March 18, 2008
Metro Suspends Weekend Track Work for a Month
Sweet baby L'Enfant, Metro has just released some good news! After what has felt like a solid year of delay-eriffic major weekend track work (especially the last four weekends with the switch replacement on the Red line), WMATA has decided to suspend weekend track work for the next four weekends in a row. The timing couldn't be better, too, considering we've got NCAA hoops action in town, the upcoming National Cherry Blossom Festival, the National Marathon, and opening day at the new Nationals stadium all bearing down on us.
“We would like to thank our customers for their patience as we continue to upgrade the Metrorail system,” said Gerald Francis, Metro’s Deputy General Manager and Chief Operating Officer, in a statement. “We know weekend track work can be an inconvenience, however this work is necessary to ensure the safe operation of the Metrorail system now, and into the future.”
Metro said it would continue to do preventive track maintenance overnight during the suspension, and that repair personnel are still available in case of emergencies.
And with that, DCist declares that spring is officially here, a few days early.
Photo by afagen
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Criswell predicts a massive Metro infrastructure collapse on that 5th weekend, one requiring the assistance of most of the Justice League of America (including both the Green Arrow AND the Green Lantern), as well as an army of Haitian witch doctors complete with chicken bone rattles and incense.
Oh my gosh. I think I just solved the great riddle of the mysterious chicken bone litter on our streets. People eating the Mambo Sauce covered wings are not littering they are creating secret Mambo Caches!
of course, they are suspending track work.
everyone knows sports fans and tourists are more important than the safety and convenience of those of us who live and work here.
...or it could be an understanding that the coming weekends are going to bring more people out on Metro than there have been in past weekends, thus making weekend track work even more unsustainable.
Not everything Metro does is nefarious, alice.
And, by the way, I'm not certain how this decision means that Metro doesn't respect the safety of people who live and work here. All of this weekend track work has been done primarily to allay any safety issues which may arise.
Weekend track work has the effect of keeping people who live more than a stop or two out of downtown off the subway and, generally because parking is so stuffed without suburbanites, out of downtown.
All of my entertainment dollars have been spent in drivable suburbs (Bethesda, Silver Spring, Alexandria) for the past two months because I wasn't willing to commit to an hour's worth of travel for what is normally a 15min trip to Gallery Place to see a movie.
So, yeah, the convenience of people who are coming in from out of town for events is more important to Metro than is the convenience of those of us who live here all the time and might like to say, go across town to dinner.
"So, yeah, the convenience of people who are coming in from out of town for events is more important to Metro than is the convenience of those of us who live here all the time and might like to say, go across town to dinner."
So, seeing as how this track work has to be done, and there is not enough time during the overnight hours to do it, do you have a suggestion as to a convenient time for this work to take place?
I live/work in the city (on the part of the red line that's been single tracking) and I've been horribly inconvenienced by the weekend track work. I've avoided going anywhere that isn't within walking distance on the weekends for more than a month.
I'm also not very happy to hear the weekend doom has only been "suspended." Does this mean we should expect these horrendous delays every weekend from here on out unless otherwise notified?
I'm all for the metro being safe, but I can't believe this is the best way.
when work continues, they need to let at&t, t-mobile and sprint down there too. They only allow them to work for one hour a week. that's why only verizon subscribers can talk on the metro.
"that's why only verizon subscribers can talk on the metro."
You say it like that's a bad thing.
it is when you want to call the person that is picking you up at the kiss n ride. I not talking about what boy I think is cute in my english class, or who called who a bamma. Just a quick call or text message that I'm close, or late, BECAUSE OF TRACK WORK or there's an emergency..... not big on exclusive rights, that's all. So yes, it is a bad thing.
Pathetic. You know it's bad when poor service is the norm; Metro has to designates a month for normal operations; and then their PR shop brags about it!
14thandYou wrote:
So, seeing as how this track work has to be done, and there is not enough time during the overnight hours to do it, do you have a suggestion as to a convenient time for this work to take place?
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If the work is necessary but not so sensitive that it can be suspended in time for the system to function "normally" for Monday's AM rush it's specious to say that Metro is required to perform the work for 8 weekends in a row.
Space them out. Make it two weekends in a row then two off; every other weekend. Something. Just give people who'd like to use the system's main freaking line a break on the weekends.