Unsuck DC Metro: The Truth about the Fish Smell?

Exactly. +1000

Jason · 652 weeks ago

I had the same exact thought a month or two ago. Such easy goodwill, but no, instead they'd rather do shit like that bus driver who went the wrong way and then decided that some BS about "safety first" was a better response than just admitting he fucked up.

@VeggieTart · 652 weeks ago

Well, that would make sense.

+11 Vote up Vote down

unsuckdcmetro 92p · 652 weeks ago

I agree, but from what I was told, the impetus to get the organic pads was less brake dust, not savings.

+8 Vote up Vote down

@perkinsms · 652 weeks ago

Whatever reasonable-sounding explanation for why they tried these brake pads in the first place would be OK in my book.

unsuckdcmetro 92p · 652 weeks ago

I agree. Just adding a small nuance.

YTK · 634 weeks ago

Judging by the dust that precedes the stinky train(s) as they enter the station, I thin Metro got a rotten (as in fish smell) deal on those brakes. Who knows what we're breathing in?

Purple Line · 652 weeks ago

Stop making sense!

+25 Vote up Vote down

This "phenomenon" of lies from WMATA spokespersons has GOT to stop. They lied to us about computer problems causing delays, they've lied about the fish brakes, what else are they lying about? Safety?

Is Dan Stessel behind these series of "misinformation"? If so - he needs to go.

+3 Vote up Vote down

Daily Rider · 652 weeks ago

Smells more like chicken-fried rats than fish to me. ____The first time I noticed was at Foggy Bottom. I thought the hospital kitchen had had a major disaster.

-24 Vote up Vote down

jazzieb · 652 weeks ago

I think it is wrong to take this out on Dan Stessel. He can only pass on what he is told. He is mostly told Sewer Gas. You think he's an expert on Sewer Gas?

6 replies · active 652 weeks ago

+8 Vote up Vote down

Ever Annoyed · 652 weeks ago

You mean the guy who gets the employees to scrub stations before he dares step foot in them for PR moments? He's well aware of details.

+3 Vote up Vote down

No, that Richard Sarles, the GM, who you're thinking of. He's the one who requires the red carpet/purple tablecloth treatment before he deigns appear to the unwashed masses.

Dan Stessel, on the other hand, is just a PR flack. I mean, obviously its his job to handle the abuse of the public, but you gotta feel bad for him. Sarles, not so much.

+10 Vote up Vote down

Why do we have to feel bad for Dan? Sure, it's his job to "sugar coat" things - but that doesn't mean flat out lying. He has a choice to be upfront with us riders and the media - he's *choosing* to lie. I don't care what anyone is telling him to do he is still a human being with free-will and can make better choices.

But it does mean lying. Or at least repeating what he's told. I mean, do you think that Stessel has the authority or the permission to just concoct his own bullshit stories about the smell that brakes cause? I guarantee you after getting numerous inquiries/complaints/etc. he asked someone higher-up either a) what he should tell people or b) what in fact was causing the problems. If he was told "it's sewer gas," he wouldn't even know he's lying.

Ever Gruntled · 652 weeks ago

Yer right! I was thinking of Sarles. Dan the man is the one who started out being nice to Unsuck and then as soon as Unsuck asked an honest question, in a very polite manner no less, came back with a snarling rabid dog attitude! And has stayed that way ever since. I have no sympathy for him at all. He, like Sarles, knows exactly what his actions show to the public.

sbc · 652 weeks ago

You don't have to be an expert on sewer gas to know that's not causing the fish smell problem. You just have to ride the trains and realize that the smell goes with certain trains, not certain stations. I doubt he rides Metro, though.

Also, you don't have to be an expert to know that sewer gas is explosive. If it were sewer gas, that would be a much bigger problem (for both PR and safety). Of all the lies they could have thought of, it baffles me that they actually picked one that makes the situation sound way more dangerous than it actually is.

