As of 5:04 p.m. this evening, Metro is all clear.......

It's been quite a week for the Orange line, with three long delays in three days (not to mention last week's storm-related delays). Monday's derailment of a train between the Rosslyn and Court House stations left people clamoring for a way to get home, but luckily, it wasn't as severe as it could have been. Of course, no one would argue that being stuck in a tunnel for a long time with air conditioning on......

If you're sitting near a regular Orange line passenger in your office right now, consider bringing them a paper bag to prevent impending hyperventilation. There's a new WMATA alert posted just after 4:30 p.m. that indicates some as yet undefined track problem outside the Ballston station, and that customers should expect delays in both directions. Metro says they're running shuttle bus service between the Ballston and Vienna stations. But Orange line riders who have dealt......

This just in from Metro: A six-car Orange Line train headed in the direction of Vienna derailed at about 2:45 p.m. today. The third car of train 905, with an unknown number of passengers on board, experienced the derailment between Rosslyn and Court House Metrorail stations. Emergency crews are on the scene. There are no reports of injuries at this time. Trains are sharing one track (single-tracking) between Clarendon and Foggy Bottom Metrorail stations. The......

It's starting to be winter, finally, after a long Indian summer of warm days and little rainfall. But lately it's been chillier and drizzlier and crummier outside. Most people prefer the sun; they don't have to wear big jackets or get soggy, and D.C. cold always seems to bite. That doesn't bother some folks. But they're probably looking at you because you're wearing Uggs. Quote of the Week At the Foggy Bottom Metro station: Girl......

If you’re a regular reader of Transit on Thursday, you’ll have noted week after week of Green line delays over the past few months caused by the testing of new rail cars. Good news – those delays could soon cease. Metro is getting ready to stop testing and starting using, reports WTOP. The new rail cars, featuring two different designs, will be brought into service by Christmas. The first design is carpetless, with lots of......

Washington has a ton of good things, but also a lot of problems. One we often hear about is a general lack of customer service in some local businesses — sometimes people are slow, rude, forgetful, or a combination of the three. We've seen it all over, from fancy joints to Mickey D's, but it seems to be worse here than elsewhere on the East Coast. Somebody could make a lot of money by renting......

Good morning, Washington. The city is still reeling from the news that the U.S. Attorney's Office has indicted two employees from the District's Office of Tax and Revenue on charges of embezzling over $16 million. It's a staggering sum, and the Post cites officials who are calling it the largest theft ever uncovered in local government in the Washington area. The two women, Harriette Walters and Diane Gustus, are said to have used the money......

Orange Line to AAHHH!!!!!! So we've posted a lot of neat Halloween shots, but we couldn't overlook this one by James Calder. It's like a still from a zombie movie set in Washington. Metro's trademark darkness makes it a little spookier, and amusingly, the guy to to left doesn't seem to be too worried about the undead invasion. And the photo has funny tags too: "what do we want - brains. when do we......

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......

Got your pumpkins carved yet? Flickr user erin*carly helped make this incredible Orange Line pumpkin with some serious design, and won second place it what must surely have been an interesting carving contest. Our other readers may not be going for architecture awards, but their pumpkins are pretty spooky nonetheless. Add your gourd to the DCist pool and tag it with "pumpkin" to show us.......

WTOP's Adam Tuss is the first to the gate with news of Metro's Board of Directors having agreed today to a fare hike proposal to put forward to the public. Here's the details: >> Peak Metrorail base fares would increase 30 cents, from $1.35 to $1.65 >> Off-peak rail service would remain at $1.35 >> The maximum rail fare would jump 80 cents, to $4.70 >> If you use SmarTrip, bus fares will remain......

If you don't want to pay a toll, just don't leave the city. Information is sketchy at best, but the federal government may soon propose a toll on cars entering the city via the 14th Street bridge, reports The Examiner. According to the story, the proposal seems to be nothing more than another one of those fabulous pipe dreams feds float from time to time for improving our city. Like Sen. Sam Brownback's "flat tax"......

While we sit here tap-tapping our fingers, eagerly awaiting the Metro Board’s next move on our collective fare fate, we will distract ourselves with other traffic and metro related tidbits: metro savings, the ICC goes on and weekend delays. Photo by philliefan_99......

This week on Transit on Thursday, good news from DDOT for people who don't like getting hit by cars, and Metro plans on fixin' some things that really need fixin'. Score One For Pedestrians: We will soon get to say farewell to annoying sidewalk closures caused by those greedy development projects. No more braving the fury of cars as we find a way around. And no more crossing to the other side. Builders will......

Today tens of thousands of District children return to school, leaving behind the late-morning starts, extended curfews and breaks at the public swimming pool that summer afforded them. And though the year will proceed as it usually does, they will be part of a school system that has seen drastic changes over the last few months. Now under mayoral control and led by new chancellor Michelle Rhee, the District's public schools have entered a new......

