Posts by Matt Johnson — Editorial Board Alum
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Does saving daylight save energy?
Friday, MSNBC’s Rachel Maddow interviewed the author of Spring Forward: the Annual Madness of Daylight Saving Time. Most studies show that Daylight Savings time is a wash when it comes to household energy savings. But we use other forms of energy, and Daylight Saving actually increases our use of oil for transportation purposes. This is because with an extra hour… Keep reading…
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The last mile in Tysons Corner, part 4: PRT’s obstacles
Last week, Steve Offutt introduced the last mile problem in Tysons Corner. With the Metro on the way, a solution is clearly needed to get transit riders to their apartments and offices. I suggested that a system of busways could easily speed circulators around the neighborhood. Steve countered with a proposal for a Personal Rapid Transit (PRT) system spanning the area. The… Keep reading…
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How track circuits detect and protect trains
As I pointed out last week, trains can’t always stop within a line-of-sight distance. That’s why signaling systems were invented. When they fail, the consequences can be fatal. Most railroads use track circuits to determine which sections of track are occupied by trains. These devices are actually fairly simple in design, and have been in use since 1872. In… Keep reading…
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The last mile in Tysons Corner, part 2: Busways
Metro’s Silver Line is currently under construction in Tysons Corner, but the built environment there presents major obstacles to transit riders. Not only is pedestrian infrastructure lacking and the neighborhood hacked apart by major arterial streets, but offices, apartments, and other destinations are spread across a vast area, many fairly distant from the future Metro stops. As… Keep reading…
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Happy hour and budget hearing in Arlington March 24th
After a hard day’s work, what’s better than grabbing a drink with fellow Greater Greater Washington readers and contributors? Keep reading…
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Line of sight not enough to prevent June 22 crash
A National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) sight-distance test shows that the train operator in the June 22 crash probably wouldn’t have realistically seen the stopped train soon enough to prevent a collision when the signaling system failed. The operator appears to have applied the brakes less than three seconds after first “full sighting” when it… Keep reading…
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Senators threaten WMATA takeover; NTSB holding hearing on June crash
Yesterday, the top Senators with oversight over transportation sent a frustrated letter to WMATA Board Chair Peter Benjamin about a “troubling pattern” of safety incidents and threatening “all possible options … including direct federal intervention” if safety does not improve “immediately and comprehensively.” In the months… Keep reading…
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Optimizing trunk bus lines could improve service
Metrobus riders, especially those in the suburbs, often face long wait times between buses. With WMATA’s budget crisis, it is extremely unlikely they can add more bus service. However, there are ways WMATA could dramatically improve service at little to no cost. Other cities, starting with Portland’s Tri-Met, have had great success with their bus networks by… Keep reading…
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Emails with links a recipe for WMATA site overload
Over the past week, Metro has seen a number of major service disruptions, mainly due to the heavy snowfall. But WMATA’s method of communicating over email, which sends messages with only a link to a page on WMATA.com instead of the text of the announcement, turned out to be useless when too many people tried to view the release. Thursday evening, the Office of Personnel Management… Keep reading…
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Derailment at Farragut North a safety system success
This morning’s commute was marred not only by the snow drifts spread across the region, but also by a minor derailment on the Red Line at Farragut North. While there was some confusion in initial reports, some things have become clear about the accident. The derailment itself was caused by a safety device known as a “derailer,” which prevented the train from… Keep reading…