Washington Metro

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{{Infobox Public transit |name = Washington Metro |image = Metro_logo.gif |locale = Washington, D.C. Metropolitan Area |transit_type = Rapid transit |began_operation = March 27, 1976 |system_length = 106 mi (170.5 km) |lines = 5 |stations = 86 |ridership = 520,000 (2004) |track_gauge = Template:Standard gauge (standard gauge) |operator = Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA) }} Image:Red line train.jpg The Washington Metro or simply Metro is the public transportation system of Washington, D.C., and neighboring suburban communities in Maryland and Virginia, both inside and outside the Capital Beltway. In Maryland service is provided in Prince George's County and Montgomery County; in Virginia in Fairfax County, Arlington County, and the City of Alexandria.

The Metrorail (subway) system, as well as Metrobus (bus) services, are owned and operated by the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA) — a multijurisdictional, quasi-governmental agency. WMATA also operates a paratransit service for the disabled called MetroAccess. However, the expression "Metro" usually refers to Metrorail exclusively.

Unlike the subway systems in cities such as New York, Metrorail fare is not fixed, but instead varies based on the distance traveled, and the time of day. Riders enter and exit the system using a stored-value card in the form of a paper magnetic stripe farecard or a proximity card known as SmarTrip. Both methods track the balance paid to Metro, as well as the rider's entry and exit points.

Since opening in 1976, the subway network has grown to five lines, consisting of 86 stations and 106 miles (170.5 km) of track. The original plan of 83 stations on 103 miles (165.5 km) was completed on January 13, 2001. There were 190 million trips on Metrorail in 2004, meaning about 520,000 passengers use the system every day.<ref name="WMATA Facts">WMATA Facts (PDF)</ref> The system is the second busiest in the nation, behind only the New York City Subway.

Washington's Metrorail is well known for its design by Chicago architect Harry Weese. Weese's design is an exemplar of late-20th-century modern architecture. With its heavy use of concrete, and the repetitive nature of its design motifs, it demonstrates aspects of Brutalism, which, in Washington, is also exemplified by the FBI's J. Edgar Hoover Building. Simultaneously, with its coffered groin and barrel vaults, it reflects the neoclassical style of architecture that can arguably be described as the closest thing to an "official" federal style in Washington, as demonstrated in such buildings as the U.S. Department of the Treasury and the former U.S. Patent Office building (now the Smithsonian American Art Museum), by Robert Mills, the White House, by James Hoban, and the Beaux-Arts Lincoln Memorial, by Henry Bacon.

Contents

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Metrorail network

Image:WMATA system map.gif The network was designed with a spoke-hub distribution paradigm, which makes the subway ideal for getting from a suburb to any part of the city, or vice versa, but unattractive for suburb-to-suburb travel; groups have proposed a Purple Line to remedy this. The system is also noteworthy as a system with a limited number of lines that nevertheless makes extensive use of interlining (running more than one line on the same track).

There are five operating lines and one planned line, described from the south or west towards the north or east:

