Unsuck DC Metro: Communication Problems Continue to Plague Metro

Friday, November 2, 2012

Communication Problems Continue to Plague Metro

Via @Mags4059: @wmata fail. DuPont circle metro @unsuckdcmetro pic.twitter.com/INXF1ZP4

From Teo:

My evening commute from Judiciary Square to Bethesda generally takes 40 minutes, but yesterday, it took over an hour and a half.

Part of the reason was an apparent track fire near the Friendship Heights station and the accompanying single tracking.

Part of it was a breakdown in communication between Metro and its customers--and other Metro employees, it seems.

Almost immediately after getting on the train, we were informed that we would be single tracking because of the fire, so we did the customary long waits in the stations with the doors open.

However, once we got to Tenleytown, the train operator informed us that she had been asked to run express past the next few stations but that the train directly behind her would run all stations.

I got off and waited for the next train.

I got on that one and went one stop when the train operator of that second train informed us that he would be running express to Grosvenor, but that the next train would run all stops, so I once again exited the train.

The third train finally entered the station and ... didn't stop, but rather went right through.

The Friendship Heights platform was getting pretty crowded by now.

Then the fourth train came through the station and also didn't stop.

Finally, I got on the fifth train of my evening and took the train the one mile to Bethesda.

Assuming they weren't lying to us, why wasn't there better communication between the drivers and central on this issue?

Had I known I'd be stuck at Friendship Heights as trains bypassed the station, I would have likely gotten out and taken a bus or a cab home. I could've even done that the first time I disembarked a train under false pretenses at Tenleytown.

Oh, and to top it all off, once I got to Bethesda, one of the escalators was temporarily stairs and the other escalator came to a screeching halt halfway up the ride.

Glad I had the privilege of paying the $3.50 fare for all that excitement.

Other items:
Great Toles cartoon (WaPo)
Full Automatic Train Control years away (Examiner)

Comments (22)

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+25 Vote up Vote down

Dethroned · 645 weeks ago

I thought I had the record for most trains in one commute (4).

Congrats on being the new record holder.

+25 Vote up Vote down

Dan Stessel · 645 weeks ago

This alleged track fire that may or may not have happened was caused by one of our customers using a cell phone on an escalator. Unfortunately, this customer caused some minor delays during our evening RUSH+. Fortunately our central control and train operators accurately communicated the problem to our customers. This exceptional communication resulted in everyone getting where they needed to go long before the end of the day. You're welcome.

+59 Vote up Vote down

Stan Dessel · 645 weeks ago

You got five trains for the price of one.

You're welcome!

2 replies · active 645 weeks ago

+6 Vote up Vote down

metrosux · 645 weeks ago

win

0 Vote up Vote down

hrh king friday 13 · 645 weeks ago

Someone should publish a book of Stan Dessel's maxims. #RealTalk.

-16 Vote up Vote down

Nick · 645 weeks ago

While I don't doubt the author's experience yesterday, a normal commute from Judiciary Square to Bethesda takes 20 to 25 minutes.

2 replies · active 645 weeks ago

+14 Vote up Vote down

tayhlermade 47p · 645 weeks ago

She may have meant her total commute from work to home. Calm down.

+15 Vote up Vote down

Jason · 645 weeks ago

And as us Blue Line riders know, you can easily have ten minutes to your commute just waiting for a train to show up.

+23 Vote up Vote down

Neenya · 645 weeks ago

MTA 2 days post-Sandy: Limited service on 14 subway lines. Handful more all set, just waiting for the power to come back on (including mine, hooray!)
Metro 2 days post-Sandy: On fire.

Sorry y'all, I don't miss it at all.

+2 Vote up Vote down

Jason · 645 weeks ago

I had to make my way up to Union Station after work to buy some train tickets (had some fare reimbursements from Amtrak which could only be used at a ticket counter). Going home, we get to Gallery Place and are told that we're going to hold. I'm trying to transfer to the Orange Line so I say fuck it and exit the system and walk over to Metro Center because we're told we're going to hold...

