Metro

Morning Notes

By ARLnow.com

Sunrise, as seen from Ballston (courtesy photo)

SmartTrip Card for Students — Arlington Transit is rolling out a new SmarTrip card specifically for middle and high school students. The card will entitle students to discounted, $0.75 ART bus rides. The card can be purchased for $3.00 starting on Sept. 3 at Arlington Commuter Stores. [Arlington Transit]

Nauck Profiled by Post — The Washington Post’s Real Estate section has profiled Arlington’s Nauck neighborhood, also known as Green Valley. Properties currently on the market in Nauck range from a $109,000 efficiency condo to a $1.2 million six-bedroom house. [Washington Post]

Arlington to Hold 9/11 Commemoration — Arlington County will hold a public event to remember the 184 victims of the 9/11 attack on the Pentagon. The event will be held at 9:30 a.m. on Wednesday, Sept. 11, on the plaza in front of the county office building in Courthouse (2100 Clarendon Blvd). [Arlington County]

Courtesy photo

Morning Notes

By Katie Pyzyk

Lee Highway love

Metro Accident Victim Identified as GMU Student — The person struck and killed on the Metrorail Orange Line tracks between East Falls Church and Ballston early Sunday morning has been identified as 21-year-old George Mason University student Patrick Sibley. Sibley’s brother says he did not have a good sense of direction and may have become lost after leaving a bar in Clarendon and trying to make it home to Vienna. Metro is not commenting on the incident while it is under investigation. [Washington Post]

McDonnell Touts Budget Surplus — Gov. Bob McDonnell says the state ended its fiscal year on June 30 with $585 million more than projected. That’s the largest state surplus since 2005. The cumulative surplus during McDonnell’s nearly four years in office comes in at around $2 billion. [Washington Times]

County Labor Day Closures — Arlington County has posted a list of programs and services that will remain operational while the county offices are closed for Labor Day on Monday, September 2. Libraries, parks, pools, courts and schools will all be closed. [Arlington County]

Man Killed by Orange Line Train Along I-66

By ARLnow.com

Orange Line train stopped along I-66 on 8/18/13 (photo courtesy @dangerousashes)A man was struck and killed by an Orange Line train between the East Falls Church and Ballston stations early this morning.

The incident happened around 2:00 a.m. An inbound Orange Line train struck the man on the aboveground portion of track along I-66, away from either station. The man, a 21-year-old Massachusetts resident, was pronounced dead on the scene, according to Metro spokesman Dan Stessel.

Eight passengers were aboard the train that struck the man. After an hour delay due to power being cut to the tracks, they were transferred to another train to continue their trip, Stessel said. Other trains were able to get around the incident with minimal delays.

Crime scene investigators from the Arlington County Police Department were called to the scene by WMATA, to assist Metro Transit Police. So far, there’s no word as to how or why the man managed to get on the tracks.

“It is unclear why he was on the tracks,” said Stessel. “The investigation is ongoing.”

Photo courtesy @dangerousashes

Metro to Run Fewer Trains This Weekend

By Ethan Rothstein

Metro logo on an Orange Line stationThe Orange and Blue lines will again be impacted by Metro’s ongoing track work this weekend, running trains every 24 minutes.

The altered schedule will begin Friday at 10:00 p.m. and continue until midnight on Sunday. According to Metro, the delays will be in place “to allow for NTSB-recommended track circuit replacement between Foggy Bottom and Smithsonian stations.”

Trains typically run every 12 to 20 minutes on weekend. Major track work on the Metro is expected to continue well into 2017.

Disabled Train at Clarendon Station Causes Major Delays

By ARLnow.com

Major delays on the Orange Line on 7/10/13 (photo courtesy @afranz409)Update at 9:50 p.m. — WMATA has issued a statement apologizing for the “significant delays.” The disabled train was rendered inoperable by a brake malfunction, which also made it impossible to tow, WMATA said.

A train that became stuck just outside the Clarendon Metro station caused major delays on the Orange and Blue lines tonight.

