Unsuck DC Metro: Fun on the Blue Line Tonight

Thursday, August 5, 2010

Fun on the Blue Line Tonight

With Twitter down, it's hard to get a feel for the commute, but one anonymous rider seems to be having a hell commute on the Blue Line.

"Offloaded at Arlington ... offloaded again at Pentagon City ... no lights at Pentagon City ... further travel doubtful."

Audio from the Blue Line here (.amr file)

UPDATE:

From Brigid:

I've been a loyal metro rider for 15 years and it had NEVER been this bad. I am so furious with the WMATA that I had to share with someone & I figured you and your readers would commiserate. I live in Crystal City & work in Herndon (soon to be working in Pentagon City...thank God), so my daily commute is as follows: In the AM, I metro to Rosslyn, 5A to Herndon-Monroe P&R, Ffx Connector 929 to my office; In the PM, Ffx Connector 929 to Herndon-Monroe P&R, Ffx Connector 950 to W. Falls Church (5A is too expensive now for multiple trips/day), metro to Crystal City.

Today, my commute home was one of my worst experiences with the WMATA. My trip to WFC was uneventful, and the Orange line to Rosslyn was slow & jerky, but that has become the norm. Once I got to Rosslyn & made it downstairs, the platform was stacked 6-8 people deep & the message board was totally empty. About 5 min later, three trains pop up on the board (blue, orange, orange), but no times are posted. Another 5 min & the board has changed to three "--- TRAIN" entries w/ times of 4, 8, and 15 min. Another 5 min & the board now says orange, blue, orange w/ times of 3, 5, and 8 respectively. 10 min later, the board showed 2, 4, and 7 min...still. The orange line showed up in 2 min, overcrowded (natch.) & the blue line ticked down to 2 min. About 5 min later, the blue line finally showed up & I was shoved (I am an aggressive metro rider, but this was excessive IMO) onto the train shortly before 5pm. I was home-free....or so I thought...

Halfway to Arlington Cemetery, stop & hold. Hold at Arlington w/ doors open. Doors close...Hold...still at Arlington. Stop & hold twice between Arlington & Pentagon. Stop at Pentagon (now 5:30ish). Hold at Pentagon. Leave Pentagon, stop & hold FOUR TIMES between Pentagon & Pentagon City. Driver announces on fourth stop & hold that we will be holding at Pentagon City until further notice from Central Command. Arrive at Pentagon City & hold with doors closed. Driver announces the train is being instructed to offload & turn around (now shortly before 6pm). I get off & walk 1.5 mi home in the pouring rain.

Thus concludes the story of my hour-long ride from Rosslyn to Pentagon City, after 30 min of waiting at Rosslyn, right smack in the middle of rush hour...so I hope I have your fullest support when I exclaim "F**K the WMATA"...not to mention the peak-of-the-peak fare that I paid for my double plus ungood commute home.

How was your commute tonight?

Comments (49)

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@chrispulaski · 763 weeks ago

I take the yellow from Crystal City on my commute home (toward Mt. Vernon Sq). I've NEVER seen Crystal City so crowded during rush hour. It was at least 10-12 mins between trains at 4:30, I can't imagine what it looked like after 5.

1 reply · active less than 1 minute ago

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@chrispulaski · 763 weeks ago

I should add that during my wait at Crystal City (which was probably around 15 mins), there was a blue train going the opposite direction waiting. It was there when I got to the station and it was there when the yellow train in my direction left. I have no clue how long it ended up sitting there packed full of people.

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Gff · 763 weeks ago

The look on the blonde woman's face pretty much says it all.

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Aimee · 763 weeks ago

I got onto a blue line train to Franconia at 4:30. We were off-loaded at Foggy Bottom (which apparently wasn't running have AC) and waited 10 minutes for another blue line train. The off-loaded train had been packed, so I couldn't get on the new train. Waited another 10 minutes for another blue line train, finally got on and made it to Arlington Cemetery at 5:20 where we held for 15 minutes. The operator finally started to move the train and then stopped after a few feet. I happened to be leaning against the door to the driver's compartment so I could hear him talking to control. They were asking him to offload but two cars were beyond the platform and he would have had to backup. The operator was clearly frustrated, so we just held. I finally got to the Pentagon at 5:30. That trip normally takes me less than 30 minutes. I can not even imagine how bad it was downtown between 5 and 6pm.

