While everyone seemed to enjoy what was going on inside RFK Stadium for the Nationals opening day goings on, there was much strife outside (and we aren’t talking about the stadium funding/voting rights protests). As if getting into the stadium wasn’t difficult enough (as you can see from this photo from Catherine Andrews’ Flickr photostream), getting to the stadium campus itself was a struggle. As has been reported by the Post, metrorail was packed to the gills before Thursday’s game. And after, the line to enter the Stadium-Armory station was a block-long, causing one exasperated fan to say: “There’s something fundamentally wrong with this system.” In short, there were probably enough frustrated and already transit-hesitant people in the crowd who are probably going to drive next time.

If we could suggest something, WMATA should try to siphon some of post-game crush on the Orange and Blue lines by offering some sort of Red Line bus shuttle, where Montgomery County-bound fans can take a bus to Union Station. If that mean special service or increased service on the 96/97 and D6 buses from the Stadium-Armory station, so be it.

But what about next time? It’s hard to tell, but there will likely be days when the Stadium-Armory station will be packed and people will dread using metrorail on game days. And what about the site for the new stadium on South Capitol Street? Well, that will provide a whole new set of challenges that will likely cause logistics planners from WMATA and the District to tear their hair out.