Unsuck DC Metro: 'Fire Department Activity' Open Thread

BrianKal · 618 weeks ago

For your reading pleasure, here is WMATA;s social media policy: http://www.wmata.com/about_metro/metro_forward/pd...

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jkuchen · 618 weeks ago

So they don't want @FixWMATA to be part of the public record? Otherwise his comments don't fall under the blocking guidelines. Or maybe that's just my interpretation....

dezlboy 76p · 618 weeks ago

per blocking of @FixWMATA on twitter. How does that happen? Twitter decided to for ? WMATA complains to Twitter ?? Can u hazard a guess why this was done?

Just real curious.

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BMK · 618 weeks ago

Twitter does not block,. whoever runs the @WMATA account has to go in and physically do it. Its a decision they made.

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Matt G · 618 weeks ago

Dan Stessel runs their account.

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@FixWMATA · 618 weeks ago

Thanks all!

dcn8v · 618 weeks ago

Thank you for saying this. I actually find that @FixWMATA is one of the more balanced voices out there. This is just more WMATA maneuvering: dodge, duck, dip, dive, and dodge.

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JDC · 618 weeks ago

Honestly, other then the "fire department activity" language which was really inaccurate, I found the Metro's tweets and bulletins 1-4 on the website pretty good. They were conveying information across all social media, and the information tended to be relatively accurate given the fluid situation (ie some initial concerns about an IED). I'd give them a B for the response, but an F for letting this happen.

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C S · 618 weeks ago

Once again, we see Metro has learned very little about public communication. "Fire department activity"?!? Sure, just like the fatal Red Line crash was due to "police and rescue operations." Orwell is spinning... Unless and until Metro stops treating its riders like children, nothing will change. (As we've said so many times before.)

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John · 618 weeks ago

Metro blaming the fire department for this mess was as shameful as it gets.

In order to rectify the situation, they decided to block FixWMATA, because, yeah, he was responsible for that...

Kathryn-DC · 618 weeks ago

I had decided to take the crossover bus from Rockville to Silver Spring, in order to go to the Piratz Tavern. We pulled up just as the area was being cordoned off and the station evacuated. I can't speak for anything Metro did, but the Silver Spring EMS did a good job of sealing off the area and getting some ambulances inside as a precaution. Bus service in all directions was disrupted for many hours as well, and I stayed at the tavern until well after 9:00 in order to catch a bus down into the city.

4 replies · active 618 weeks ago

Matt G · 618 weeks ago

I think most of the riders probably wanted to go get some grog at the tavern with you after yesterday.

Tim · 618 weeks ago

Ugh...that place is about as gross as it gets...

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Ryan · 618 weeks ago

If you think Piratz is as gross as it gets you don't get out much.

Ian · 618 weeks ago

I'd rather be across the street at QH.

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BrianKal · 618 weeks ago

Please never leave again.

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Guest · 618 weeks ago

Or make sure you announce a few days in advance before you take time off. I want to make sure to drive or take the bus those days.

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Daily Rider · 618 weeks ago

Have not heard of any injuries, so glad of that.

I am now firmly convinced that the entire length of the Red line is built on an ancient burial ground, and the spirits are angry.

Just remember, one man's fire is another man's heating system.

6 replies · active 618 weeks ago

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@FixWMATA · 618 weeks ago

Part of the Red Line *IS* built on top of a grave site:
http://unsuckdcmetro.blogspot.com/2011/01/is-red-...

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Jin · 618 weeks ago

Haha, I was JUST looking that article up yesterday, before the fire! I was so mad about all the delays we've been having every Monday morning.

I work by the Silver Spring station, and boy was I glad I had a ride elsewhere that night. We still saw the flame and one of the explosions, though.

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PeeWee · 618 weeks ago

1906 Washington DC train wreck: killed 53 near current day Fort Totten station http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1906_Washington_DC_t...

This one in 1953 is interesting also: http://ghostsofdc.org/2012/06/21/runaway-train-un...

guest · 618 weeks ago

and the '96 cornfield meet. :(
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/local/longte...

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PeeWee · 618 weeks ago

Jeeze! Didn't see that one. Horrible!

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Guest · 618 weeks ago

I remember that one; the firemen had a hell of a time getting *into* the coaches. It led to a redesign of the emergency window releases, so the windows can be pulled out from both outside and inside the coach. :(

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BMK · 618 weeks ago

Seriously --- WMATA has been so lucky in the past, it is literally only a matter of time before they kill many of us:

Red line crash---above ground
Red line fire---above ground
Multiple derailments---non-pass train
Escalator malfunctions---usually not packed

The sad thing is after these 'events' happen, they promise something will change and nothing ever will. Instead they go and blame someone else, win safety awards and block valueable users on Twitter.

I do not feel safe riding WMATA and besides it being much much quicker and usually cheaper, I drive a heck of a lot more then I used to.