  • Red Line: Runs from Shady Grove in Montgomery County, through downtown Washington, and back into Montgomery County ending at Glenmont. This is the busiest line and the only one which does not share its track with another line.
  • Orange Line: Runs from Vienna/Fairfax-GMU in Fairfax County, through Arlington County and central Washington, ending at New Carrollton in Prince George's County. Shares the same tracks as the Blue line from Rosslyn (Arlington County) through Stadium-Armory (Washington). It will also share tracks with the planned Silver Line from East Falls Church to Stadium-Armory.
  • Blue Line: Runs from Franconia-Springfield in Fairfax County through Alexandria, Arlington County, and Washington, ending at Largo Town Center in Prince George's County. Shares the same tracks as the Yellow line from King Street (Alexandria) to Pentagon (Arlington), then shares the same tracks as the Orange Line from Rosslyn (Arlington) through Stadium-Armory (Washington). It will also share tracks with the planned Silver Line from Rosslyn to Stadium-Armory.
  • Yellow Line: Runs from Huntington in Fairfax County through Alexandria and Arlington, ending in Washington at Mount Vernon Square/7th St-Convention Center. Shares the same tracks as the Blue Line from King Street (Alexandria) through Pentagon (Arlington), then it crosses the Potomac River into Washington where it shares the same tracks as the Green Line from L'Enfant Plaza through the end of the line at Mount Vernon Square/7th St-Convention Center.
  • Green Line: Runs from Branch Avenue in Prince George's County through eastern Washington, where it crosses the Anacostia River, and back out into Prince George's County ending at Greenbelt. Shares the same tracks as the Yellow Line from L'Enfant Plaza through Mount Vernon Square/7th St-Convention Center.
  • Silver Line: Planned to run from Route 772 to Stadium-Armory. Shares track with the Orange Line from East Falls Church to Stadium-Armory, and with the Blue Line from Rosslyn to Stadium-Armory. The Silver Line will open in two phases, with the section from Wiehle Avenue to Stadium-Armory opening in 2011, and to Route 772 in 2015.

Half of the system, including most of the stations in the District of Columbia, is underground, but most suburban stations are on elevated rails or at grade. In the case of the western Orange Line, the tracks run in the median of Interstate 66. However, the deepest stations in the system are not in Washington, but at the northeastern end of the Red Line, with Wheaton having the longest escalator in the western hemisphere at 230 feet (70 meters), and Forest Glen being even deeper than that; so deep, the only way to the surface is by elevator.<ref name="WMATA Facts" />

Image:DCMetro Smithsonian.jpg The system is not centered on any single station, but Metro Center is considered the hub, as it is the busiest station, located at the intersection of the three busiest lines, and the Metro Information Center and Gift Shop are located there. Other notable transfer stations include Gallery Pl-Chinatown, which is located by the Verizon Center; Stadium-Armory, which is located by RFK Stadium and has importance because the Washington Nationals and the DC United play there; and L'Enfant Plaza, the only station in the system with four lines, and supplies easy access between downtown Washington and Virginia.

Smithsonian station lies under the National Mall, and is the busiest station for tourists. Other stations of note for tourists are Capitol South, just three blocks from the United States Capitol, and McPherson Square is just two blocks from the White House. Even though Woodley Park-Zoo/Adams Morgan's name claims that it's the proper station to visit the National Zoo, Cleveland Park is not only a few feet closer, but uphill from the zoo, making it an easier walk. Numerous universities are accessible through the Metro, including the University of Maryland, College Park at College Park-U of Md, Georgetown University at Rosslyn, George Washington University at Foggy Bottom-GWU, American University at Tenleytown-AU, Howard University at Shaw-Howard Univ, George Mason University at Vienna/Fairfax-GMU (Main Campus) and Virginia Square-GMU (Arlington Campus), Catholic University at Brookland-CUA, and Gallaudet University at New York Ave-Florida Ave-Gallaudet U. The Pentagon station once offered direct below-ground access to the Pentagon. This direct entrance was eliminated as part of the Pentagon Renovation Program, and was replaced with a new above-ground entrance facility.

Since 1999, Metro has run a special service pattern on July 4 to accommodate movements into and out of the city for Independence Day activities on the National Mall. This generally involves switching the southern terminals for the Blue and Yellow Lines (i.e. Blue Line trains terminate at Huntington, while Yellow Line trains terminate at Franconia-Springfield), terminating the Blue Line at the Rosslyn upper level, and sending Orange Line trains to both Largo Town Center and New Carrollton. Since 2002, Smithsonian station has been closed all day on July 4 due to both of its entrances being located within the secured perimeter established around the Mall.<ref name="July 4 service">MetroRail 4th of July Service Patterns from Oren's Transit Page</ref>

See also: List of Washington Metro stations.