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Anonymous · 763 weeks ago

The Herndon/Crystal City commute is wretched whether or drive/metro/bus/cab or some combo of all. I did it for a month but gave up and just moved close to work. I don't see how you all can blame WMATA for the delays today though! Ever heard the expression "act of God?" What were they supposed to do about something falling onto the tracks/streets due to the storms? And no, I don't work for WMATA, I'm just an ordinary commuter whose normally 12-minute commute increased to almost am hour due to severe weather. The train operator and station managers actually did a good job this time keeping riders informed about what was going on so I'm not sure what else you people expected them to do. Riders on the Yellow line train I took towards Huntington kept positive attitudes and were patient, which was a nice change from the snotty behavior normally seen on Metro during rush hour.

3 replies · active less than 1 minute ago

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Doyle005 · 763 weeks ago

I'm shocked that you posted this Anonymously. How many commuters can remember 85 degree sunny days where their commute on the Metro took two to three times longer than normal? Act of God is a cop out for all the bad service that Metro just keeps piling on and on. I could accept the delays due to the storm if not for broken elevators, broken escalators, surly employees, lack of AC in stations, and lack of AC in many Metro cars. Also, having this occur so shortly after I had to start paying $10.80 round trip to work everyday does not add to my love of the Metro.

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@kara_h · 763 weeks ago

I used to commute between Crystal City and Faragut West on the blue line. It was fine back in the 90s ... less than 30 minutes from my apartment to my desk, and that included a security checkpoint. Now I gave up and moved to DC ... it means dealing with the red line, but I cut the time I need to deal with metro on a trip.

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Jwoo · 763 weeks ago

Thursday night wasn't the only time these types of problems have occurred. Standing daily at Metro Center and seeing train after train heading further into DC and toward PG County while nothing is headed toward VA is maddening. Trains packed beyond capacity & long delays b/t trains are the norm on the Orange Line.

Metro- the inevitable result when you mix arrogance, affirmative action & incompetence. In NYC, you can take the subway - in a modern, spacious car running on multiple tracks w/ express trains - from the Bronx to Rockaway Beach or Little Italy to Citi Field for $2.25 24/7/365. Plus, you can connect to ferries and local trains in Staten Island, Long Island and NJ. THAT'S a real transit system. Metro is a system worthy of Tirana, Lahore, Tegucigalpa or Dar-es-Salaam.

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Brian · 763 weeks ago

My train left from Farragut West towards Franconia at about 6:00 and it was an absolute nightmare. The Blue Line train immediately before mine was absolutely packed and already had one car in the middle out of service. We slowly inched our way to Rossyln but things seemed fine...until we were near the Arlington Cemetery stop. We waited for the better part of 20-30 minutes and at one point someone from Metro came walking through the car, although no one had much of an idea what exactly he was doing.

I think Metro Center was trying to tell our train to offload...except we weren't even remotely close to the platform. So what Metro decided to do was offload the train in front of us...and then have all the annoyed commuters get on our train. I've never seen so many people waiting at Arlington on a weekday.

Thankfully our operator was keeping us in pretty good spirits with quips like, "If you're getting off at Arlington, and I don't recommend that, watch out for the massive swarms of people!"

All in all what is normally a 30 minute commute (tops) took the better part of 75 minutes. And Metro never even said what caused all these delays in the first place.

1 reply · active less than 1 minute ago

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Marie · 763 weeks ago

A canopy on the tracks

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Hyrcan · 763 weeks ago

Almost two weeks ago, I gave up on metro and purchased a bike. I'm quite happy, especially as it seems WMATA has only gone down hill. I feel for my fellow commuters who have no other choice though.

Even today, as wet as I was. I'm glad I missed out on the Metro ride, and always happy for not having to switch at Gallery Place.

1 reply · active less than 1 minute ago

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@poptdc · 763 weeks ago

While I congradulate you on this victory (sincerely) you have to remember there are those of us that don't have that option. I live near Ballston, VA and work in Silver Spring, MD. That's a 14 mile (1.5 hours each way) bike ride according to Google Maps!

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Grace · 763 weeks ago

I commute from Glenmont to Rosslyn, so I get to experience the joys of the Red, Orange, and/or Blue lines on a daily basis. Fortunately I am lucky enough to be able to take the Orange or Blue if one or the other is having problems.

