Results tagged “wmata”

WMATA now says that NextBus, e-alerts, debit card transactions, SmartBenefits and all other remaining electronic systems that were affected by today's outage were back online by 3:30 p.m. this afternoon. NextBus was indeed working when we tested it just before 5 p.m. Be sure to let us know if you run into any continuing problems on your commute home this evening.

We've been following the massive systems outages at WMATA all day, and now Metro says that its public address system is again up and running. Debit card transactions, credit card purchases of more than $20, NextBus, SmartBenefits and the e-alert system are all still not functioning, however. We'll be keeping an eye on the situation as the evening commute rapidly approaches.

• Metrobus fareboxes are functioning, although some bus operators had difficulty logging onto them earlier this morning. If that was the case, customers were allowed to ride without paying.
• The Bus Operations Control Center had early difficulty communicating with buses on the streets, however bus radios came back into service at about 10 a.m.
• All reservation and dispatch systems for MetroAccess returned to use at about 10 a.m.

WMATA plans to scrounge up $36 million from a combination of stimulus funds, inaugural reimbursements, surplus reserves and insurance money to deal with its widening budget gap for the 2010 fiscal year, both the Post and the Examiner are reporting.

WMATA put out its November track work advisories today, and it looks like Metrorail riders on most lines are in for more of the weeknight delays that made October such a joy, not to mention plenty of weekend work to contend with. A brief outline of what to expect this month is below, but see the two advisories for full details.

We're set to fall back one hour this weekend, when Daylight Saving Time ends at 2 a.m. on Sunday, November 1. For Metro riders who will be out celebrating Halloween that night, WMATA has just put out its regular reminder that it will still close at 3 a.m. on Saturday night/Sunday morning, despite the time change. That means that there will technically be an extra hour of Metrorail service on Halloween night: when the time goes back an hour at 2 a.m., it'll be 1 a.m., and you'll still have two more hours of ghoulish fun left before the last trains leave.

WMATA has already held public forums in both D.C. and Virginia on the choices it is facing in FY2011, and now Marylanders will get their turn. Two forums have been scheduled in the state, one on Tuesday, November 3 at Kennedy High School in Silver Spring, and another on Wednesday, November 18 at Prince George’s Community College in Largo. Both meetings will begin at 7 p.m. and include an opportunity for public comment. More details can be found here.

Metro on Monday will being testing a new software program designed to provide a real-time back-up to the rail system's crash-avoidance system, Lena Sun reports in the Post. The software was developed by WMATA and Annapolis-based developer ARINC following NTSC recommendations after the deadly June 22 Red Line crash. "With the software, a malfunction will trigger a visual and audio alarm on controllers' screens at Metro's operations center; controllers will be required to acknowledge the alarms." It'll be tested for the first time during Monday's rush hour, with no set timeline on when it might go into full and complete use.

It's Thursday, which means the weekend is blissfully close. But apart from a break from the office and a chance to unwind, you know what weekends also mean: Metro track maintenance delays! This weekend's work schedule isn't as bad as recent episodes, but Red and Orange Line riders should make a note of the following potential delays. Also keep in mind that the entire Metrorail system will open at 5 a.m. on Sunday to accommodate the Marine Corps Marathon. We'll have more detailed information on the street closures that will come along with that event this weekend.

With a big tip of the hat to WTOP, the D.C. Fire/EMS department has just released this 12-minute video about the rescue effort that followed the June 22 Red Line crash, which killed nine people and injured dozens of others.

The video was shot by D.C. Firefighter Vito Maggiolo.

Continue reading "Video of the June 22 Red Line Crash Rescue Effort"

Metro is once again facing a budget crunch (in the form of a predicted $100 million shortfall) and thinking about raising fares, but this time it's changing tactics just a bit. Instead of soliciting rider input at the end of the process, as Lena Sun points out in the Post, this year they're talking to customers at the beginning. And tonight marks the first public forum on Metro’s proposed 2011 budget.

Last week we got a little too excited about the impending expansion of cell phone service in the Metro system, but now it's official: T-Mobile, AT&T, and Sprint Nextel customers should be able to use their cell phones inside Metro's 20 busiest stations starting first thing Friday morning (the Post says it'll be turned on at midnight, but of course the system will be closed by then). Verizon customers could already access their network inside the same stations, and they will continue to have that service after the change.

