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From UnsuckMetro Blog- Is Rush+ Over on the Orange Line?From Brian: Just an open question from an Orange Line rider (East Falls Church station). Over the past few months, it seems like the frequency of trains going into DC has slowed. I get on around 7:30 a.m. each day, and lately I've gotten onto an already crowded train that's 5-6 minutes after the preceding train, and the monitor shows another 5-7 […]
- Dating Via Emergency Intercom? Photo via @nevermindtheend From Jim: I saw the STRANGEST thing this morning! I was at the back of the very last car on a train from Silver Spring to downtown. At one of the next stops, a guy gets on, presses the emergency intercom button at the back of the car and starts chatting up the train driver. "Hey, baby, this is Cooper. Remember Cooper? Yeah, s […]
- Does the Transit Subsidy Make Metro Worse?From Steve: I live in Arlington and commute to DC on Metro daily. So does my roommate. I pay every cent of my Metro costs out of my pocket. No pretax discount, and my employer doesn't chip in a dime. My roommate, on the other hand, is a federal worker and doesn't have to pay a single cent of his own money for his daily commute on Metro. Our levels […]
- Is Rush+ Over on the Orange Line?
- Greater Washington
- Focus transportation on downtown or neighborhoods?by David Alpert and Rahul Mereand-Sinha Should the design of major roads and our big transit projects favor moving large numbers of people in and out of downtown? Or should DC focus on making streets feel more like neighborhood streets, and transportation investments that help people travel within and between neighborhoods? Photo by Roger Wollstadt on Flickr […]
- Community supports bike lanes around H Streetby Tony Goodman DC transportation officials would like to help cyclists avoid the streetcar tracks, heavy car traffic, and pedestrians along H Street NE. Yesterday, the transportation committees of both Advisory Neighborhood Commissions (ANCs) along H Street supported a plan to let cyclists ride in both directions on G and I Streets, while keeping car traffi […]
- Breakfast links: Stereotypesby David Alpert Photo by Michael Hänsch on Flickr."Gentrifiers" aren't all white: A new report identifies "gentrifying" neighborhoods based on trends in property values. New residents are more affluent and often younger, but in several neighborhoods, they're same race as longtime residents. (WBJ) Bad apples lead to viral videos […]
- Focus transportation on downtown or neighborhoods?
Tag Archives: The 51st State
Two Year Anniversary of the deaths of Jeff Garrard & Sung Oh
[I meant to post this on January 26. Somehow it was left as a "draft" and not posted.]: Today, January 26, 2012, is the two year anniversary of the completely avoidable and incredibly tragic accident that killed my former coworkers … Continue reading
Posted in Management Follies, Safety Incidents, The Metro Hall of Shame
Tagged Safety hazard, The 51st State
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Metro Admits Liability for June 22, 2009 Wreck
I’m glad to see that after over 2 1/2 years Metro has finally done the right thing and admitted liability for the June 22, 2009 wreck — even if it was for legal expediency. It is unclear to me why … Continue reading
Posted in Inadequate Training, Malfunctions, Management Follies, Public Opinion, Safety Incidents, The Metro Hall of Shame
Tagged automatic train control, backup alarm, gross negligence, metro employees, ntsb accident reports, rail trucks, Reliability, Safety hazard, The 51st State, Waste of money
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Maryland Occupational Safety and Health (MOSH) locks out the widow of a Metro employee killed on the job
After Automatic Train Control (ATC) techs Jeff Garrard and Sung Oh were killed on the job in January of last year, MOSH scheduled an “Informal Hearing” in Hagerstown, MD, to discuss the citations that MOSH had issued to Metro (which … Continue reading
Metro workers and Overtime
Metro employee overtime (OT) is in the news again. Greater Greater Washington (GGW) mentioned this last Monday which led to this reply from ATU Local 689 president Jackie Jeter. I’ve written about this issue before — here and here: Quote: … Continue reading
NTSB releases transcript of interview with operator of hi-rail truck that struck and killed ATC techs in January 2010
Well, here we are almost 16 months after my coworkers were killed as a direct result of Metro’s negligence and there is still no NTSB report. They have released the docket however. The most recent addition is the transcript of … Continue reading
Here a derailment, there a derailment…
There are derailments at Metro on a regular basis, they just aren’t reported in the media. They can get away with it because there’s no oversight and because there typically aren’t any passengers on board. Most of these derailments happen … Continue reading
Double Derailment at Bethesda was Completely Avoidable
Almost exactly two years ago, on March 27, 2009, at approximately 4:30 pm a train derailed on the inbound track (track #1) between Bethesda (A09) and Friendship Heights (A08). In response, Metro dispatched a “rescue train” (train #204) from Shady … Continue reading
Posted in Management Follies, Safety Incidents, Uncategorized
Tagged Safety hazard, The 51st State, Waste of money
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Door Problems
For security reasons I won’t disclose where these doors are located, but behind them is a serious power room with voltages as high as 13,800 volts (13.8 KV). There are two sets of these double doors and neither would latch … Continue reading
Posted in Malfunctions, Management Follies, Safety Incidents, The Metro Hall of Shame
Tagged The 51st State
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Help Wanted
The photo below shows fairly typical working conditions in many of the tunnels. I addition to dodging trains and avoiding the third rail, ATC technicians are expected to work on equipment that is surrounded by water and mud of unknown … Continue reading
Management Restricts Techs’ Access to Critical Data
In the aftermath of the wreck in June of 2009 that killed 9 people and injured dozens, there were several embarrassing facts that came to light: 1) Had we (ATC) been following the draft PMI (preventive maintenance inspection) that had … Continue reading
