The Blue Line loop as proposed could bring Metrorail service to National Harbor in two directions. Are they the right directions, though? by Kristen Jeffers licensed under Creative Commons.

This post is part III in a series on WMATA’s Blue-Orange-Silver Capacity Study. In Part 1 of this series, I described why additional capacity in Downtown DC is necessary to reduce crowding, and in Part 2, I analyzed each of WMATA’s proposed rail alignments to visualize how effectively each addresses crowding. Now I’ll analyze the proposal favored by local decision-makers, and suggest solutions to its shortcomings.

Earlier this month, WMATA presented the findings from a cost-benefit analysis for the years-long Blue-Orange-Silver Capacity Study, which includes four rail realignments with the potential to drastically reform the Metrorail system. All of the proposals except the “Silver Line Express” have design limitations that would cause underutilized system capacity if constructed. But they can be improved.

The primary impetus for constructing a new rail corridor through downtown Washington is to provide new capacity and relieve passenger crowding in the region’s core. However, the Silver Line Express is the only proposal that seriously addresses capacity needs. This option is designed to fully utilize the new tunnels through Downtown Washington, allowing up to 26 additional trains per hour in each direction to serve the newly constructed stations in the core. For riders, this means a train will arrive every 135 seconds, reducing crowding on each individual train and decreasing the average wait on platforms.

As currently designed, the remaining three alternatives are only capable of supporting half as many trains as the Silver Line Express, with 13 additional trains per hour through the core, leaving underutilized capacity and simply delaying, rather than solving, the system’s bottleneck concern. But a relatively minor modification to the favored “Blue Line Loop” proposal would address these capacity concerns in the core and allow full utilization of the system’s new downtown infrastructure.

Trains and tradeoffs

Although the Silver Line Express has the highest cost of the four proposals, it is well justified by directly addressing the long-term capacity needs of the system. Additionally, the proposal would connect growing communities like Ivy City and Fort Lincoln, while also generating travel time savings for some trips by bypassing certain stations in Arlington (up to 5-minutes from downtown to Dulles). Notably, the alternative is also well-distributed across the region, with new stations planned in all three WMATA jurisdictions. In a region where state and municipal politics are often defined by parochial leaders and shortsighted visions, this distribution could help grease the wheels during the approval process.

However, it appears that the “Blue Line Loop” alternative is the favorite among local leaders and WMATA decision-makers. Local press has championed the Blue Line as the “preferred” alternative among nearby residents, business owners, and developers of the National Harbor complex. Additionally, the Blue Line Loop proposal has received specific support from Amalgamated Transit Union Local 689, which represents over 15,000 employees at WMATA and other local transit agencies.

The strongest aspect of the Blue Line Loop proposal is its routing. The proposal connects many of the hottest and most desirable points of interest in the Washington region, while incorporating currently-underserved communities into the Metrorail system (more on that below).

In Virginia, the loop would serve Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport and National Landing, the future location of Amazon’s second corporate headquarters. In Washington, the route connects Georgetown and Union Station directly to the MLB stadium in Navy Yard, MLS stadium in Buzzard Point, and WNBA arena at St Elizabeths. And in Maryland, the expansion would provide service to the MGM Casino and Gaylord Convention Center & Resort. Evidently, these destinations are entertainment-centric, however this could be a strength as the Metrorail retools to address shifting transit patterns in the wake of the pandemic.

Beyond increasing core capacity, a major goal of the BOS study is to address transit inequities throughout the region. Arguably, the Blue Line Loop routing is best suited among the four proposals to do just that: Many of the new neighborhoods served by this alignment are classified as “Equity Emphasis Areas” by the Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments, indicating communities without equitable access to economic and social opportunities. In a region with a stark east-west socioeconomic divide, this proposal is uniquely suited to provide essential transit connections to some of the area’s most underserved communities.

How to boost the “Bloop”

In spite of being the apparent preferred alternative of WMATA and local leaders, the Blue Line Loop proposal is held back by its constrained capacity — since the Blue Line will continue sharing track with the Yellow Line in south Arlington and Alexandria, the new service through downtown Washington would underutilize the new tunnels, even at maximum efficiency. But a small modification to the proposal could expand potential core capacity, and double the number of possible trips across the Potomac River per hour.

When constructing the new platforms and tunnels at Rosslyn, WMATA could add a pocket track between the station and Arlington Cemetery. With this minor addition, a new rail line (which I colored pink in the capacity diagram below as a homage to Washington’s beautiful cherry blossoms) could fill unutilized capacity on the new tracks, providing more service to the downtown core of the system and generating more connections across the Potomac.

The new “Pink Line” would begin in Rosslyn and interline alongside the new Blue Line corridor through downtown Washington to National Harbor, and eventually across the Potomac River at the Wilson Bridge. Then, just south of the King Street in Alexandria, where the Blue Line would continue north to complete its loop, the Pink Line would turn west and terminate at Franconia-Springfield.

A capacity diagram of the “Blue Line to National Harbor” alternative with the “Rosslyn Turnback” and “Alexandria Wye” by the author

Hidden from many Metrorail riders, there currently exists a segment of non-revenue track connecting Eisenhower Ave to the Blue Line spur headed towards Van Dorn Street (this is primarily used to bring Yellow Line trains from Huntington to the Alexandria Rail Yard without having to turn around at King Street). Although not designed for passenger service, with the addition of a couple of rail crossovers, the “Alexandria Wye” would allow the Pink Line to avoid the capacity-constrained rail corridor between King Street and Pentagon.

A stylized rail schematic showcasing the existing rail connection between the Eisenhower Avenue Station and the Alexandria Yard, by John R. Cambron. Used with permission

The virtue of the “Pink Line” modification is that it allows Metrorail to make full use of the capacity added by the new Blue Line alignment; instead of only allowing 13 additional trains per hour through the core of the system and 26 additional trains to cross the Potomac River per hour, the Pink Line would double each of those figures with 26 additional trains per hour through the core and 52 additional trains per hour across the Potomac. This would make the most of new tunnels through Downtown Washington, alleviating passenger crowding in the core and decreasing average headways between trains.

And all this comes with minimal additional costs beyond the Blue Line Loop proposal as currently designed: the Pink Line modification would only require limited construction, with an additional pocket track outside of Rosslyn and new rail crossovers by the Alexandria rail yard.

Share your thoughts on Metrorail’s future system

Although the final decision is ultimately up to WMATA’s board and the region’s elected officials, I encourage Metrorail riders and decisionmakers to use the analysis presented in this article series to inform themselves about the options to improve our system, come to their own conclusion about which is best, and take part in the comment period.

WMATA has several public outreach and engagement activities planned that kicked off July 17 and extend till to September 30, providing an opportunity for Metrorail riders to make their voices heard. With any proposed construction expected to take decades to construct and cost over $25 billion, it is paramount that Metrorail’s most important stakeholder, its riders, take this opportunity to advocate for the option best suited to strengthen the system that the region relies on.