The Vienna-bound train stopped outside the station between 5:30 and 6:00 p.m. due to a mechanical problem. Immediately, commuters heading from D.C. to Virginia on the Orange and Blue lines started experiencing delays as Metro began single-tracking around the crippled train.

On Twitter, passengers reported overcrowded platforms, delays in excess of an hour, and a mad rush for buses, taxis and Uber cars outside stations. A compilation of some of the tweets can be found below, after the jump.

The disabled train was finally moved around 7:30 p.m. Riders were stranded on it for about 90 minutes.

“Passengers were transferred to a second train that was brought to the disabled train,” Metro spokesman Dan Stessel told ARLnow.com. “They walked from the front car of the disabled train through the last door of the rescue train. Their total delay was quite significant due to train’s location on a grade.”

“Metro Transit Police boarded the train in the tunnel to make sure everyone was okay,” Stessel added. “Car maintenance techs also boarded while it was disabled.”

No medical issues were reported among the passengers.

Photo courtesy @afranz409

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Trains Running Despite Clarendon Station Power Outage

By Katie Pyzyk

Clarendon Metro stationWMATA reports that the Clarendon Metro station is experiencing a power outage, but trains continue to service the station.

WMATA took to Twitter to inform passengers of the outage and that all of the station’s escalators and elevators are currently out of service. Buses have been requested to the station, the agency said.

Spokesman Dan Stessel said the localized power outage is “not a big deal” and the station is still open for business.

There have been no reports of delays from the outage.

Orange Line Train Takes Wrong Turn, Offloads At Arlington Cemetery

By Ethan Rothstein

Metro logoAn Orange Line train headed to Vienna took a wrong turn at Rosslyn around 3:00 p.m., going on the Blue Line before offloading passengers at the Arlington Cemetery Metro stop.

Both lines were delayed, according to WMATA, which reported the incident as a disabled train and a train malfunction. At 3:48 p.m., WMATA tweeted that the Blue and Orange line resumed normal service.

This is the second time in the last six days that an Orange Line train has been accidentally routed to the Blue Line. Last Wednesday, it occurred at the end of the morning rush hour.

Metro spokesman Dan Stessel said only “one or two trains saw minor delays as a result,” and characterized the mishap as “a minor inconvenience for passengers” in an email. Stessel said a signal issue was the cause of the problem and there were no safety issues for passengers.

AAA: Furloughs May Ease Traffic Congestion

By Katie Pyzyk

Heavy traffic on I-395 near the Pentagon (file photo)Department of Defense furloughs went into effect today and AAA Mid-Atlantic suggests that may mean less traffic congestion.

In Virginia alone, nearly 72,000 DoD employees are affected by furloughs, which require one unpaid day off per week for 11 weeks. The state is expected to be particularly hard hit by the cuts due to the Pentagon being housed in Arlington.

It’s too early to definitively claim furloughs will ease traffic congestion, but AAA believes fewer people on the road could lead to less gridlock and fewer accidents. In fact, the organization suggests commutes could resemble those of July and August, when the region experiences its lowest traffic volume and rate of accidents.

“For all other workers, the morning and evening commutes to the daily grind could look like it does on any of the ten federal holidays in the Washington metro area or on Fridays, when federal workers use their flex-time schedules or compressed work weeks (AWS) to take time off,” said John B. Townsend II, AAA Mid-Atlantic’s Manager of Public and Government Affairs.

AAA predicts Metrorail and Metrobus ridership may be affected as well. According to WMATA, nearly half of peak period commuters are federal employees and 35 Metrorail stations serve federal facilities, including the Pentagon in Arlington.

Rep. Jim Moran (D) took to Twitter earlier today to express his displeasure with the furloughs. He also sent the following statement to ARLnow.com:

“Due to sequestration, today marked the first of 11 furlough days for 650,000 DOD civilian employees. This 20 percent pay cut is the unfortunate and shameful result of Congress’ failure to work together to find an appropriate way to reduce the federal debt and deficit. I voted against the Budget Control Act that set up sequestration not only because it focused solely on cutting discretionary spending at the expense of increased revenues, but I feared that the Supercommittee could not find compromise. Congress must make tough choices, but we cannot balance the budget on the backs of our federal workers.”

