Posts tagged Trains
-
A Metro rider fell between rubber railcar barriers to the roadway, but escaped major injury
Another incident of a person falling between train cars onto the tracks resurfaces concerns about 7000-series railcar safety, first raised back in 2016 when a visually impaired man suffered a similar accident. Keep reading…
-
Is bikeshare a good substitute for Metro when the train is delayed?
Using a regression analysis, I tested whether the number of trips from each bikeshare station increased at all when a Metro delay occurred on a line within a half-mile radius of that station. I found we can’t rely on bikeshare alone to plug the holes in the transit system. Keep reading…
-
Got $78,000? Want to buy some trains?
If you're interested in buying some trains and have an extra $78,000 lying around, boy does the City of Ottowa have the deal for you. The trains were pulled out of service in March 2015 but are supposedly still in working order. Keep reading…
-
Metro’s 7000-series cars require more electricity, but the agency says there’s no systemic issue
The new 7000-series cars are pulling more power than expected, forcing WMATA to budget more for electricity. However, they’re otherwise still on their way to achieving the reliability requirements Metro set out. Keep reading…
-
Metrorail is no longer the second-busiest rapid transit system in the country
Transit ridership has been falling nationwide, but Washington's metro ridership has fallen significantly even compared to other systems. For a long time, Metrorail had long had the second-highest ridership of any of the country’s 13 heavy rail rapid-transit systems. Keep reading…
-
But don’t call it SafeTrack: WMATA shifts focus to station platforms
Braces — which by all accounts should only be a temporary patch — supporting the platform not only indicate structural support issues, but also block easy access to quickly get out of the way of an oncoming train. Keep reading…
-
Are private, high-speed trains the future of travel? I tested one out to see.
As a planner, I'm keenly aware that Brightline’s service model cannot be easily copied by public transportation agencies. However, while public transit agencies can't implement Brightline’s entire playbook, they can use some of its plays. Keep reading…
-
Events: GGWash happy hour, DC’s local journalism, and MARC train changes
GGWash and local elected officials will be in Prince George's discussing the county's zoning rewrite, and there's a forum on the future of local journalism in DC and a meeting about MARC train changes in Montgomery County. Keep reading…
-
Here’s what we know about Monday’s Red Line derailment outside Farragut North
The cause of the derailment appears to have been a cracked rail, and some radio issues also hampered investigation and recovery efforts. Keep reading…
-
Thoughts on Monday’s Amtrak 501 catastrophe
Though calamity can strike any time and on any mode of travel, you are still many times safer on a train than you are in an automobile. Keep reading…