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Intermodal transport

WMATA has a stated goal of integration of its rail and bus networks. In 2004, SmarTrip readers were installed on all buses, enabling paperless transfers between lines and with the rail system.<ref name="SmarTrip">WMATA press release — Entire Metrobus fleet now equipped with new SmarTrip fareboxes</ref>

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Metrobus

Template:Main Metrobus is a bus service operated by Metro, consisting of 182 bus lines serving 12,435 stops, including 2,038 bus shelters and nearly every Metrorail station. In 2004, Metrobus provided 146 million trips, 43% of all Washington Metro trips.<ref name="WMATA Facts" />

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Inter-city bus

The Union Station station is two blocks from Washington's Greyhound Lines station.

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Car sharing

In December 2001 Metro initiated a relationship with Flexcar, a private company which operates car sharing networks in several North American cities. A competitor, Zipcar, began service in the region contemporaneously. With either service, cars are parked at major Metrorail stations and made available for rental on an hourly basis, with the goal of reducing car dependency and increasing transit ridership.<ref name="WMATA History">WMATA History (PDF)</ref>

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Passenger rail

Metrorail connects with both commuter rail and intercity rail systems.

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Airport transportation

Metrorail's Yellow and Blue Lines serve Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport. Express bus service from L'Enfant Plaza, West Falls Church and Rosslyn is provided to Washington Dulles International Airport. Baltimore-Washington International Airport is served by express bus from Greenbelt, and by rail from Union Station by MARC and Amtrak, although MARC's service only runs Monday-Friday.

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Student transportation

Additionally, several Metrorail stations offer connections to Home Ride, a bus service which connects Virginia Tech, Radford University, James Madison University, and the University of Virginia to the northern Virginia area. Many students at these schools are originally from the northern Virginia area, and especially for freshmen and other students without cars, HomeRide offers an attractive method for getting home on weekends.

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History

Image:WMATA metro center crossvault.jpg During the 1960s, there were plans for a massive freeway system in Washington. However, opposition to this freeway system grew and the funds to construct it were reallocated toward construction of the Metro system.

Construction on the metro began in 1969, with groundbreaking on December 9. The system opened March 27, 1976 with 4.6 miles (7.4 km) available on the Red Line with five stations from Rhode Island Ave to Farragut North. The final 103 mile (166 km), 83 station system was completed with the opening of the Green Line segment to Branch Ave on January 13, 2001. This does not mean the end of the growth of the system: a 3.22 mile (5.18 km) extension of the Blue Line to Largo Town Center and Morgan Boulevard stations opened on December 18, 2004, the first in-fill station (New York Ave-Florida Ave-Gallaudet U on the Red Line between Union Station and Rhode Island Ave-Brentwood) opened November 20, 2004, and planning is underway for an extension to Dulles Airport.<ref name="WMATA History" />

The system's first segment opened in the District of Columbia, with Arlington, Virginia being linked to the system on July 1, 1976; Montgomery County, Maryland on February 6, 1978; Prince George's County, Maryland on November 20, 1978; and Fairfax County, Virginia and Alexandria, Virginia on December 17, 1983.<ref name="WMATA History" />

The highest ridership for a day was June 9, 2004, with 850,636 trips; thousands of people went to Washington to view the funeral procession of Ronald Reagan, and to the U.S. Capitol to view his body as it lay in state. The previous recordholding days were January 20, 1993 (the first inauguration of Bill Clinton) and October 16, 1995 (the Million Man March).<ref name="WMATA History" /> March 2006 holds the single-month ridership record with 18,716,654 riders.<ref name="Ridership Release">WMATA press release — March Metrorail Ridership Shatters Records</ref>

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Rolling stock

Template:Main Image:Rohr train.jpg Metro's rail fleet consists of 952 75-foot rail cars, delivered in five shipments.