+13 Vote up Vote down

Jason · 652 weeks ago

This is exactly the answer I proposed that they should have given...from the beginning. This may be a shocker to the Metro people, but if you can just own up to a mistake but then say "we're going to use up the stock to not waste money" then people might actually be forgiving and understand instead of just getting pissed off at Metro.

Sizzle · 652 weeks ago

I haven't noticed a fishy smell, but I do notice that every now and there's an acrid (imo) burning rubber smell in the underground stations. Same thing? Am I just really bad at distinguishing what that crap smells like? Ugh, happens all the time at Navy Yard and it makes it impossible to breathe. It cannot be good for your lungs.

1 reply · active 652 weeks ago

Guest · 652 weeks ago

I know what smell you are talking about. That is totally something different. The fishy smell AND that burning rubber smell both come from the trains, but the burning rubber one isn't found that much from what I have seen compared to the fishy one.

-3 Vote up Vote down

DMV person · 652 weeks ago

I think it is BS organic break pads ...............WTF I think the metro is just smelly its like like they clean the train cars or let them air out at the end of the day.

+8 Vote up Vote down

Purple Line · 652 weeks ago

What is an organic brake pad? Can you get those at Whole Foods? and why is it better than a non-organic brake pad?

5 replies · active 652 weeks ago

Bio-degradable, sustainable, etc. (insert synonyms here). Mostly, though, it sounded like they were cheaper, and WMATA was trying to save money.

n2deep · 652 weeks ago

The other pads have a metallic compound in them. When you are sitting in a tunnel and look out the front you can see the particulate suspended in the air.
Bad for riders who make an 30 minute commute. How about us who are exposed to it 8 hours a day?

Purple Line · 652 weeks ago

hmm so the choices are unbearable fishy smell, or cancer from the metallic particulates?

Getting a bike: looking better and better every day.

Kara · 652 weeks ago

Thanks, looks like gas masks are required commuter accessories now to go with kindles and phones.

Ever Aghast · 652 weeks ago

And can ya cook em?! ;D

John · 652 weeks ago

How does Dan Stessel continue to have a job after lying through his teeth on what seems to be a daily basis? He is completely destroying any semblance of trust between Metro and the rider community.

5 replies · active 652 weeks ago

Well, seeing that the job of PR is essentially to lie through one's teeth and present a particular image of a given company or whatever...I'd say he's doing a fine job of what he's supposed to.

Now, whether this is an effective PR campaign/strategy to restore the public's faith in WMATA...not so much.

+10 Vote up Vote down

I'm not trying to come down on you, anonymous rage person, but I have to address this line:

"Well, seeing that the job of PR is essentially to lie through one's teeth and present a particular image of a given company or whatever..."

No. No, it's NOT the job of PR to lie. It's their job to be the face of the agency/company/whatever. They have a choice to be a lying sack of shit or an honest (even if sugar-coated honesty) face offering apologies and explinations.

Dan is CHOOSING to be a lying sack of shit.

+3 Vote up Vote down

It all depends what he's told! If WMATA is choosing to lie, and feeding him bullshit that's disseminated through the press, that's on them, not him. I don't pretend to understand the managerial structure of WMATA at the upper echelons, but I really don't think Stessel, armed with all the facts, is choosing to lie. But I might just be being naive.

Anyone with a brain would have known the sewer gas excuse was bullshit. Really? Sewer gas from Vienna to Largo to Glenmont to Huntington? ALL from dried up sewer lines at Gallery Place?

Anonerly · 652 weeks ago

Rage, you seem to think Dan is an idiot and being fed like an infant. Read what the man has said and done with regards to this blog alone. He's quite intelligent. He's not being snowed. He is doing the snowing... albeit badly. He is choosing to lie. With deliberate intent. That's what so sad about it.

+12 Vote up Vote down

Joe · 652 weeks ago

On the upside, Marjorie writes a lovely reply. I emailed Customer Service last week with a safety issue and she promptly returned a reply that was well written and polite.

+16 Vote up Vote down

AnonDC · 652 weeks ago

The name "Marjorie Strother" should be remembered and someday enshrined in a memorial to the brave Metro rebels who told the truth, thus beginning the end of the evil empire at Metro.
Wel - I can hope, right?

