John Matthews
WASHINGTON — (WMAL) Phase one of Metro’s year-long SafeTrack program has been deemed a success by WMATA officials, as commuters eased into the new repair regime with two weeks of planned single-tracking, and repair work completed on schedule.
But now, things get real.
The second “Safety Surge” of SafeTrack begins on Saturday with actual track shutdowns. The Orange, Blue and Silver Lines will be shut down between Eastern Market and Minnesota Ave/Benning Road. with shuttle buses lined up to replace trains. That will hardly be a panacea, as trains can carry thousands of commuters an hour, while bus bridges handle only hundreds at a time.
In addition, the Blue Line will only be running between Franconia-Springfield and Arlington Cemetery. If you want to get from Fairfax or Alexandria to downtown D.C., you need to take the yellow line to L’Enfant Plaza.
What can you do to get to work instead of taking the train during Safe Track Surge 2?
You do have several options, and Metro is urging you to find one that works. They include carpooling, telework, bike share, using D.C. Circulator buses and traveling outside of peak hours.
Metro General Manager Paul Wiedefeld won’t hazard a guess as to how long it will take to use the shuttle buses that are being brought in to replace trains, but given the limited capacity of the buses, officials are urging riders not to depend on them.
For the latest information on Metro’s SafeTrack plan, and tips on how to get around, CLICK HERE.
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