The original order of 300 rail cars was manufactured by Rohr Industries, with delivery in 1976. These cars are numbered 1000-1299, and were rehabilitated in the mid-1990's by Breda Costruzioni Ferroviarie and Metro at the Brentwood Shop in Washington. The second order, of 76 cars, was through Breda Costruzioni Ferroviarie (Breda), with delivery in 1982. These cars are numbered 2000-2075, and were rehabilitated in 2003 and 2004 by Alstom in Hornell, New York. The third order consisted of 290 cars, also from Breda, with delivery in 1987. These cars are numbered 3000-3289 as originally delivered, and are currently undergoing rehabilitation by Alstom in Hornell, New York. The fourth order consisted of 100 cars from Breda, numbered 4000-4099. These cars were delivered in 1991. The fifth order consisted of 192 rail cars from Construcciones y Auxiliar de Ferrocarriles (CAF) of Spain. These cars are numbered 5000-5191, with delivery from 2001 through 2004. Most recently, Metro has ordered 182 rail cars from Alstom, the same company that is rehabilitating the Breda cars. Delivery is expected to begin in late 2005, with initial service expected in early 2006. These cars are currently undergoing acceptance testing. The new cars will have their body shells built in Barcelona, Spain and have assembly completed in Hornell, New York.<ref name="Rolling stock">Information on the cars from The Schumin Web Transit Center</ref>

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Signaling and operation

Image:Breda 4000 Series Train.jpg During normal operation on revenue tracks, trains are controlled by an automatic train control system (ATC) which accelerates and brakes the train automatically without operator intervention. However, all trains are manned with train operators who operate doors, make station announcements, and supervise their train. The operator can switch a train into manual mode and drive by hand if necessary.

The system's rail lines run on ten lettered routes. Within these routes, each station is also identified by a letter and number system based on the route letter and the station number in ascending order from the system's geographic center. This is known as the Remote Terminal Unit (RTU) number. The RTU number identifies the station and nearby track controlled by the station's wayside control room to Metro's Central Control. Metro Center, Gallery Pl-Chinatown, L'Enfant Plaza, and Fort Totten have two RTU numbers - one for each level.

Metro's lettered routes are as follows:

  • A Route: Metro Center to Shady Grove
  • B Route: Metro Center to Glenmont
  • C Route: Metro Center to Huntington via Arlington Cemetery
  • D Route: Metro Center to New Carrollton
  • E Route: Gallery Pl-Chinatown to Greenbelt
  • F Route: Gallery Pl-Chinatown to Branch Avenue
  • G Route: D&G Junction east of Stadium-Armory to Largo Town Center
  • J Route: C&J Junction south of King Street to Franconia Springfield
  • K Route: C&K Junction south of Rosslyn to Vienna/Fairfax-GMU
  • L Route: F&L Junction south of L'Enfant Plaza to C&L Junction north of Pentagon via Fenwick Bridge
  • N Route (planned): K&N Junction east of West Falls Church to Route 772

There are no H, I, or M Routes. The originally-intended H Route ultimately became the present J Route, and "I" was never used as a route letter. The M Route would likely be assigned to a future route to Lincolnia, branching off from the C Route south of Pentagon station.

Fixed signals are only present at interlockings. They show a red over red aspect for "Stop and Stay", a lunar (white) aspect for "proceed" and a flashing lunar aspect for "proceed on diverging route" (only present on newer interlockings; older interlockings are being updated with signals that show this aspect). Tracks are divided into block sections, which can only be occupied by one train at a time, a method to protect against collisions used by most railway systems worldwide, but there are no fixed signals to protect block sections. Virtual signal aspects are transmitted to the train by a cab signaling system and displayed to the operator in the cab, as well as transmitted to the ATC system. Entering of an occupied block is prevented by an automatic train protection system (ATP), which supervises both manual and ATC operation and stops the train well before it would enter an occupied block.

Non-revenue tracks (storage tracks, yard tracks) are not equipped with ATC. Green signs with letters reading "START ATC" and "END ATC" mark the beginning and ending respectively of ATC (Automatic Train Control) territory.

