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Friend-of-DCist Angel Preble tells us about an experience she had on the Orange line this morning:
I boarded an Orange line train at Farragut West at 8:26 a.m. (I was rushing this morning, so I remember the time) headed toward Vienna. I work almost directly across from the Dunn Loring stop.Angel said she had to wait about four minutes after exiting at West Falls Church before catching the next train to Dunn Loring. Asking around today, at least one other DCist staffer had a Metro train mysteriously skip a stop once, so we asked Metro about it.
It wasn’t until we were rolling up to the East Falls Church station that the operator made an announcement that this train was "express service to Vienna," and would not stop at Dunn Loring, and that we’d have to get out at West Falls Church and wait for the next train which was “directly behind us.” This only applied to those who had to go to the Dunn Loring station.
Despite talk back in 2005 that stop-skipping express trains might be in store during rush hour, WMATA spokesperson Steven Taubenkibel said that Metro "is not currently testing any type of skip stop service on the Orange line or anywhere else."
According to Taubenkibel, there are two reasons why a Metro train might skip a stop. The first is that a train operator may be ordered to skip a stop if it has fallen far behind schedule. The other is when a service disruption causes a large gap in service on one end of the rail line.
In the case of Angel's Orange line train this morning, Metro spokesperson Candace Smith confirmed that the operator was indeed ordered to skip the Dunn Loring stop for the former reason: the train was running late and and trains behind it were being pushed off schedule. The operator's announcement that the train was "express service" wasn't exactly accurate, in other words.
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Metro does that thing with the red line where they only go between Silver Spring and Grosvenor, but the Orange line has always been a straight shot.
It's at this point, I'd assume that all Metro operators have gone insane and will now start beating us like McGruff, run over pedestrians, and change our train schedules.
they just brought up the possibility of wmata implementing this at greater greater washington a couple days ago. interesting stuff, too bad we never built a third track that would really allow express service.
Metro didn't build a third track because the planners correctly assumed that they wouldn't get the funding for a third track. Also in the initial stages of Metro construction (late 1960s, early '70s), the primary focus of the system was on getting people from the suburbs to downtown jobs. The District was losing population, and the planners didn't envision people wanting to go downtown at all hours. An express line would definitely be a great addition but from a cost perspective, DC would benefit more from a robust light rail/streetcar network to augment the subway. An express Metro line would cost billions and primarily benefit folks out in Gaithersburg and Prince William County. If there's anyone left in Prince William County.
And what a nightmare having to wait four whole minutes for a transfer. This is the worst travesty of justice since the Lindbergh kidnapping trial.
It's not so much the 4 minutes, it's the fact that they announced it AFTER people got on the train. That's just stupid.
If you're trying to avoid stupid, what are you doing on Metro? People save up their stupid when they're taking Metro, whether its junkpunching McGruff, wolfing down frenchfries, having sex, or running prostitution rings. If you took a car all you'd have to worry about is going insane or dying in a fire. Definitely worth saving the extra 4 minutes.
I'm at the end of the line (Franconia - Springfield). I hope they never skip past my station.
More like Dunn Boring.
Am I right Northern Virginia residents?
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The moniker, while given in jest, is well earned - one of the least interesting stops on the line. Be glad that you spent 4 less minutes at work.
Really, people find this inexplicable and/or surprising? I'd guess that it's happened to me at least two or three times on Metro trains, during either a high density rush hour or a "returning to normal after delays" phase. It's just a way of opening and/or closing gaps in the train order along a particular line. And to say that a train is "express to Station X" or "express service to Station X" is pretty standard usage to mean "we won't be stopping again until Station X," it doesn't imply anything inherent and global about the train itself.
It's happened to me on the Blue Line at Arlington Cemetery during rush hour. Not a big deal.
Many times I've seen a train skip a stop either because the train is already over capacity (inauguration day comes to mind) or in order to make schedule corrections after an earlier incident has knocked things out of whack, but I've never heard a train operator call it an Express train.
Metro played around with express trains to the Stadium-Armory stop a couple years ago during more heavily-attended games at RFK, but I haven't seen it since then.
Wait...Metro has a schedule?
Wait...Metro has a schedule?
A few months ago I witnessed a similar mistake made by a Metro operator, though with a twist.
The train stopped at L'enfant Plaza. The operator never opened the doors but (adding insult) warned passengers on the platform to step back, angrilly saying "Doors are closing!!!"
Everyone on the train who wished to get out looked puzzled, and had to wait 'til the Pentagon to turn 'round and try again. Just yikes.
Something similar happened to me at Dupont. We stopped. Then the driver seemed to pull up a little (like they sometimes do) but instead of stopping he hit the gas and we just went on to the next stop. We all looked around as if to say "did he forget to open the doors?" The one Metro employee in our car looked peeved.
But it's the only time I've experienced this. I think it was a brain fart.
Ha. I remember this. I was there for that, and wouldn't you know it, was the one day in my life where I was actually taking the Orange Line out to Vienna. That was fun.
I heard a Metro operator once jumped out of his train at a stop, punched a bystanding McGruff on his way to work and hopped back on the train. He thought it was "funny."
Cruelty to people in animal costumes is always funny. To this day, I will cross the street to junkpunch that f**k in the Doo-Bee costume. Mute Romper Room muthaf**ker. You better dance your candy ass outta here, f**k. And Miss Sally wasn't much better. Bi**h never saw "monkeyrotica" in her goddamned Magic Mirror. I hate America.
A whole 4 minutes?
The shame.....