I left work at 4:30, which I have been doing recently to beat the rush-hour crowds that become a real problem if I leave at 5. The Orange line train I took to Metro Center was pretty crowded, but that's relatively normal. I did notice on my way out that the Rosslyn platform for the Blue/Orange lines towards Vienna and Franconia was packed. When I got to Metro Center, the Red line was packed as bad or maybe a little worse than it would have been if I had left the office at 5. I didn't get a seat until Wheaton. I was also shocked to see large numbers of people trying to board the train to Glenmont in places where no one usually gets on in the afternoon, like Fort Totten.

Personally, I chalked up at least some of the crowding to people who would normally have taken other forms of transportation but opted for Metro because the weather was bad. But as far as the causes of delays on the Yellow Line, I caught the tail end of a message on the Rosslyn board about something being wrong with the "platform overhang" at King Street. I figured either something had fallen on it or it had collapsed, or possibly both, but I never heard anything else about it.

1 reply · active less than 1 minute ago

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JDW · 763 weeks ago

I leave work at 4:30 and get on the red line toward Glenmont as well. I think I can explain the riders who were getting on at Fort Totten. When my train pulled into that station the operator informed us that the train would not service Takoma station, next stop Silver Spring where it was terminating. It sounded capricious to us but we had to offload to get to Takoma.

I thought my commute was bad but I realize the red line's frequent minor delays are excusable in the context of the orange/blue terribleness.

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anon · 763 weeks ago

This is the email I got from the metro website: (ID 72365) Disruption at King Street. Trains are sharing the same track btwn Braddock Road & Van Dorn due to a canopy hanging over the roadbed at King St. Delays both directions.

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metronomore · 763 weeks ago

I rode my bike home from Metro Center to Huntington. It took a little longer than the standard 45 minutes, but that was because I had to detour around all the downed trees that lay across Mount Vernon Trail. It was actually kind of fun, though.

Shortly after I got home, my girlfriend texted me saying "Metro is F'ed up". So it seems; she got home about an hour later.

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Thomas · 763 weeks ago

Folks, we had a pretty major storm blast through here. Now, I love raggin' on Metro like everyone else in terms of their safety issues, lack of openness, continued rate hikes with only some prospect of visible improvements, etc...but this was a point event that no one - not even Metro - can be blamed for. It was frustrating, it was irritating, we all just wanted to get home and see if our house made it through the storm OK.

Yeah, it was a fouled-up day, and some stuff happened on Blue/Yellow, but we need to keep a bit of perspective on this.

5 replies · active less than 1 minute ago

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Autumn · 763 weeks ago

I do agree with Thomas on this one. I also have no love for Metro, but yesterday was a special day. The roads were messed up, trees everywhere, power lines down and it was a mess no matter if you were driving or on Metro. As much as I wish it were, it really wasn't Metro's fault - they can't do a good job in decent weather, so why would we expect them to be able to manage in a crazy storm?

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@poptdc · 763 weeks ago

Weather problems don't prevent running 8-car trains. The biggest problem on the Orange line was overcrowding... every single Orange line train I saw last night (for the 2 hours I was in the system) was a 6-car train. Some were shorter than 6-cars because cars were isolated (no passengers). I literally could not get on an Orange train for an hour at Metro Center.

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anonymous · 763 weeks ago

What major storm. I was outside from 5-7 and all I got was wet. That was no major storm.

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eve · 763 weeks ago

yeah i ended up getting drenched riding my bike home because i didn't want to deal with metro or pay the bs peak of the peak fare. what major storm? it just rained... nothing out of the ordinary.

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Guest · 763 weeks ago

For those who are unaware, Alexandria and points south received the brunt of the storm yesterday afternoon. Winds were reported up to 70mph in Alexandria, hence the canopy overhanging on the tracks and the other immense damage and power outages in Alexandria. I was at work in DC during the worst part of the storm and here it just appeared to be a thunderstorm. In other places though, such as Alexandria and King Street specifically, the storm was wicked and quite damaging.

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Luckyshot · 763 weeks ago

I went past King Street right after the storm on a Yellow Line train heading to Mt. Vernon. There was damage from the overhang that would of hit a train if it had entered the station. The fact that they got it repaired is a good sign.