Image:WMATA D Route Pocket Track.jpg At switches entering into pocket tracks in a direction reverse to the normal operating direction, there is a "P Signal". The P Signal is a single lunar signal that displays the letter "P" and is found at the entrance to some but not all pocket tracks and other selected main line interlockings in the reverse direction of the normal flow of traffic. Below the P signal on the same post is a punch box to allow the train operator to manually set the switch to the diverting direction (reverse) when the P Signal is lit. The P signal is only lit when a train occupies the two track circuit approaching the P Signal and all possible routes into the interlocking are not occupied.

Two trackside signs exist: The "S"-Sign is posted at revenue tracks and indicates to the operator that a station is ahead. It is located at a distance no greater than 1200 feet (365.75 m) before a station platform. The "TB"-Sign is posted to indicate to the operator that an eight-car train (the longest used in the system) is clear of an interlocking when the train front is flush with the sign, and that the train can turn back in the direction from which it came on the opposite track.<ref name="Signal">Full System Track Schematic Legend and Nomenclature</ref>

Trains are usually four or six cars, usually six cars during rush hour and four cars during weekends and late evenings. Two car trains are sometimes used for very low ridership days like major holidays. While eight-car trains are mostly used currently on special event days or to help move more people past a major delay, Metro is implementing a phased introduction of eight car trains, starting on the Orange Line. By the end of the project, Metro hopes to end usage of four car trains from the system.

Two car trains are only used in certain parts of the system, because each rail car has only one "shoe" or power coupler, connecting the train to the third rail carrying 700 volts of DC power, used to provide power to the trains. The third rail may be on one side of the track or the other depending on where the train is, but the rail will only be on one side; there are no places where there are overlapping third rail coverage. On a two-car train, both cars are placed so that the operator controls for each train face in the direction away from the other car; this allows the train to be driven forward in either direction depending on which way it has to go. However, this means that in some parts of the system, there are "gaps" in the third rail sufficient that the shoe from one car could leave connection with the third rail on its side before the other car reaches connection with the third rail on its side. This would result in the train being trapped "dead", between third rails and without power.

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Safety and security

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Rules and regulations

Metro strictly forbids riders from eating or drinking while on board a Metrorail train or while in a station. While arrests are rare, on October 23, 2000, a 12-year old girl was arrested, searched, and handcuffed for refusing to stop eating french fries while in the Tenleytown-AU Metro station. She was taken downtown where she was booked, fingerprinted, and detained until her mother arrived to pick her up. Another widely noted case occurred on July 16, 2004, when an EPA employee was entering the Metro Center station. Before passing through the faregates, she popped the last bite of a Payday candy bar into her mouth, continuing to chew the candy bar while in the station. She was subsequently arrested by Metro Transit Police after refusing to cooperate with the issuance of a citation for the offense.

While sometimes seen as excessive, Metro's zero-tolerance policy when it comes to food, as well as trash and other forms of disorder, embodies the broken windows philosophy of crime reduction. Supporters assert that this, combined with how the station environments were designed with crime prevention in mind <ref name="lavigne">Template:Cite book</ref>, has contributed to the fact that Washington Metro is among the safest and cleanest metro systems.

This philosophy also extends to use of station restroom facilities. Metro's long-standing policy restricts use of restrooms to employees only, to keep out undesirable activity such as graffiti. <ref name="lavigne"/> Though, station managers may make exceptions for customers with small children, elderly, or disabled. <ref name="Layton">Template:Cite news</ref> In 2003, Metro added a self-cleaning portable restroom for public use at the Huntington station. <ref name="Layton"/>

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Accidents

Image:I22913-2004Nov03L.jpg Image:Woodley Park-Zoo Accident.jpg There have been three collisions reported on the Metrorail system since its opening.