Members of Amalgamated Transit Union Local 689 are encouraging their members who operate Metrobuses to do every single little thing by the book this week. The push comes in the wake of two recent incidents which saw bus drivers plow down pedestrians in the District. Unsuck DC Metro got the ball rolling on this story yesterday, and the Post's Lena Sun later followed up with a story of her own.

In case it wasn't obvious when you boarded the Metrorail system this morning, WMATA says it did indeed finish up that major rail interlocking replacement and bridge work that saw three Metro stations on the Green and Yellow lines closed for the entire three-day weekend. Also notable: Metro counted 64,228 people who took advantage of the free shuttle buses that were moving riders around the closures. That figure is just shy of the 68,000 or so who used the shuttles during the similar Labor Day weekend closures.

A friendly Friday afternoon reminder from your pals here at DCist about this weekend's Metrorail closures along the Green and Yellow lines. Don't forget that the Waterfront-SEU and Archives-Navy Mem’l-Penn Quarter stations will be closed completely, along with Green Line service at L’Enfant Plaza, starting at 10:30 p.m. tonight and lasting through closing on Monday, Oct. 12.

Back in August, WMATA announced that the first phase of the Congressionally imposed expanded cell phone network inside D.C.'s Metro system would be completed by October 16. That date, by which time Verizon Wireless, Sprint Nextel, AT&T and T-Mobile customers should all be able to access their networks inside the 20 busiest underground Metro stations, is coming up fast. And earlier this week, it appeared as though some of the stations might already be wired up.

Four and half months after the fatal June 22 Red Line crash and much to the relief of frustrated commuters, Metro announced today that Red Line service near the Fort Totten station has returned to normal. From the press release:

Red Line trains are no longer traveling at reduced speeds or taking turns moving one at a time between the Fort Totten and Takoma Metrorail stations. Maintenance program repairs in the Fort Totten Metrorail station area have been implemented, including replacing original track equipment dating back to the 1970s.

Continue reading "WMATA: Red Line Service is Back to Normal "

One of the biggest crime problems in the Metro system has long been thefts from autos parked in the lots at the end of the different rail lines. Thieves know that Metro's large, outer parking lots are filled with cars whose owners won't return until the end of the day, so they prowl them like kids in a candy store.

Reports of smoke on the tracks at Metro Center starting at about 9:20 a.m. caused major delays on the Red Line this morning, with trains sharing the same track between Judiciary Square and Farragut North. WMATA says the situation had been resolved by about 9:40 a.m., but delays persist in both directions on the Red Line. UPDATE 11:09 a.m.: Metro says the cause of the smoke at Metro Center this morning was a fire that broke out after one of the train's collector shoes, which are attached to the third rail, fell off. WMATA is investigating what could have caused such a piece of equipment to disconnect from the train. Each train has four collector shoes.

WMATA released its October weekend track maintenance schedule on Monday, which details the Columbus Day Weekend closures of the Waterfront-SEU, Archives-Navy Memorial-Penn Quarter and L’Enfant Plaza stations on the Yellow and Green lines they had previously warned us about, in addition to myriad other work that will affect the Red and Orange Lines during three other weekends throughout the month. It'll be a busy month for weekend track work, but considering the average month, par for the course.

In case you missed this story from FOX 5 on Friday night, reporter Ron Plater found that Carla Proctor, the former Metrobus driver behind the wheel of the bus that struck 30-year-old Amanda Mahnke on Sept. 3, is being accused of running the light at the intersection of Connecticut and Florida Avenues before she hit Mahnke.

FOX 5 has learned that police concluded the light was already yellow when the bus driver entered the intersection, and that light turned red when she was midway through the intersection.

Continue reading "Report: Fired Metrobus Driver Ran Light Before Striking Jogger"

WMATA sent out word today that it will be keeping the Metro system station open late on Tuesday night in order to accommodate U2 fans coming home from FedEx Field. All stations except Morgan Boulevard will be exit-only after midnight, but those who enter at Morgan Boulevard after midnight will find both trains waiting for them at that station, and additional trains at all transfer points on the Blue Line to take them to their destinations, Metro spokesperson Steven Taubenkibel said.