6 replies · active 618 weeks ago

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BMK · 618 weeks ago

To clarify .. driving is much quicker (even with rush hour) and cheaper or about the same as WMATA's crazy fares.

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dezlboy 76p · 618 weeks ago

thank goodness wmata doesn't have its own fire dept. Do they?

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Heather · 618 weeks ago

I have vision problems so I'm unable to drive, but believe me, if I could get off Metro completely, I would. I worry every time I get on there, if there will be an accident. Other cities don't seem to have the level of dysfunction, that DC seems to have with WMATA. I guess DC is content with complacency and incompetence.

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Jin · 618 weeks ago

"Other cities don't seem to have the level of dysfunction, that DC seems to have with WMATA. I guess DC is content with complacency and incompetence."

Truer words were never spoken. Those who aren't content with it are silenced, ignored, or written off as complainers.

Heather · 618 weeks ago

Jin, I lived in Philly for awhile, and while I will admit that their transit union was a real pain, threatening strikes frequently, etc., the SEPTA system itself, was just fine. If there were delays, we were told about it. The system seemed pretty well maintained, when I used it. I was able to get around with real ease.

DC is just laughable by comparison, with the current transit system. Another catastrophe like 2009 is just bound to happen, with the kind of unsafe equipment, operators, and leadership in place now.

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DC20009 · 618 weeks ago

It's not so much a DC problem as a regional problem - the states of Maryland and Virginia, and the various counties and cities which are part of the Metro Compact are all equally as complicit in letting the Metro Board drive our $10+ billion investment in a downward spiral.

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Hal · 618 weeks ago

MORNING COMMUTE:

Got to Takoma around 815AM as a train pulled away. The PID only displayed 1 other train coming in the direction of Grosvenor, in ten minutes. I waited ten minutes and a packed train arrived (normally the trains to Grosvenor are nearly empty, since they originate at Silver Spring instead of Glenmont). I'm 8.5 months pregnant, and no, I was not offered a seat nor could I muscle my way towards priority seating, but we've been over that. Once this train arrived, the PID updated to add another one, due in ten minutes.

Passengers were unable to board at each station. I felt bad for everyone on the platforms at NOMA, Rhode Island, Brookland, etc, because they had already waited ten minutes and now they couldn't get on and it would be another ten minutes for the next one. We were threatened with offloading at Union, Judiciary, and Chinatown (which was a total mess, people could barely get off the train because the platform was so jam packed).

I make it to Farragut North and wait in line for over five minutes to get off the platform because all the escalators are broken and trains from Shady Grove are dumping packed trains. It takes me ages to get through the turnstiles where I'm faced with a MASS of people trying to exit the station at K street because - surprise- no working escalator. I was feeling sorry for my pregnant self until I saw an old lady with a cane slowly making the hike. There were 2 overweight people hyperventilating at the top, which also slowed things down as they were in the way of people coming up.

EVENING COMMUTE:

Stuck working late. Don't get to Farragut North til after 6. WMATA website says NO DELAYS on red line. We make it to Metro Center and then the op announces that "Due to an emergency at Silver Spring, this train and all others behind it will turn around at Takoma. Use your smart phones to find alternate routes." I thought that last part was mind-boggling - use your smart phone to figure out how to get home. By the time we got to NOMA he added 'shuttle bus service has been requested' but continued saying 'use your smart phone to find an alternate route or look up buses from Fort Totten.' I had no data service underground. I ended up getting off at Rhode Island and getting a ride home from a friend. We were holding for 15+ minutes at each station.

The train op was helpful and clearly giving us all the info he had, and thanking us for our patience. The worst part of the whole experience was the inability to confirm whether or not there was shuttle bus service (just that it was requested), no explanation of what the emergency was, the fact that riders were explicitly and unapologetically told to figure out their own way home, and that for this entire time WMATA's website said "NO DELAYS."

3 replies · active 618 weeks ago

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Jin · 618 weeks ago

Guess those of us without smartphones were screwed last night.

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Ken · 618 weeks ago

Did you ask someone for a seat?

Socket · 618 weeks ago

If I were you, yesterday would have been the last time that I used Metro to commute to and from work.

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guest · 618 weeks ago

well, that was my first "bus bridge" trip; rather not have to do that again. but everyone was surprisingly polite, all squashed in together. i called both taxi dispatchers from the station and said "send everybody! i guarantee they'll get fares" but saw very few cabs.

very impressive film clip up top. i heard a rumour that that was a rohr 1000 series car? i thought those were all breda CV's?

3 replies · active 618 weeks ago

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guest · 618 weeks ago

oh, gallery place to glenmont: approx 2.5 hrs. two trains and one bus.

guest · 618 weeks ago

--and at least the parking gate arms were up when we got out of the glenmont garage. -thumbs up-

@JimLCunningham · 618 weeks ago

LOL @ "Send everybody!"

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@JimLCunningham · 618 weeks ago

I was on a train from downtown to Silver Spring. The driver told us trains were stopping at Takoma and that we'd have to take a shuttle.

