight Saving Time this year for the first time, which means we'll all need to remember to set our clocks back an hour at 2 a.m. on Sunday.
Not only will your Saturday night plans get an extra hour of potential fun, you'll also get an extra hour of Metro service. WMATA sent out an announcement reassuring customers that it will operate on a normal Saturday schedule, providing rail service from 7 a.m. until 3 a.m. this Saturday night into Sunday morning, despite the time change.
Weekend Track Work Delays:
Red Line:
The aforementioned track work means Red line passengers traveling between the Fort Totten and Takoma Metrorail stations should add up to 20 minutes of travel time this weekend. Inbound and outbound trains between these locations will share one track from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m., Saturday, November 3, and Sunday, November 4. Every other Red Line train traveling towards the Glenmont station will terminate at New York Ave-Florida Ave-Gallaudet U station and return to the Shady Grove station.
Orange Line:
Passengers traveling between the Vienna/Fairfax-GMU and West Falls Church-VT/UVA stations on the Orange Line can expect 30 minute delays, as inbound and outbound trains will share one track from 10 p.m., Friday, November 2, to closing (midnight), Sunday, November 4. Every other Orange Line train will terminate at the West Falls Church-VT/UVA station and return to the New Carrollton station.
Green Line:
Expect 15 minute delays between the Georgia Avenue-Petworth and U St/African Amer Civil War Memorial/Cardozo stations due to continued Verizon Wireless maintenance work. Inbound and outbound trains will share one track from 11 p.m. to closing (3 a.m.) Friday, November 2 and Saturday, November 3.
Trains will also share a single track between the Anacostia and Navy Yard stations because of tile work at the Navy Yard station from 10 p.m. Friday, November 2, through system closing on Sunday, November 4.
Expect extra Green line delays on Saturday as inbound and outbound trains operating between the Greenbelt and College Park stations will share one track while new trains are tested from 7 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Saturday, November 3.