Of all the things that could happen inside a car stuck in rush hour traffic, a passenger going into labor is probably the most inconvenient and nerve-wracking. But that's exactly what happened at 6:41 p.m. yesterday in Arlington. more ›

The rules of Metro has numerous but generally well-accepted. Residents know not to eat or drink on trains, and people playing music loudly will often get dirty looks from commuters who enjoy the relative silence of their morning ride to work. As for bikes, it has long been the rule that they're not allowed on trains during rush hour. Should that change? more ›

Today Metro introduced Rush+, a new service plan that the transit agency says will increase the number of trains serving some of the busiest stations in the system during peak travel hours. more ›

Metrorail discovered a cracked rail on the Red Line this morning, which is causing major delays for commuters trying to get to work. more ›

UPDATE (6:10 p.m.): We've now gotten word that the person who was struck by the train has been removed from the track, and people on the powerless train will soon be allowed to disembark. The Clarendon station could be closed for some time, however, so we'd definitely recommend either waiting it out, grabbing a cab, or any solution that does not involve expecting Orange Line service to be operating past Court House with any regularity for a little while. more ›

As anyone who reads this blog regularly knew, this morning's Metro commute was going to be a tough one for a lot of people. Being the curious bloggers we are, we were actually looking forward to seeing how people were responding out there during this morning's rush. more ›

Were you one of the lucky few who were able to postpone your Monday morning commute until this morning's Metro mess was resolved? Well, we're hearing that normal service between Reagan National Airport and Braddock Road has now been restored. more ›

You'll have to forgive some Metro riders for their jumpiness when they read that the escalators at Foggy Bottom were having some trouble this afternoon -- after all, even though the transit agency just unveiled a brand new moving stairway a little more than a week ago, the station's escalators have been the scene of a few incredibly disruptive incidents over the past year or so. But not to fret, Metro riders -- spokesperson Dan Stessel tells DCist that today's disruption was simply a safety precaution. more ›

Gunshots were fired near the intersection of 14th and Irving Streets NW this morning during rush hour. And while eyewitness reports indicate that the incident occurred around 9 a.m. this morning, details about what actually happened are still unclear. more ›

Major delays are affecting the Green Line during this morning's rush hour, as standing water on the tracks between the Anacostia and Navy Yard stations has forced single-tracking. more ›

In what we're pretty sure is the biggest single rollout of WMATA's random bag sweeping policy, we're hearing that the transit agency is currently performing bag checks at three -- count 'em three! -- stations. Security personnel at Archives-Navy Memorial-Penn Quarter, Franconia-Springfield and Huntington are randomly checking parcels during the evening rush hour, so if you're heading south on the Green, Yellow or Blue Line, take note and be prepared to be pulled aside if your number comes up. more ›

UPDATE: The pole did in fact hit the front of a Red Line train, reports WUSA9. The Red Line is single tracking between Rhode Island Avenue and New York Avenue this afternoon after a utility pole fell onto the tracks. Initially, D.C. Fire and EMS reported that the pole had fallen on top of a train, but later said that was not the case. Passengers were offloaded at New York Avenue while the situation was investigated, and the incident has caused some major crowding at stations downtown, like Metro Center -- Red Line commuters might want to think about heading to a happy hour for a little bit until the issue blows over. It's not yet clear whether today's high winds were the reason the pole fell. more ›

There's plenty of fallout from the severe thunderstorm that rumbled through D.C. a couple of hours ago. As of this moment, Pepco is reporting about 73,000 power outages. It seems like Alexandria really got the worst of it; we're hearing that traffic there is a total mess thanks to road blockages and traffic light outages. In addition, the Yellow and Blue lines are currently experiencing delays due to a broken canopy at the King Street station. Arrivals at National and Dulles are reportedly delayed of 75 to 90 minutes due to the thunderstorms. Several trees in the District are also down, and a tipster emails us to tell us that the George Washington Parkway is also closed in both directions right now due to downed trees. There are additional storm cells to the west of the District which might bring more lightning and rain our way tonight; if you're driving this evening, be sure to exercise plenty of caution and be prepared for random delays. more ›