Then, when we got to NOMA, he said they were stopping him at Ft. Totten so, when we got to Ft. Totten, we all got off and left the station. There were no shuttles.

As I was looking at maps in the bus bays to figure out my own bus route home, I looked up and saw trains going by. Apparently only THAT train was stopping at Ft. Totten -- I guess we were supposed to wait on the platform for another train but we weren't told that; everybody assumed that the "last stop" was changed from Takoma to Ft. Totten based on the driver's instructions.

Oh, well. I found a couple buses to take home. It added 100 minutes to my 35-minute commute home. (E4 to Kennedy & Georgia Ave., then a speedy 79 bus to Silver Spring. Traffic into Silver Spring was tediously slow.)

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Jason · 618 weeks ago

Let's not forget the morning commute. Every single line fucked at the same time? Amazing failure even by WMATA's standards.

4 replies · active 618 weeks ago

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@JimLCunningham · 618 weeks ago

@FixWMATA had a good ongoing twitter feed on that... X number of train malfunctions in X number of hours.

Documenting the shame.

Birdie · 618 weeks ago

you're talking about tuesday morning's commute? Add to the failure, despite being stuck at Gallery Place for 35 minutes before I could cram onto one of the every-ten-minutes-during-rush trains, I never once heard an announcement about red line delays. Herad about delays on the blue/organge every 2 minutes, but not a single peep about the red. Nor did the metro website have any information about red line delays. Infuriating.

Jin · 618 weeks ago

There's always delays on the Red Line. It is expected, so why do they need to have announcements?

guest · 618 weeks ago

i don't even bother calling in late in the mornings anymore; everybody at my office knows i come in on the red line; "of course i'm late."

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Joe in SS · 618 weeks ago

I normally take the bus home from Silver Spring, my office overlooks the "smoke" site. I stopped off at the grocery store to get a few things before walking up the hill (my usual routine, past the "transit center"), and despite the fact that all of the activity had wound down, MC EMS was still forcing folks to walk up the other side of Colesville on the sidewalk. I didn't see a single metro worker the entire trip, except for two standing inside the closed entrance of the station debating whose break was next. When I got up to the top of the hill at Georgia Avenue, there was a RideOn bus going in the general direction of my house, so I grabbed that, rather than waiting for my usual route, which originates on the other side of the metro, and would have had to navigate the closed roads. There were two other riders who saw "Wheaton" on the bus sign, and thought it was the shuttle bus, and were confused. Driver of the RideOn bus was not exactly pleasant about it, and never saw metro staff outside the station on the entire 15 minute walk to get the bus.

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Dr Turdlock · 618 weeks ago

VERTICAL VIDEO SYNDROME. Coming soon to an idiot with a cell phone near you.

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Nathan · 618 weeks ago

we sincerely regret any inconvenience this may have caused you, and some of you were delayed to your destination. But others got a free light show and barbecue, and all of you made it home eventually. You're welcome

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@miacane86 · 618 weeks ago

Interesting thing I just came across. If you go to the NTSB Accident Investigations page for the rail sector, 3 of the 10 most recent (i.e. first page) are WMATA.
http://www.ntsb.gov/investigations/reports_rail.h...

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UnSuck Fan · 618 weeks ago

Hey Metro:

The only reason why you guys labeled yesterday’s RL disaster as “fire department activity” is because, unlike your organization, the fire department actually cares about us and actually does something to help lessen the problems/disasters you all create. At least they know how and are trained to save lives--unlike you all who would rather risk a life.

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John · 618 weeks ago

Where is Alturd when you need him?

Cue the GGW crew crying

2 replies · active 618 weeks ago

GGW Crew · 618 weeks ago

*Cries*

Guest · 618 weeks ago

He's probably out getting his monthly bikini wax.

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Stan Dessel · 618 weeks ago

It has been a chilly May.

You're welcome!

hrh king friday 13 · 618 weeks ago

Why does this city put up with this? Why?

1 reply · active 618 weeks ago

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JimS · 618 weeks ago

I think a lot of people aren't putting up with this. Every time an incident like this happens more passengers decide to stop taking Metro. Other people decide they won't start taking Metro. Some people will decide it doesn't matter if their next job is near Metro. Some employers will decide their next location doesn't need to be near Metro because their employees are abandoning Metro or have so much trouble with their Metro commutes. If you're selling residential or commercial property, being near Metro may not look like a selling point anymore. Slowly, people are voting with their feet. In the long run this could severely impact Metro. Local governments that fund Metro will come under increasing pressure to either fix Metro or stop sending it so much money.

Bitter Brew · 618 weeks ago

My colleague arrived at Takoma Park, waited twenty minutes for the "shuttle bus service," during which time a single bus arrived while a crowd of hundreds amassed. At that point, since Silver Spring was his destination, he realized the ~2 mile walk was probably the fastest way to get there.

1 reply · active 618 weeks ago