  • On January 13, 1982, a train backed up and derailed at a malfunctioning interlocking between the Federal Triangle and Smithsonian stations. In attempting to restore the train to the rails, the supervisors backed it up, but they did not notice that another car had also derailed. In attempting to reverse the train, the other rail car slid off the track and slammed into a tunnel support, killing three people and injuring many others, becoming the worst accident that has ever occurred on the Metrorail system in over 25 years of operation. Coincidentally, this accident occurred at the same time as Air Florida Flight 90 crashed into the 14th Street Bridge during a major snowstorm, producing probably the worst transit situation in Washington history. The train accident was compounded by lack of availability of ambulances, which at the time were all trying to reach the 14th Street Bridge disaster. <ref name="WMATA History" />
  • On January 6, 1996, during the Blizzard of 1996, a train operator was killed when a train overran the Shady Grove station and crashed into a parked train.<ref name="NTSB">Report of the 1996 crash from the NTSB</ref>
  • On November 3, 2004, an out-of-service train lost its brakes, rolled backwards into the Woodley Park-Zoo/Adams Morgan Station, and hit a revenue train servicing the station. No one was killed, but 20 people were injured.<ref name="WMATA History" /> The 2004 accident reinforced the finding from the 1996 accident of the tendency of Metro rail cars built or rehabilitated prior to 2001 to telescope when involved in a head-on collision.<ref name="NTSB" /> A 14-month investigation on the accident concluded that train operator Lamont Lewis was most likely sleeping as the train rolled backwards into the station, on the grounds that the train had rolled backwards for over 78 seconds and that Lewis was at the end of an overtime shift that had proceeded a night of interrupted sleep. Safety officials estimated that had the train been full, at least 79 would have died. Since the findings of the investigation, Lewis has been dismissed from Metro, and Metro officials plan to add rollback protection to 300 cars.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

In addition to the three collisions, there have been several minor derailments of Metrorail trains, such as the January 20, 2003, derailment of a Blue Line train near Reagan National Airport.

The system is not immune from passenger suicide. There have been a number of suicides over the years; one was 18-year-old Victor Zoubak, who lay on the trackbed of the Blue/Orange Line in Metro Center in 2004 until a train came, which struck and killed him. According to Zoubak's sister, the young man would lose consciousness and would be dazed and disoriented when he returned to his normal state of mind. Officials later determined that he did not know what he was doing at the time.<ref name="Suicide">Man Killed by Train Identified as 18-Year-Old — Washington Post</ref> There have also been deaths at Grosvenor-Strathmore, Forest Glen, Friendship Heights, Union Station, Brookland-CUA, and Minnesota Avenue, among other stations.

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Accountability

Since the turn of the century, Metrorail has been plagued with deteriorating quality of service and excessive delays, caused in part by the system's aging infrastructure. In addition to the November 2004 accident, other serious incidents included an electrical fire on March 18, 2004 during morning rush hour. The fire occurred deep underground, on the Red Line between the Woodley Park-Zoo and Dupont Circle stations. This caused a major disruption in service that sent thousands of stranded passengers onto Connecticut Avenue, with no good plan by authorities to deal with the situation. Occurring just days after the Madrid train bombings, this incident highlighted Metro's shortcomings when it comes to emergency preparedness.

On July 27, 2004, storms flooded a control room that is located at the Silver Spring station, damaging electronic equipment that is used for operating Red Line trains between the Takoma and Forest Glen stations. As a result, Red Line trains were manually operated for two weeks, with speed reductions through the affected area, which caused delays for passengers.

With aging infrastructure, the Metrorail system has experienced numerous incidents of rail cracks that have required single-tracking (trains in both directions sharing the same track) during rush hour. Unlike the New York City Subway and other systems, the original design of the rail system provides just two rail tracks (one in each direction) throughout the entire system; Therefore, when an incident occurs (no matter how minor, such as a sick passenger), trains will be single-tracked, causing trains to back up behind the affected train, and become significantly delayed. Another cause for delays are the frequent mechanical break-down of Metrorail trains, while they are in service. This causes the entire train to be offloaded, with passengers attempting to reboard onto subsequent trains that are often packed during rush hour.