Drivers may be suffering from Terrible Traffic Tuesday, but Metrorail riders don't look to be having an easy night of it, either. The Blue and Orange Lines are delayed (we're hearing some trains are just completely stopped right now) as of about 6:30 p.m. in both directions due to a train experiencing mechanical difficulties outside Farragut West. Add that to the expected delays on the Red Line due to ongoing track circuit repairs at Fort Totten, plus track maintenance-related delays at the Braddock Road station on the Blue and Yellow Lines, and it makes for a not so comforting graphic on WMATA's web site right now. Good luck out there. more ›

A lot of you have been asking us when the Red Line will start running its normal number of trains and at regular speeds during rush hour, and today Metro offered an answer of sorts: it's going to be another 10 days, at a minimum. WMATA says Red Line riders should expect the same packed trains through July 19, thanks to ongoing reduced rush hour service during the NTSB investigation of the June 22 crash. Between now and July 19, Red Line trains will continue to move one at a time at a reduced speed between Takoma and Fort Totten, which is the source of most of the current Red Line troubles -- fewer trains can move along the line due to the change, and trains can more easily become backed up. The Takoma station will also continue to close at 10 p.m. for at least the next 10 nights as investigators continue their work. There's no guarantee in this Metro announcement that July 19 will be the last of it, either. Merely, word is that July 19 is the best case scenario. more ›

Morning rush hour has seemed more tedious lately on 14th Street NW: we've noticed and have gotten emails about gridlock on 14th going south from about Columbia Heights all the way to Thomas Circle, apparently without explanation. It seems to be worst from between 9 a.m. and 10 a.m., and we haven't been able to figure out a reason for it—DDOT's website doesn't have anything, we haven't gotten any AlertDC notices about it, and we haven't noticed police, wrecks, or other usual suspects like water main breaks along the corridor. A reader today emailed tips(at)dcist(dot)com saying she tried taking 13th Street instead of 14th today, but it was backed up as well. So we thought we'd ask you: any idea what's going on here? Is this just the new reality of an increasingly densely populated Columbia Heights? Photo by Brian Knight Photography more ›

It seems amazing to me that the District government doesn't impose an additional fee when it tows cars illegally parked in rush hour lanes. Whenever possible the city just moves cars to another nearby street, gives the driver a $100 ticket, and that's it, no additional towing fee. Considering the inconvenience drivers who leave their cars in rush hour lanes cause to everyone, the practice seems a little too fair. Well now the D.C. Council looks poised to do something about it. The Examiner reports that they have tentatively approved an additional $100 "vehicle relocation fee" that drivers would be charged on top of the parking ticket fine. The fee is designed to allow DPW to hire more independent tow trucks to help move more vehicles out of the way. Seems like a pretty reasonable solution. more ›

A typical weekday morning for yours truly involves catching the next train out of Van Ness-UDC to Dupont Circle. And more often than not, there's a train waiting for me at the station when I get there. No problems, right? more ›

Not since 7' 7" Gheorghe Muresan guarded the paint for the Bullets from 1993 to 1997 has an enormous dude played basketball regularly for a D.C. area team - sorry Roy Hibbert, 7' 2" doesn't cut it. For those fans looking for another behemoth to cheer on, the Maryland Nighthawks of the American Basketball Association have announced that they've signed 7' 8 3/4" Sun Ming Ming, supposedly the tallest person to ever play professional basketball.... more ›

Hey D.C., watch where you step. It's still icy out there, but today's temps should reach the 40's, melting the remaining ice for at least a while. Some kids are still in luck with a few school delays this morning, mostly in the Virginia suburbs. Here's hoping the warmer conditions mean drivers can stop acting like it's locusts, not snow, crunching under the tires. Chief Inspector Also Convict: Clearly D.C. doesn't have any problem with... more ›