Metro's board of directors voted to renew General Manager John Catoe's contract for another three years at their meeting today, the Post is reporting. Presumably they managed to come to that decision before board chairman Jim Graham was pulled out of the meeting to deal with the fact that his chief of staff had been arrested. WTOP says the only vote against Catoe came from City Administrator Neil Albert. Catoe's annual salary of $315,000 will remain the same, according to WTOP.

That's the word from WTOP's Adam Tuss, who reports that the specific reasons for the termination of 43-year-old Metrobus operator Carla Proctor have not been disclosed. But Proctor, who struck 30-year-old Amanda Mahnke while she was jogging near the intersection of Florida and Connecticut Avenues on Sept. 3, has indeed reportedly been let go by the transit agency. The Washington Post recently reported that Proctor had been involved in two previous, more minor on the job accidents. UPDATE 2:50 p.m. WMATA has put out a statement saying that Proctor was "dismissed for failing to follow standard operating procedures."

A man was struck by a Yellow Line train at the Columbia Heights station at around 2 p.m. this afternoon, Metro officials have confirmed. Preliminary reports indicate this appears to be another suicide attempt, making this the ninth such attempt this year on the D.C. Metro system. Trains are currently stopped while rescue workers attempt to reach the man, who is under the train. More soon. UPDATE 2:27: Reader Matthew writes in to say that while traveling between Fort Totten and U Street stations just after the incident, a crowd of people got on at Columbia Heights and some of them said that they had witnessed a man jump in front of the Yellow Line train. D.C. Fire/EMS confirms rescue and treatment attempts are still ongoing, so no word yet on the man's condition. 2:39 p.m.The Columbia Heights station is now closed, according to Metro. Green Line trains are single-tracking between Georgia Ave. and U St./Cardozo, but for now they are not stopping at Columbia Heights. 3 p.m. Columbia Heights station has reopened, but trains continue to share the same track. 3:10 p.m.D.C. Fire/EMS spokesperson Pete Piringer said the person struck was a teenage male. He was removed from under the train by firefighters, treated by paramedics and transported to a local hospital with serious and life threatening injuries. 3:40 p.m. Metro is saying the teen was "fatally struck," which is the first we've heard that he died from his injuries. Columbia Heights station is now open, but Green Line trains are single tracking between Georgia Ave-Petworth and Shaw.

The Wall Street Journal's Washington Wire reported last night that Rep. Kevin Brady (R-Tex.) has fired off a letter to WMATA General Manager John Catoe complaining that the transit agency did not adequately prepare for last Saturday's 9/12 Tea Party protests, in some cases leaving participants stranded. The Post also has the story.

In advance of the release of Metro's latest crime data later this month, there's this teaser from FOX 5's Wisdom Martin on escalating crime in the D.C. Metro system. The three worst stations for crime right now break down like this, according to the report: in D.C., the highest crime station is Gallery Place, where the most common crimes are thefts of electronic devices; while in the suburbs, it's the stations with the largest parking lots, New Carrollton in Maryland and Franconia-Springfield in Virginia, which are largely related to automobiles thefts and break-ins. Metro Transit Police told FOX 5 that arrests are also up this year, with 989 arrests made and 3,164 citations issued so far in 2009. WMATA is expected to release its most recent crime stats on Sept. 24.

WMATA broke ground today on a new Metrobus facility in Southwest that could eventually house and maintain 250 Metrobuses (to start, it'll only hold 114 buses). The new facility is intended to replace the 72-year-old Southeastern Bus Garage – that's the one the agency had to sell and vacate last year because it was so close to Nationals Park. The building isn't yet fully funded but is being financed through a combination of the proceeds from the sale of the Southeastern Bus Garage plus another $30 million from stimulus funds.

The Washington Post's James Hohmann digs into the driving record of Carla Proctor, the Metrobus driver who was behind the wheel of the bus that struck 30-year-old jogger Amanda Mahnke on Sept. 3. Proctor had two previous on-the-job accidents: one in 2004, when she crashed a Metrobus into the back of a parked vehicle on the 1300 block of Wisconsin Ave. NW, and another in 2003, when she allegedly failed to properly apply a brake before she exited a bus to inspect a faulty door. That bus "rolled down a hill and struck a car, setting off a chain of crashes that damaged seven vehicles as well as the bus."

A Metrobus driver and a bicyclist had a minor collision at the intersection of 14th Street and New York Ave. NW this morning, Metro's Taryn McNeil confirmed. The incident occurred at about 11:45 a.m. this morning.