Results tagged “orangeline”

Metro's scheduled weekend track maintenance, which includes ongoing track circuit repairs on the Red Line as a result of the June 22 crash, will continue to cause delays for Red and Orange Line riders this weekend.

Metro says that Orange Line service in the area around the West Falls Church-VT/UVA station has returned to normal. At 11:18 a.m. this morning, a man was killed in an apparent suicide by a six-car Orange Line train heading in the direction of New Carrollton. Trains were single tracking through the station until approximately 2 p.m., but WMATA says the incident has now been cleared.

Count yourselves lucky if you don't come into the city via the Orange or Blue lines through Rosslyn. Metro is reporting a train experiencing mechanical difficulties outside the Foggy Bottom station, causing Orange and Blue line trains to share the same track all the way between Clarendon and Farragut West. We're being told to expect delays in both directions as of 8:19 a.m., which, given the usual congestion in that area at this time of the morning, we can imagine will be pretty craptastic. Good luck out there, commuters.

Metro has released the name of the man who was fatally struck by an Orange Line train this weekend. WUSA-9 first reported the news that the victim was Kevin Deiss, 22, of Columbia, Md. Deiss died at the East Falls Church station at around 1:44 a.m. on Sunday. Metro Transit Police are reportedly awaiting toxicology reports on the deceased, and have previously stated they do not believe foul play was involved.

It wasn’t until we were rolling up to the East Falls Church station that the operator made an announcement that this train was "express service to Vienna," and would not stop at Dunn Loring, and that we’d have to get out at West Falls Church and wait for the next train which was “directly behind us.” This only applied to those who had to go to the Dunn Loring station.Angel said she had to wait about four minutes after exiting at West Falls Church before catching the next train to Dunn Loring. Asking around today, at least one other DCist staffer had a Metro train mysteriously skip a stop once, so we asked Metro about it.

WTOP has the story on what caused this morning's major Orange and Blue line delays: a large piece of maintenance equipment derailed near Cheverly. The incident marked the fourth derailment on the Metro system in recent weeks. Two weeks ago, a vacuum maintenance truck derailed twice on the same day along the Orange Line, and later that evening, an empty passenger train derailed at the Mt. Vernon Square/7th Street/Convention Center station. Today's incident damaged some of the tracks near the Cheverly station, which had to be repaired.

Man, what a day. Just to update those of you still reading at this late hour: Metro is now reporting "emergency track work" at Mt Vernon Sq 7th St-Convention Center. Trains are sharing the same track between Mt.Vernon Sq and U Street-Cardozo stations, causing delays in both directions, and as of 7:10 p.m., they don't expect it to be fixed for at least 2 more hours. Add this Green/Yellow line delay to the existing problems on the Orange line between East Falls Church and West Falls Church, and you've got a really long late evening commute for all the workaholics still at their desks (or, preferably, those of you heading out to bars). Good luck out there.

As pointed out in comments, it looks like we did indeed speak too soon. Lena Sun reports:

The vacuum truck that derailed this morning and caused major delays has derailed again. That means riders between Ballston and West Falls Church can expect delays this afternoon, officials said.

Continue reading "No, Wait, Orange Line Totally FUBARed Again"

As of 1:46 p.m., Metro says the mess at Court House has now been cleared. That's only about 30 minutes over WMATA's last estimate for when the emergency track work would be completed, though it's several hours past their original guesses. Orange and Blue line delays caused by this incident should be totally clear for the evening commute. UPDATE: No, wait, not cleared now. The maintenance train got derailed again, this time between East Falls Church and West Falls Church.

It's been a tough morning for WMATA crews working to clear the derailed maintenance vehicle from tracks outside the Courthouse Metro station—the estimates for when this problem is going to be cleared up keep getting pushed back. Here's the story so far, as told through emailed METRO Alerts:

WMATA is reporting an earlier "situation" that has been resolved at L'Enfant Plaza that's causing delays in both directions on the Orange and Blue lines. Word is that trains are sharing the same track between Federal Triangle and Federal Center SW stations due to some sort of mechanical problem. Heads up for your commute home.

WMATA says delays in both directions on the Orange and Blue lines should be expected after the Federal Triangle Metro station closed for a brief time at about 12:40 p.m. The station was closed after reports of smoke due to a mechanical failure. Federal Triangle reopened at about 1:15 p.m., but trains will be sharing the same track between Farragut West and Smithsonian for an undetermined amount of time. Plan accordingly.

WMATA says an earlier train malfunction near the Clarendon Metro station, which has since been cleared, is still causing residual delays in both directions on the Orange and Blue lines. This doesn't look like a total Orange line catastrophe like the sort we've seen earlier this summer, but plan ahead for delays, especially considering the Nats have a home game tonight.

WMATA sent out word at about 4:20 p.m. that a Dominion Virginia Power problem is going to affect commuters this evening on the Virginia end of the Orange line. The Dunn-Loring station is without power due to escalating power outages near West Falls Church.