Former Editor-in-Chief Ryan Avent writes a weekly column about neighborhood and development issues. Things used to be clearer for Fairfax County. It used to be known as the epitome of upper-middle class suburbanity, even earning name-checks in popular novels and songs as such. With acres and acres of rolling hills covered in leafy suburbs and landscaped office parks, it was a quiet complement to the quirky inner suburbs of Northern Virginia and the dense chaos......

>> "District of Columbia Public School students already had been warned that they might not have air conditioning when they return to class Aug. 27. Now school leaders say there might not be enough textbooks to go around immediately, either." [Examiner] >> The Ballston and Virginia Square Metro stations have reopened after an Orange Line train struck and killed a woman earlier this morning. Police are still investigating what happened. [WTOP] >> Can you......

Too often, when we think of problems with our transit service here in D.C., it's from the perspective of a commuter headed to work. It's not an unreasonable point of view; much of the travel that takes place in the District is for commuting. Ensuring Metro's morning and evening rush are as smooth and painless as possible is critical to keeping business in the city, as well as attracting more of it. Commerce is......

It's never a good sign when it's already this steamy this early in the morning, and indeed, the heat index looks like it will near 100 degrees today (actual temps closer to 94). The D.C. Homeland Security and Emergency Management has some helpful tips to beating the oppressive heat, but this list has a shameful lack of ice cream sandwiches involved. DCist heartily recommends the Ice Cream Sandwich Method of keeping cool today, which involves......

We're back with another edition of Transit on Thursday, bringing you transit news from around the city to satisfy the inner-geek in all of you. This week, we've got developments with the transit situation at the National Harbor development, currently under construction south of the city, as well as yet another round of national commuting stats that are, yet again, a mixed bag for the D.C.-metro area. Also, Metro has a long list of......

Fans had plenty of great things to say about the Nationals season opener at RFK last week: the hats, the weather, the midday beer-drinking. They also had some gripes. In addition to the unfortunate loss, one key complaint was, naturally, traffic. The Post noted that, "In the stands, Nationals fans complained. About parking-lot traffic, snack booths and long lines for just about everything, including hot dogs and ATMs." When the Nats move into their new,......

For a while there, the folks at Metro were using the tagline, "Metro Opens Doors" to market all the transit services they offered. While that particular slogan seems to have fallen by the wayside, this afternoon gives us the opportunity to resurrect it, if slightly altered: Metro Opens Baseball Season. Baseball fans across the city will be ditching work early and heading over to RFK for the Washington Nationals' home opener, at 1 p.m against......

Here at Transit on Thursday, we love giving good news, and we've got some for you today. New rail cars! Also this week, Governor Kaine works to rile up support for changes to Republican transportation legislation. Finally, maintenance and rail car testing will cause some delays on the Red, Yellow and Green Lines this weekend. Also, MetroAccess is now offering eAlerts with information on major service disruptions due to inclement weather and other emergencies.......

Good morning to those of you who are working today, on a day that many set aside to honor American Presidents with HUGE SAVINGS! and ONEOFAKIND DEALS! We trust that you made the best of your unjustly short weekend, and managed to stay on your feet on the skating rink sidewalks of our fair city. We applaud our neighbors who did their best to keep their portion of sidewalks clear and dry. Unfortunately, we......

As Metro emerges from yesterday's deep freeze, it's getting mixed reviews on its transportation response. Mayor Fenty is also under the microscope for his response to the snow according to local media. But with a power outage reported to have knocked out traffic lights throughout downtown earlier today, we're clearly not out of the woods yet. Meanwhile, the big news at Metro is the roll out of brand spankin' new information display screens outside......

Though we often sing the praises of public transit, there's usually not anything fun about jumping on the Metro at rush hour to get to work. It's crowded, people are surly, and you inevtitably engage in that awkward two-step dance to get around the one commuter that has decided they're going to occupy the middle of the aisle, everyone else be damned. But now and then something breaks up the daily monotony of Metro commutes......

Accusations of mismanagement and incompetence at Metro are nothing new. The Post ran a special series detailing Metro's internal challenges last summer, and most recently, more than a few Virginia delegates used Metro's alleged management lapses to justify their votes against funding the system. At this point, Metro must take it as given that any proposed changes in service or rates will be followed by a calls for reform of internal mismanagement at the transit......

A woman was hit by a train on Metro's Orange Line just before 10:30 this morning. The accident occurred at the Deanwood station on the inbound track. Emergency personel are on the scene, but there is no information about the condition of the victim. The Post is reporting the posibility of a suicide. Trains are sharing one track from New Carrollton to Stadium-Armory station, creating a 10-15 minute delay in both directions of the......

Seriously. Who doesn't love the law of supply and demand? We all learned about it in Econ 101. Yet so few seem to understand it. Maybe that's because so few of us took Econ 102 . Or maybe just because its more fun to simply twist it to justify whatever policy or proposal you want. Either way, after the jump we have this week's supply of transit news. The Examiner offers up more transit wisdom,......