So then as far as I can tell the Red Line train I was on makes it into Metro Center just as I do! Thanks for making me pay twice for nothing, Metro.

2 replies · active 645 weeks ago

+16 Vote up Vote down

VeggieTart · 645 weeks ago

This is why Metro should have a walking transfer between Metro Center and Gallery Place, much like they do between Farragut West and Farragut North.

+14 Vote up Vote down

Jason · 645 weeks ago

Or why when they built the system they should have just dug out a walkway between the two along with the tracks, or hell just have made it one giant platform. It's pretty bad when you can actually see the lights of the other station from the platform.

+7 Vote up Vote down

NoNo · 645 weeks ago

So, when I entered Medical Center at 6:30pm, and it was mentioned on the screen that the problem will be solved in 1 hour, it was another freakin' lie...

1 reply · active 645 weeks ago

+3 Vote up Vote down

Anon202 · 645 weeks ago

I saw that too at Smithsonian - I'd never seen the screens estimate the length of a delay. It was interesting at first, but of course the fact that it was incredibly wrong makes it less interesting and more annoying.

+6 Vote up Vote down

Katie · 645 weeks ago

What I don't understand was all the offloading of trains onto already crowded platforms. I got on at Farragut North just as the incident happened. Got a seat and read my book, bracing for the long commute ahead. When we got to Dupont Circle, the train offloaded onto an increasingly crowded platform. 2 trains came in the next 30 minutes and the second one offloaded as well, to head back the other way. How does this happen? I had to bail after an hour of standing in the exact same spot with no hope in sight and take a $20 to Friendship Heights on top of the fare I had to pay to go one stop in a little over an hour.

+6 Vote up Vote down

Andrew. · 645 weeks ago

Is it me or has Metro suffered from a lot of problems this week? I get to Twinbrook on Wednesday morning on my way to work and hear the announcement that 4 separate trains were having mechanical issues on various lines. Had to wait a few minutes longer than normal for my red line train, but no big deal.
They the evening commute last night, literally took twice as long as usual. A total disaster.... And also, can someone explain why multiple trains were offloaded last night and turned around? Packed trains taking commuters out of the city should never be offloaded. Ridesharing looks more appealing by the day. Metro, you are a joke.

+3 Vote up Vote down

eed017 · 645 weeks ago

Arrived Bethesda at 5.30pm going toward Shady Grove. Finally boarded train to SG just before 6pm. Meanwhile, 4 trains (2 almost empty) serviced the opposite direction. I thought single-tracking meant alternating trains, not just running trains in one direction for a half hour, then switching to the other direction for a half hour.

1 reply · active 645 weeks ago

+2 Vote up Vote down

Mainland · 645 weeks ago

At least during/near rush hours, Metro has made it a practice to send trains through the single track a batch at a time in the same direction. I don't think this is a very recent practice.

We waited for three Glenmont trains to come through the single track at Friendship before we went, and three other trains followed behind to Shady Grove in short succession. It's their way of trying to move the most people through the single tracking section as fast as possible.

+2 Vote up Vote down

Bitter Brew · 645 weeks ago

Re: Automatic Train Control. The article says the Red Line system upgrade will be finished first, at which point they could theoretically go automatic on that line even before the other lines are ready to go. Any bets? I'm thinking "sure, on a cold day where the sun don't shine..."

+4 Vote up Vote down

UnSuck Fan · 645 weeks ago

Communication problems continue to plague Metro?!? Were they, at one point, problem free?? Did I miss something?

1 reply · active 645 weeks ago

+2 Vote up Vote down

MDScot · 645 weeks ago

At one time there wasn't anything to communicate - you went to the station, the train came along and moved you without incident to your destination. It worked fine with no PIDs, no twitter, no email. Metro used to just work.

+3 Vote up Vote down

Barrymore · 645 weeks ago

If you want to avoid the metro, there's a site in the DC-area that helps people coordinate driving together here: http://us.amovens.com/en. if you don't have a car, you can pay someone else to give you a lift. If you are a driver, you can find someone to split expenses and help get into the HOV lane.