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)