Metro Announces Track Work Schedule

By ARLnow.com

Rosslyn Metro by Chris RiefIt seems like nearly every weekend there’s track work impacting Arlington Metro riders. Not this weekend, though — the only track work causing delays is on the Red Line.

In case you want to plan for future weekend Metro delays and closures, the agency has released a schedule of major track work planned through the end of the year. The work includes Silver Line testing and track maintenance.

The weekend projects impacting Arlington riders:

  • July 27-28 and Aug. 24-25 — Ballston is the western end of the Orange Line, with East Falls Church and other stations closed.
  • Sept. 7-8 — East Falls Church station closed, buses replace trains between Ballston and West Falls Church.
  • Oct. 26-27 — L’Enfant Plaza station closed, buses replace trains between the Pentagon and Archives.
  • Dec. 7-8 — Reagan National Airport and Crystal City stations closed, buses replace trains between Braddock Road and Pentagon City.
  • Dec. 14-15 — Pentagon station closed, buses replace trains between Pentagon City and Arlington Cemetery/L’Enfant Plaza.
  • Dec. 21-22 — Rosslyn and Arlington Cemetery stations closed, buses replace trains between Court House/Pentagon and Foggy Bottom.

The schedule may change, Metro said, depending on weather and construction delays.

Closing stations and doing major work on weekends “allows Metro to complete rebuilding work faster and safer, while allowing trains outside of the work zones to operate with fewer delays,” the agency said. “While there will be delays and inconvenience associated with the critical work we’re undertaking, please be assured that we will take all possible steps to minimize your inconvenience.”

Flickr pool photo by Chris Rief

Man Arrested After Urinating on Blue Line Train

By ARLnow.com

Metro logoA man was pepper sprayed and arrested at the Arlington Cemetery Metro station after he allegedly urinated on a train, assaulted a Metro Transit Police officer and attempted to run onto the track.

Around 9:45 a.m., transit police responded to the Arlington Cemetery station for a report of a suspicious man seen urinating on a Blue Line train and walking between the cars. The train was held at the station as a transit police officer attempted to deal with the suspect.

From Metro spokesman Dan Stessel:

The officer directed the subject to exit the train. He refused to comply. She then asked the other passengers to clear the car for their safety, at which point the male moved past the officer, exited the train and ran toward the end of the platform, pushing other patrons as he attempted to enter the track area.

When confronted again on the platform, the subject attempted to push past the officer, and the officer used her department-issued [pepper] spray to gain control of the situation.  The adult male was arrested for Assault on Police Officer.  The railcar was isolated and passengers were moved to other cars of the train. Other charges may follow.

An Arlington paramedic unit responded to treat the suspect and the officer for pepper spray-related symptoms. Neither required transport to the hospital, Stessel said.

The 22-year-old suspect was arrested and processed at the Arlington County Detention Center.

Morning Notes

By ARLnow.com

Capital Bikeshare in the rain by Wolfkann

Using Cash to Entice Youth Civic Involvement — The Arlington County Civic Federation will spend $2,000 over the next year as cash incentives to get high school-aged youth interested in civic involvement. Organizers hope the program brings “an infusion of fresh thinking and new ideas” to the organization. [Sun Gazette]

More Metro Delays This Weekend — Metrorail riders should expect some delays this weekend. Trains on the Orange, Blue, Yellow and Green lines will run every 18 minutes due to track work, platform replacement and Silver Line testing (between East and West Falls Church). [WMATA]

I-395 HOV Closure — The I-395 HOV lanes will be closed from Friday night until 10 a.m. Sunday morning. The closure will allow work on the 95 Express lanes, weather permitting.

Free Donut at Dunkin’ Donuts Today — In honor of “National Donut Day,” Dunkin’ Donuts is offering a free donut with any beverage purchase.

Flickr pool photo by Wolfkann

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