Transit on Thursday: MARC's the Spot Edition
Hey Virginia, are you taking notes?
Encouraging transit developments are happening in Maryland these days - mostly revolving around the MARC system. MARC's facing many of the same challenges that every other local transit system is: booming ridership, infrastructure in need of improvement, less than stellar performance, and waning public confidence. But lo and behold, things aren't grinding to a halt. First, MARC's administrator, Paul J. Wiedefeld, admitted that the public deserved a better way to get around - and now his state is following up on that promise. Word is that the state has approved $369 million in improvements for the MARC system, including brand new cars, trains, and tracks. The plan is an ambitious strategy to quadruple ridership from 27,000 to 103,000 by 2035, while keeping service at similar levels to 2006, when every MARC line was running at around 90 percent efficiency.
The cash influx is imperative for the system-at-large. For example, there's a dedicated section in the MARC FAQ which claims that used train cars purchased from Chicago to replace the currently 50 year old cars in use are "virtual spring chickens."
Another good sign: MARC is negotiating to try and improve their awkward symbiosis with freight carrier CSX, which owns the tracks that MARC (and Amtrak, for that matter) uses between Baltimore and Washington. And to round out the good news, the approved improvements to MARC come on the heels of the alteration of plans in Maryland to further integrate mass transit into the state's long-term plans. According to the Baltimore Sun, another $340 million over the next 20 years has been reallocated to transit projects after Marylanders demanded a shift from highway funding.
Photo by yorktronic.
We're In Yr Escalators, Ruining Yr Morning: Calling it the “the singularly worst-designed Metro station...in the system,” We Love DC ran video from Monday’s huge bottleneck on the escalators at Foggy Bottom station. Dr. Gridlock also has the complete roundup. Of course, escalator-based backups not an uncommon situation at other stations, like Dupont Circle. But the difference is that Foggy Bottom only has one entrance where all traffic flows in and out. (Our personal favorites are the folks who ran up the down escalator to avoid the traffic. Phew.) The good doctor's conclusion: just another example of Metro's older infrastructure causing crises from seemingly simply problems. So, were any of you stuck in the station on Monday morning? Better yet, did any of you run up the wrong way?
Telecommuting Update: After reading Tuesday's post which mentioned the lack of telecommuting done by federal employees, a couple of you emailed to point out that the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office in Alexandria actually encourages less driving to work. According to a USPTO press release, more than 40 percent of that agency participates in at least some telecommuting in 2007. It's an encouraging number which we hope other governmental agencies notice.
Engines and Cabooses: What happens when Metro inexplicably closes the faregates at Farragut West during an afternoon rush hour in the middle of a heat wave?... John Catoe's monthly internet chat is tomorrow at noon, so start prepping those questions now... Tyson's Tunnel crowd is still sticking around... Following the lead of Chevy Chase Village, Montgomery County speeding cameras have caught almost 20,000 speeders per month... Track and switch maintenance to cause delays on the Red, Blue and Yellow lines this weekend.