Vienna-bound Orange Line trains will operate 12 minutes apart between the West Falls Church-VT/UVA and Vienna/Fairfax-GMU Metrorail stations, and every other train will terminate at West Falls Church. Passengers going to Dunn Loring-Merrifield or Vienna will need to get off at West Falls Church and wait for the next train. New Carrollton-bound Orange Line trains are leaving from West Falls Church and Vienna.

As of 5:04 p.m. this evening, Metro is all clear.

It's been quite a week for the Orange line, with three long delays in three days (not to mention last week's storm-related delays). Monday's derailment of a train between the Rosslyn and Court House stations left people clamoring for a way to get home, but luckily, it wasn't as severe as it could have been. Of course, no one would argue that being stuck in a tunnel for a long time with air conditioning on one of the most oppressively hot days of the year isn't tough, but imagine what could have happened instead.

If you're sitting near a regular Orange line passenger in your office right now, consider bringing them a paper bag to prevent impending hyperventilation. There's a new WMATA alert posted just after 4:30 p.m. that indicates some as yet undefined track problem outside the Ballston station, and that customers should expect delays in both directions.

   

This just in from Metro:

It's starting to be winter, finally, after a long Indian summer of warm days and little rainfall. But lately it's been chillier and drizzlier and crummier outside. Most people prefer the sun; they don't have to wear big jackets or get soggy, and D.C. cold always seems to bite. That doesn't bother some folks. But they're probably looking at you because you're wearing Uggs. Quote of the Week At the Foggy Bottom Metro station: Girl...

If you’re a regular reader of Transit on Thursday, you’ll have noted week after week of Green line delays over the past few months caused by the testing of new rail cars. Good news – those delays could soon cease. Metro is getting ready to stop testing and starting using, reports WTOP. The new rail cars, featuring two different designs, will be brought into service by Christmas. The first design is carpetless, with lots of...

Washington has a ton of good things, but also a lot of problems. One we often hear about is a general lack of customer service in some local businesses — sometimes people are slow, rude, forgetful, or a combination of the three. We've seen it all over, from fancy joints to Mickey D's, but it seems to be worse here than elsewhere on the East Coast. Somebody could make a lot of money by renting...

Good morning, Washington. The city is still reeling from the news that the U.S. Attorney's Office has indicted two employees from the District's Office of Tax and Revenue on charges of embezzling over $16 million. It's a staggering sum, and the Post cites officials who are calling it the largest theft ever uncovered in local government in the Washington area. The two women, Harriette Walters and Diane Gustus, are said to have used the money...

Orange Line to AAHHH!!!!!! So we've posted a lot of neat Halloween shots, but we couldn't overlook this one by James Calder. It's like a still from a zombie movie set in Washington. Metro's trademark darkness makes it a little spookier, and amusingly, the guy to to left doesn't seem to be too worried about the undead invasion. And the photo has funny tags too: "what do we want - brains. when do we...

Commenter Nate asked if we would look into what's been happening on the Red line lately, which he describes as having been suffering from "morning and/or afternoon delays every day for nearly two weeks now." Indeed, we've heard others grumbling about the Red line of late, which is usually one of Metro's speediest rush hour options. WMATA explains that the current Red line delays are due to ongoing work needed to replace pieces of...

Got your pumpkins carved yet? Flickr user erin*carly helped make this incredible Orange Line pumpkin with some serious design, and won second place it what must surely have been an interesting carving contest. Our other readers may not be going for architecture awards, but their pumpkins are pretty spooky nonetheless. Add your gourd to the DCist pool and tag it with "pumpkin" to show us....

WTOP's Adam Tuss is the first to the gate with news of Metro's Board of Directors having agreed today to a fare hike proposal to put forward to the public. Here's the details: >> Peak Metrorail base fares would increase 30 cents, from $1.35 to $1.65 >> Off-peak rail service would remain at $1.35 >> The maximum rail fare would jump 80 cents, to $4.70 >> If you use SmarTrip, bus fares will remain...

If you don't want to pay a toll, just don't leave the city. Information is sketchy at best, but the federal government may soon propose a toll on cars entering the city via the 14th Street bridge, reports The Examiner. According to the story, the proposal seems to be nothing more than another one of those fabulous pipe dreams feds float from time to time for improving our city. Like Sen. Sam Brownback's "flat tax"...

While we sit here tap-tapping our fingers, eagerly awaiting the Metro Board’s next move on our collective fare fate, we will distract ourselves with other traffic and metro related tidbits: metro savings, the ICC goes on and weekend delays. Photo by philliefan_99...

This week on Transit on Thursday, good news from DDOT for people who don't like getting hit by cars, and Metro plans on fixin' some things that really need fixin'. Score One For Pedestrians: We will soon get to say farewell to annoying sidewalk closures caused by those greedy development projects. No more braving the fury of cars as we find a way around. And no more crossing to the other side. Builders will...

Today tens of thousands of District children return to school, leaving behind the late-morning starts, extended curfews and breaks at the public swimming pool that summer afforded them. And though the year will proceed as it usually does, they will be part of a school system that has seen drastic changes over the last few months. Now under mayoral control and led by new chancellor Michelle Rhee, the District's public schools have entered a new...