It once again comes down to how the system was designed and a bottle neck. Yellow lines had to single track from Huntington to Braddock, whereas Blue had to do Van Dorn to Braddock. Talk about long waits...though it did look like they tried to keep blues/yellows running close together either way.

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Christina · 763 weeks ago

I go Foggy Bottom - Silver Spring and left work at 6. 15 minute wait for an orange train that was empty (maybe one of the ones that turned around and went back?) with no announcements or updates, got to metro center, ran onto an overcrowded red line that sat there for 5 minutes and the evening continued fairly normally. Guess I was lucky!

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Carl · 763 weeks ago

Pretty sure I recognize the people in the top photo and was standing just off camera to the left. I was in the first car when we got offloaded and waited in the rain with my bright green umbrella. Then loaded back onto the next blue train that came and....inched....our.....way.....to......Braddock......Road..... and was greeted without power when I finally did arrive home, an hour late.

1 reply · active less than 1 minute ago

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Anonymous · 763 weeks ago

Yup. I took the photo and I was in the first car too.

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George · 763 weeks ago

Do you think WMATA.com will ever admit there were delays tonight? [Much less explain...]

Or are they hoping no one noticed???

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ElanVitale · 763 weeks ago

It was even scarier on the roads throughout Alexandria. No power at the intersections. It was every car for himself. And herself, don't want to leave the ladies out. You know I love you.

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cindel · 763 weeks ago

Let me first say that I was not supposed to on the rail yesterday. I got on the wrong bus which prompt me to take the rail cause I had to turn back around.

I got on the blue line at rosslyn I think around 6pm and the train off loaded at arlington cemetery due no power. It was packed and had to wait 10 mins for the next train.

I got to braddock metro at 6:39pm(I was constantly checking twitter to see if it was back up) only to be charged full freaking $3.15. I was so unbelievably pissed off.

When I got home, I had no power which made me more cranky. It was indeed a terrible, horrible, no good very bad day.

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Kat · 763 weeks ago

I got to Farragut West a little before 6:15. Waited in my usual spot for the blue line train that was a few minutes away. Knew there were delays and it would be packed, but it was so bad I couldn’t get on. Moved up a couple cars to wait for the next one that should have been another 8 minutes away. All in all, I waited a total of 30 min for a train. The Orange line that got to FW a min before my Blue to Franconia had to offload, but there physically was not enough room on the platform so the driver let people stay on until Foggy Bottom to offload.

The actual trip wasn’t terrible except for the stops and starts, but I’ve become used to that. Thank God I didn’t have to go to my 2nd job in Old Town, but I would have liked to have seen the broken platform canopy causing all the troubles.

Oh, and of course once I got to Pentagon city....no escalators.

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@poptdc · 763 weeks ago

My tweets from last night obviously convey my frustration. I can understand weather related issues but as I stood on the Orange Line platform at Metro Center from 5:05 to 6:10 I saw countless 6-car trains arrive so full NOBODY could get on (and nobody was getting off). In that ENTIRE time I NEVER saw a SINGLE 8-car train.

Weather issues aside, there's NO excuse for no 8-car trains during a rush hour.

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Guest · 763 weeks ago

Act of God my foot. What kind of an idiot warehouses people on an uncovered, tree-lined, above ground platform IN THE MIDDLE OF A VIOLENT THUNDERSTORM? My son got on the Blue Line in DC. They off-loaded his train at Arlington Cemetery. The next few trains were too full to board. And then they compounded the problem by offloading another Blue Line train there. This is beyond mere incompetence. This is beyond recklessness. Don't even get me started with the purported "culture of safety" that the NTSB's report eviscerated. Screw them. Every one.

2 replies · active less than 1 minute ago

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Stevis · 763 weeks ago

I was on this train, or one like it.

I have backup plans for getting off at Rosslyn, and Pentagon, but not the OUTDOOR STOP IN THE MIDDLE OF NOWHERE.

Like was said above, you can't blame Metro for the weather. You can eviscerate them for this stupid-ass decision which endangered lives, and inconvenienced people when they could have been offloaded at Rosslyn or Pentagon and had options. It's the kind of decision I expect from the rotting-tuber-for-brains no-talent ass-clowns at Metro, though.