JimS · 652 weeks ago

That acrid odor that several posters mentioned smells to me like burning insulation on electrical wires.

Stan Dessel · 652 weeks ago

See? I told you!

You're welcome!

Undertaker · 652 weeks ago

R.I.P. Marjorie Strother

Matt · 652 weeks ago

The burning rubber odor is likely just dirt/dust/crap on the electric dynamic braking coils getting cooked off. Braking is dynamic (electric) down to about 5mph (in general). At which point the air brakes come on to stop the train and hold it stopped.

The dynamic brakes dissipate energy through large electric coils under the train. They are air cooled by the train moving and by fans. Think of the electric space heater you might use in your house under a desk. Like that but a lot bigger and on every car. Ever smell burning when your heater gets dust and other crap on it? Same thing. It is pretty normal. Although I would generally assume Metro's to be in terrible condition and on the verge of melting down, just because it is metro.

The air brakes use brake pads just like your car or a big Amtrak train. The brake pads obviously wear over time. Normal pads are ceramic or semi-metallic. As they wear down, all the worn off brake dust goes everywhere. You're all familiar with that grime. Organic pads are much cleaner when they wear down. But they also wear down faster than ceramic or metallic pads, so I doubt cost savings would be much of a factor. And apparently, the ones they bought smell like a dying school of halibut. Only at Metro.

Guest · 652 weeks ago

He should have said it was CHUDS!

1 reply · active 652 weeks ago

finch2012 84p · 652 weeks ago

We have a winner!

@ChrisHowdy · 652 weeks ago

http://washingtonexaminer.com/metro-station-stink...
(via Unsuck's twitter) Now WMATA is disclaiming the email that Marjorie sent. She apparently hadn't been updated on their latest round of lies?

2 replies · active 652 weeks ago

Kara · 652 weeks ago

Why am I not surprised?

Matt · 652 weeks ago

Unreal. Someone at WMATA actually tells the truth and they throw her under the bus.

Guest · 652 weeks ago

Please don't tell Mr. Magoo the cause of the smell. He thinks he's riding with the women's olympic volleyball team.

2 replies · active 652 weeks ago

Daily Rider · 652 weeks ago

Possibly the other acrid smell is a hung and overheated brake. It strikes me like the hot metal smell of a pot boiled dry and ruined on the stove.

Guest · 652 weeks ago

Or maybe he thinks he's on a train full of GW sorority girls.

unsuckdcmetro 92p · 652 weeks ago

Here's the email the OP got today:

Dear ***********:
Thank you for contacting Metro's Rail Transportation Customer Service. We regret your original response. Metro currently does not utilize organic brake pads on railcars. These pads were used in the past before a decision was made to use a different manufacturer. The information previously presented by Rail Customer Service was based on dated information which is no longer accurate.
Unpleasant odors in the Metrorail system and on trains can occur due to an array of factors. For instance, the increased temperature of the current brake pads can be a common source of odor from trains as they operate throughout the system.
Customers¿ sensitivity to odors in the system varies greatly and can be enhanced by other environmental, station and train conditions. Our Operations team will continue to monitor this matter and provide the most accurate information possible to our customers.
To speak to a Rail Transportation Customer Service Representative for Comments, Complaints or Suggestions, please call 202-637-1328, Option 1 weekdays between the hours of 8:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m. You can leave a message at all other times or complete the comment form located on our website at www.wmata.com.
If you ever need to speak with a Customer Information Agent for assistance with general questions, please call 202-637-7000; 6 a.m. to 8:30 p.m. Monday through Friday and 7 a.m. to 8:30 p.m. Saturday and Sunday. The Web site is also a valuable resource for customers to find out more details about trip planning, bus and rail fares, service disruptions and other information.
Sincerely,
Paul Bumbry
Superintendent, Station Operations
Office of Rail Transportation
Office of the Deputy General Manager-Operations
Office: 301-955-5216

1 reply · active 652 weeks ago