Archive: Metro
Beating Metro on my bike
By Ian Spivack Vienna For the past five years, I have been riding Metrorail to and from work between Vienna and White Flint. Before the Metro accident in June, my rush-hour commute took one hour. Now, this same commute takes...
By Michael Larabee | October 29, 2009; 11:55 AM ET | Comments (10)
Cellphones, sure. But about those announcements?
By Helen Li Washington Now that Metro is working with cellphone providers to expand coverage so that more passengers can communicate wirelessly, when can we expect improved communications directly from Metrorail conductors? When passengers’ personal conversations are louder than the...
By Michael Larabee | October 27, 2009; 10:07 AM ET | Comments (0)
Metrorail to Dulles: Why So Slow?
By Roger M. Firestone Oakton In 1881, the New York, Chicago and St. Louis Railway, better known as the Nickel Plate Road, began construction of a main line from Buffalo to Chicago. In 500 days, the railroad completed more than...
By Michael Larabee | September 24, 2009; 07:00 AM ET | Comments (1)
Red Line Blues
By Matt Patterson Rockville Tuesday, Aug. 25. 7 p.m. After a long day at work, I haul my bone-tired bod down to the DuPont Circle Metro station. I swipe my SmarTrip card. Nothing. I swipe it again. Nothing. By now...
By Michael Larabee | September 18, 2009; 01:52 PM ET | Comments (3)
Stopping Metrorail Suicides
By Donald E. White Falls Church On Aug. 12, for the fifth time since June, someone was struck and killed apparently after intentionally stepping in front of a moving Metro train. Many people might agree with the Orange Line passenger...
By Michael Larabee | August 19, 2009; 06:30 AM ET | Comments (3)
The Safeguard Metro Missed
By Steven A. Glazer Bowie Metro asserted recently that a remedy for the faulty track circuitry that may have caused the June 22 train crash near the Takoma Station, killing nine and injuring 80, does not exist and would have...
By Vince Rinehart | July 17, 2009; 09:18 PM ET | Comments (0)
Where Metro Could Find Revenue
By Jay Labov Vienna So Metro has closed a budget gap by making $81 million in internal spending cuts, including eliminating jobs and cutting bus service in Maryland and Virginia, rather than seeking to increase revenue. I disagree with this...
By Marisa Katz | July 12, 2009; 12:00 AM ET | Comments (0)
Where Metro and a Federal Agency Fell Short
By Jim Hall Washington The June 22 Metro accident that killed nine people and injured 80 has left questions unanswered. However, even before the National Transportation Safety Board determines a probable cause for this accident, two things are clear from...
By Stephen Stromberg | July 3, 2009; 04:34 PM ET | Comments (1)
Working to Make Metro Safer
By John B. Catoe Jr. Washington The tragic accident that took place on Metro's Red Line on June 22 has had a profound effect on everyone in our region. This accident is weighing heavily in the hearts of everyone at...
By Stephen Stromberg | July 3, 2009; 04:20 PM ET | Comments (1)
A Metro Crash Revelation: Progress on Preparedness
By Daniel J. Kaniewski Washington There was one good piece of news to emerge from Monday’s horrific Metro crash on the Red Line: The response to the tragedy demonstrated that an increased focus on local and regional preparedness after the...
By Vince Rinehart | June 24, 2009; 05:14 PM ET | Comments (2)
Give Metro's Buskers a Break
Annie Ervin Arlington I witnessed the arrest of the “Metro Trio” on the evening of May 5. The “Metro Trio” is the name I lovingly give the three men who frequent the Metro Center station singing barbershop-style arrangements. Their arrest...
By Marisa Katz | May 8, 2009; 08:19 PM ET | Comments (0)
One Nickel for a Better Metro
I have become a huge fan of the Metrorail and Metrobus systems since moving here last May. Compared with the "T" in Boston, where I grew up, this system is quite clean and much more efficient. So for those who...
By Gina Acosta | March 23, 2009; 10:23 AM ET | Comments (0)
Build the Purple Line, Then Bury It
In 1955, Manhattan’s last aboveground rail line, the Third Avenue El, was closed. Since that time, urban planners have placed rapid transit-trains either underground, or down the middle of well-traveled roads. Chicago has its “L,” but one of its newest...
By Gina Acosta | March 10, 2009; 01:59 PM ET | Comments (1)
Sorry, But I Don't Feel Sorry for Metro
Six years ago, I wrote a column for the Close to Home page on a then-new scheme to get more people to ride Metrorail. Now, with ridership up — thanks not to the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority but rather...
By Gina Acosta | March 3, 2009; 03:53 PM ET | Comments (2)
Metro: Inaugural Champion, Economic Casualty?
“And special credit must go to Metro, which, in shattering its ridership records, proved once again that, no matter how long its lines or crowded its trains, it is invaluable to the life of the Washington region.” The Washington...
By Gina Acosta | January 28, 2009; 05:29 PM ET | Comments (0)
