INTERVIEW – ROBERT THOMSON aka Washington Post’s DR. GRIDLOCK

• Switch problem causes delays on Metro’s Orange and Silver lines. For riders on Metro’s Orange Line, there were also delays in the direction of New Carrollton because of an earlier problem with a train outside the Dunn Loring stop.Riders should expect delays on Metro’s Silver and Orange lines because of a switch problem outside the East Falls Church stop. This comes as commuters are dealing with the first work day of Metro’s SafeTrack program, a major overhaul effort of the rail system that will last a year and impact riders with crowds and delays. Today, trains are sharing a track between the Ballston and East Falls Church stops of the Silver and Orange lines.
• Metro’s SafeTrack program on its first workday: A rough morning for Orange Line riders. (Washington Post) — On the first workday of Metro’s SafeTrack project to rebuild its rail system, there were mixed reports of how the morning ride was going for thousands of users. There were certainly more crowds on platforms and in rail cars as trains shared tracks on part of the Silver and Orange lines. Problems were compounded by a switch problem outside East Falls Church, which added to the delays. During the morning commute, ridership at stations west of Ballston was down 26 percent, according to figures provided by Metro. Compared with a normal Monday, almost 22 percent fewer people commuted from Wiehle-Reston. But the dips in ridership probably weren’t noticeable to riders on board the trains because there were 70 percent fewer trains serving passengers. West Falls Church, there were 45 percent fewer riders than normal. And at Dunn Loring, the figure was 30 percent. In total, 16,176 trips were taken west of Ballston, compared to 21,893 on a comparable Monday morning, May 16.