Further controversy surfaced in 2004, when it became known that employees of Penn Parking, the company contracted by Metro to collect parking fees at Metrorail stations, had stolen substantial amounts of cash. Metro terminated the contract with Penn Parking, and on June 28, 2004, implemented a cashless parking system, where customers are required to pay for parking with SmarTrip cards.

Image:WMATA SmarTrip Card.jpg These stored-value cards cost five dollars, available at Metro sales facilities, and are sold for ten dollars (five dollars for the card and five dollars in fare) at vending machines near the farecard machines. As the card is reloadable, customers can add additional money to the cards using SmarTrip-equipped farecard machines. As well, SmarTrip cards can be used to pay fares for Metrorail and Metrobus, saving time while entering stations and boarding buses.

The parking lots typically fill up quickly on weekdays due to the appeal both for tourists and for commuters from outer suburbs to drive their cars to the outlying stations and take the train in. The cashless parking system created a problem because full, unmanned parking lots trapped drivers who were unable to park and unable leave without paying $3.50. If drivers planned to purchase the SmarTrip cards in the station, as signs warned them they would have to, they would not be able to legally park to do so. In December 2005, Metro announced that on weekday mornings, the gates to the parking lot would remain open until 10:30 AM. [1]

In 2005, WMATA General Manager Richard A. White led efforts to improve accountability and dialogue with customers. This included independent audits, town hall meetings, online chats with White and other management officials, and improved signage in stations. Despite these efforts, however, the Board of Directors announced White's dismissal on January 11, 2006. Dan Tangherlini will replace White as interim General Manager, effective on February 16, 2006.

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Funding

While fares and advertising provide some revenue for Metro, the bulk of funding is contributed by each jurisdiction that it serves, as well as by the states of Maryland and Virginia. Washington Metro is unique among major public transportation systems, in that it has no dedicated source of funding. Instead, each year, WMATA must ask each local jurisdiction to contribute funding, which is determined by a formula that equally considers three factors: (1) population density, as of the 2000 Census; (2) average weekday ridership; (3) number of stations in each jurisdiction. Under this formula, the District of Columbia contributes the greatest amount (34%), followed by Montgomery County (18.7%), Prince George's County (17.9%), Fairfax County (14.3%), Arlington County (9.9%), the City of Alexandria (4.7%), the City of Falls Church (0.3%), and the City of Fairfax (0.3%).<ref name="WMATA Funding">WMATA Subsidy Allocation Methodology (PDF)</ref>

It is often argued that this formula places disproportionate burden on District of Columbia taxpayers. WMATA and District officials have pleaded that the Federal government should contribute more funding, reflecting the fact that a substantial portion of the Federal workforce use Metro to commute from the suburbs. Tourists also comprise a significant portion of ridership, and Metro provides an instrumental role in transporting people during special events, such as inaugurations. As well, a substantial number of stations located in the District serve these purposes, rather than serving local residents. In 2005, a bill has been introduced in Congress that proposes $1.5 billion, over ten years, for WMATA. This offer is contingent upon WMATA implementing more accountability measures and providing the Federal government two seats on its board of directors.

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Future expansion

Image:LPAMap-December2004.gif Image:Washington DC metro station largo town center.jpg

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Silver Line

Template:Main Rumors have abounded for years about transit service out to Dulles and points west either by Metro or other systems. There was even a study in the early 1990s that proposed a series of civil tiltrotor stations as a possible commuting option from places such as Reston, Manassas, Leesburg, Columbia, and other points in the greater Washington area. Like many other plans, this stopped at the initial assessment stage for fiscal and political reasons. Light rail systems and express bus lines have also been floated as a possibility within the District or Northern Virginia. Plans to extend Metrorail to Dulles have been in the works since the beginning of the system's construction. A test station was built at the airport around 1970 and was located some 28 feet below the parking lot area<ref name="Dulles station">Metrorail Track and Structures at Clouse.org</ref>, but until recently, rail transport there was not a reality.