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Tumbleweed20 · 760 weeks ago

If this ever happens again and you are offfloaded at Arlington Cemetery, there is a 13B bus stop on the road there and it will take you to Pentagon metro station. It is $1.25. I have found this out since being offloaded and hiking to pentagon during that rain storm.

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guest · 763 weeks ago

About time the blue liners experience what the red liners go through weekly ;-P

1 reply · active less than 1 minute ago

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Seriously? · 763 weeks ago

Spare me ok. Let's not play the oppressive metro line Olympics. ALL let me repeat ALL lines have their issues.

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Metro User · 763 weeks ago

The day before yesterday the weather report predicted rain. I can only assume that more people ride the metro when it's raining to avoid getting wet. This simple assumption should have been made by the managers at WMATA and they could have easily compensated by adding two extra cars to each train or even every other train or to any of the trains.

My problem with my commute yesterday was the riders. I witnessed a rider waiting at the front end of the platform scream at and accuse a train operator for all the problems with metro. The guy was just trying to drive the train, obviously this isn't his fault. Then a woman decided to yell at the man for his behavior and I boarded the train before any fight broke out.

My wait at the Pentagon for the bus also brought out the crazy people. These people are frustrated, and that is understandable, but to yell at one another to move forward or cram up the line or get out of the way is unacceptable behavior. Upon boarding an already full bus, those of us standing with no room to move at all really don't need to be yelled at by someone to keep moving backwards. The bus and the train have finite amounts of space, if you don't fit GET OVER IT AND WAIT FOR THE NEXT ONE!

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@hostagehoosier · 763 weeks ago

It took me 45 minutes to get onto an orange train at Rosslyn headed toward Vienna. I refuse to pack myself on an already over-crowded train. I always think, "what if there was some sort of emergency?" On packed train, there would be absolute pandemonium and people would probably be crushed to death.

Had a nice chat while I was waiting with a lady from Reno who lived in DC 30 years ago. She said she couldn't believe the deterioration in the system and would never trade her 3 minute commute to move back.

Also, when we finally did get on a train, it was leaking water from the roof all over everyone.

Bad commute, but not as bad as blue it sounds like.

2 replies · active less than 1 minute ago

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@poptdc · 763 weeks ago

They talk about "livable space" in the crash reports and how quickly it deteriorates in a crash... can you imagine how fast it goes when people are already nut-to-butt on a train?

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@hostagehoosier · 763 weeks ago

Not to mention when you add all the laptops/strollers/luggage/backpacks/other random crap people have with them. I envision a lot of impalement injuries in addition to being crushed to death.

Now that I think about, maybe metro is modeling themselves after a medieval torture device?

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John · 763 weeks ago

Its time to stage a protest outside of the WMATA headquarters. Actually, its overdue.

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Marie · 763 weeks ago

I ride the red line daily (Glenmont to Capitol South). Enough said. It would be nice if WMATA would give discount fares to riders who have such serious issues on their commute, but then I guess they would be even more broke.

DC is one of the fittest cities in the nation. Could that be because people would rather walk 5 miles than take public transportation for 5 minutes?

To those who said this was an act of God -- you are ignorant. Or maybe optimistic??

2 replies · active less than 1 minute ago

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@chrispulaski · 763 weeks ago

LOL. Your comment totally made my day! Thanks, Marie :)

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Really? · 763 weeks ago

But it's not ignorant to make a comment that Metro should pay you back after they provided the service you requested because of a delay due to severe weather? Oh, then following it up with some random comment about walking 5 miles. Well, walking's free if you prefer walking through a storm or 100 degree heat so if you hate Metro so much maybe you should walk and stop calling others ignorant! :-)

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Guest · 763 weeks ago

On a blue line train, we were stuck in a tunnel at Crystal City with water pouring into the car! A nice marine made the observation that water and electricity dont mix. Everyone stopped holding on to the poles!

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John · 763 weeks ago

Its time to stage a protest outside of the WMATA headquarters.... ACTUALLY, its WAY OVERDUE!!!!

1 reply · active less than 1 minute ago

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Marie · 763 weeks ago

time and place. i am there

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jkuchen · 763 weeks ago

My commute was the same as the past two nights--WFC to Vienna during PotP, turnstiles wouldn't process SmarTrip card, leave through the emergency exit at the request of the station manager. I'd hate to think how much money has been lost through Vienna this week.