Wednesday, May 15, 2013
Three stations will be closed along the Green Line in Prince George's County the weekend of May 17-19, according to WMATA.
If you were hoping to avoid some of the traffic along Route 1 this weekend, when thousands of University of Maryland students and their families will be on campus for commencement, take note that three Metro stations will be closed along the Green Line. According to the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority, College Park metro station will be closed this weekend along with the Greenbelt and Prince George's Plaza stations while crews perform track upgrades—"including tie and insulator renewal, interlocking maintenance and work associated with construction of a new test track for 7000-series railcars." The stations will be closed from 10 p.m. Friday through Sunday and will reopen Monday morning. However, if you must use metro to …
Monday, April 15, 2013
After explosions at Boston Marathon, WMATA takes extra security measures.
Metro Transit Police day shift officers are being held on duty until further notice, running extra security patrols of the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority bus and rail systems through rush hour, according to WMATA's official Twitter account. The news comes in the wake of two explosions which occurred as runners were crossing the finish line at the Boston Marathon. Boston Police have told the Associated Press that there were three people killed and at least 22 injuries as a result of the explosion. For up to the minute information about the Boston Marathon explosions, check Back Bay Patch. WMATA has also taken to Twitter to remind commuters of the phone number for the Metro Transit Police, which is 202-962-2121. WMATA …
Wednesday, March 13, 2013
Local commuters get the chance to talk public transportation in Bowie.
Have an opinion about bus service in Bowie? Metro wants to know. Residents will get a chance to provide input on Metrobus services in the city during two public meetings hosted by Metro later this month to discuss the Bowie Lines Evaluation Study. The project team will present preliminary findings to the community and discuss possible improvements to service, according to a statement released by Metro officials. The meetings will be hosted “open house” style, so community members can come for any part of the meeting, according to Metro officials. No advanced registration is required. “Metro hopes that the open format will promote a direct dialogue between Metrobus riders and project staff, and that the absence of a meeting schedule will…
Thursday, January 3, 2013
The popular bus arrival time app has gone dark.
NextBusDC, a smartphone app that had been tracking the arrival times of Metro buses for users since 2009, has quit working, according to a Washington Post story. The app, which is the end product of a partnership between NextBus—a company that tracks transit system data, and AppTight, which makes the data user-friendly in an app format, stopped working on Dec. 20, according to the In The Capital website. In The Capital reported that a contractual relationship between the two companies “ceased,” with NextBus receiving only three days’ notice and AppTight no notice at all. AppTight’s Kelly Beener remarked that only the data feed to the DC app has stopped, and the San Francisco version continues to function. NextBus’ Ken Schmier told The …
Thursday, November 29, 2012
Trains will single track it between Greenbelt and College Park on the Green Line.
Metro anticipates delays for some riders on the Green, Red and Orange Lines this weekend while it performs work, which will begin at 10 p.m. Friday and continue through closing on Sunday. Green Line trains will single track between Greenbelt and College Park, with every other train terminating at College Park instead of Greenbelt. Metro says riders traveling to or from Greenbelt Station should allow 10 additional minutes of travel time. Buses are slated to replace trains on the Red Line between Fort Totten and Forest Glen. Silver Spring and Takoma stations will be closed. Metro says riders traveling through the work zone should budget for an additional 30 minutes of travel time. Trains will single track between Stadium-Armory and …
Monday, October 29, 2012
No rail, bus service in DC area through at least Tuesday morning.
Metro service will continue to be shut down through at least Tuesday morning, according to officials with the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority. "Metrorail and Metrobus service will not resume service Tuesday morning," reads a press release sent out by WMATA earlier this afternoon. "An announcement on when service may be restored will be made after Metro is able to assess damage and weather conditions in the morning. Metro personnel will need to perform a comprehensive damage assessment, including inspections of track, bridges, aerial structures, stations and facilities. Metrorail service restoration is also contingent on adequate commercial power to support operations and repair of any storm-related damage. For Metrobus, …
Sunday, October 28, 2012
No trains or buses will run on Monday on account of storm, say transportation officials
Hurricane Sandy has forced officials with the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority to cancel all service on Monday, Oct. 29. That means that after tonight's closing time, there will be no Metrorail, Metrobus or MetroAccess service until further notice, according to a press release from WMATA. "Metro service will only be restored when it is safe to do so. Following the storm, Metro personnel will need to perform a comprehensive damage assessment, including inspections of track, bridges, aerial structures, stations and facilities," reads the press release. "Service restoration also will be contingent on adequate commercial power to support operations and repair of any storm-related damage." As well, a series of public hearings on …
Saturday, July 7, 2012
WMATA says the extreme heat caused a kink in the rail line sending three rail cars off the track near West Hyattsville.
Friday, July 6, 2012
A Metro train has derailed in West Hyattsville, WMATA reports, but there were no injuries.
Update, 8 p.m.: It took rescuers nearly an hour to safely remove all of the passengers on a Metro train that derailed Friday afternoon near the West Hyattsville Metro station. The train was traveling toward DC after departing from Prince George's Plaza Metro Station, when the last three cars derailed, leaving 55 passengers in harms way around 4:45 p.m. A total of 95 fire and rescue crew members responded to the accident, Prince George's Fire Chief Marc Bashoor said, with the first responders arriving within five minutes of it being reported. Two dozen firefighters entered the tunnel to execute the rescue, Bashoor added. It took 10 minutes for the firefighters to reach the train, which had come to rest in the tunnel running underneath Ager …
Friday, June 15, 2012
Former Metro worker Horace McDade admitted to stealing $500,000 in coins and cash from farecard machines in March.
A Bowie man could get up to three years in prison for stealing $500,000 worth of Metro coins and cash from farecard machines. Horace McDade, of Bowie, pleaded guilty in March. McDade and another former Metro employee, John V. Haile of Woodbridge, VA, then used the money to buy a significant amount of instant lottery tickets, according to FOX45 Baltimore. The men could receive up to three years for their roles in the theft. They will face a judge today for sentencing. According to court papers, Haile said he has been treated for a gambling addiction, the news station reported.
Pachacutec
2:31 pm on Thursday, May 16, 2013
OK, Metro has to do their work, but really - who at Metro figured that closing the College Park station on the same weekend that commencement activities were due to take place was a good idea? I mean, it's not like this doesn't happen every year around the same time, right? Nobody at Metro - nobody? - said "hey, maybe we should check on this" before scheduling the work? Unbelievable. Or maybe … more ›