Finally, in 2002, plans were formalized to bring a 23-mile extension to the Orange Line from near the West Falls Church station to Route 772 in Loudoun County, Virginia. This would mean a mass transit connection from Washington proper to the important business centers of Reston and Tysons Corner, and most importantly, provide a link to Dulles Airport. On June 10, 2004, the Federal Transit Administration approved the first phase of the project to begin.<ref name="Dulles Corridor">Dulles Corridor</ref>

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Purple Line

Template:Main Controversy has attended proposals to build a Purple Line (now designated the Bi-County Transitway by state planners), linking Bethesda and Silver Spring, Maryland, thereby connecting the two branches of the Red Line to the north of Washington by rail. It would later be possibly extended around the whole district, linking the Metro endpoints together, as seen in a proposal from the Sierra Club.<ref name="Sierra Club">Purple Line proposal from the Sierra Club</ref> This line has been conceived as a light rail line traveling along a private right-of-way for at least some portion of its length, and also as a rapid bus line. The proposal has met fierce opposition from some of the residents along the certain areas of the line. Others have noted difficulties in obtaining the funds to build it.<ref name="Gazette">Bickering over Purple Line could cause funding woe — Gazette.net</ref>

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Light rail and other extensions

Metro broke ground on a light rail line in the Anacostia area on November 13, 2004. The project is a demonstration to examine the usefulness of building a light rail line that would help people who live too far away from subway stations by ferrying them to the main Metro network. The line consists of 2.7 miles (4.3 km) of track and six stations. Service is expected to begin in autumn 2006.<ref name="Light Rail">WMATA press release — Metro and the District of Columbia break ground on the Anacostia light rail demonstration project</ref>

Maryland has proposed extending the Green line from the current northern terminus in Greenbelt to connect with Baltimore-Washington International Airport via Fort Meade, home of the National Security Agency. The link would be built in the next two decades to accommodate some of the growth expected in the Howard and Anne Arundel County regions as jobs move in with the recent military reorganization.<ref name="Fort Meade">Fort Meade proposes Metro extension, Phillip McGowan, The Baltimore Sun, June 9, 2005</ref>

On January 20, 2006, the District of Columbia Department of Transportation announced that it would begin building a streetcar line on H Street, NE, from Union Station to Benning Road as part of its Great Streets initiative. This is the same route established by the Columbia Railway Company in 1870.

In conjunction with Arlington and Fairfax counties, Metro has proposed to build a streetcar line on Columbia Pike in Arlington. See the project's website for further details

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Trivia

  • Huntington is the only station in the system whose name contains none of the letters in the word 'mackerel', just as there is only one station in the London Underground whose name contains no letters in 'mackerel'. It is also the only station equipped with an "inclinator," an elevator-like device that travels diagonally up and down what would have been an escalator in order to allow the disabled to use both sides of the station.
  • The Wheaton station has longest single-span uninterrupted escalator (585 feet long, 178.3 m; 230 feet vertical depth) in the world. It takes three and a half minutes to ascend or descend. This record has been held by Metro since 1977, by (in order of opening) the Rosslyn, Woodley Park-Zoo, Bethesda, and now Wheaton stations. The longest escalator in Europe is in the Park Pobedy station in the Moscow Metro. There are several elevator "systems" of greater length in Hong Kong.
  • The automated messages of "doors opening" and "doors closing" were recorded in 1996 by District resident Sandy Carroll. In February 2006 Metro officials chose Randi Miller, a car dealership employee from Woodbridge, Virginia, to record new announcements.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
  • Forest Glen Station is so deep that it has no escalators to its platform and is serviced only by elevators. Because of this, it is the only station equipped with a special trackbed fire supression system and smoke doors to protect customers during a train fire and evacuation.
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See also

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References

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External links

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Transit enthusiast sites

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Maps

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Equipment

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