WASHINGTON 鈥� Once Metro鈥檚 current era of round-the-clock track work is done, more could be on the way to deal with other issues beyond the most basic track safety.
鈥淲e won鈥檛 see as aggressive a track surge program moving forward on the track side; we feel we鈥檒l be going back into regular work that we鈥檝e been doing under our non-service hours, our weekend 鈥� diversions, but track surges could be used in other areas of the capital program and things like that,鈥� Chief Operating Officer Joe Leader said.
The first 15 work zones are focused on like rail ties, fasteners and some power issues.
鈥淚 think there鈥檚 going to be an increase in reliability at the end of this,鈥� Metro Board Chairman Jack Evans said.
Metro does of how the already-completed surge zones have impacted service in the weeks or months since they聽ended.
鈥淭his system is a wreck, and every time we go out there we find cracks in tracks, we think we鈥檝e repaired something and then something breaks,” Evans said. “It鈥檚 going to take a while.聽It鈥檚 going to take a long time to get this fixed.”
While he said he was just 鈥渢alking off the top鈥� of his head, Evans聽suggested Metro riders could be facing several years of heavy track work.
鈥淎t the end of this exercise, whether it鈥檚 a year, two years, three years from now, Metro will be a safe, reliable system, and the riders will come back because as this region gets more and more congested, there is no doubt in my mind the best way to get around is on Metrorail,鈥� Evans said.
Service hour cuts separate issue
There could soon be fewer hours to use the system, in addition to other .
A 聽will provide聽riders, business owners and community members the opportunity to speak out on General Manager Paul Wiedefeld鈥檚 plan to close the system for eight more hours each week. There are several options on the table for the Metro Board to consider in December, including various cuts to night and weekend service.
鈥淚 want to increase ridership, I want to increase service 鈥� that鈥檚 where we want to be, but we have to be safe first,鈥� Wiedefeld said this week.
District Department of Transportation Director Leif Dormsjo has dubbed the service cuts 鈥淪afeTrack 2鈥�. He asked Leader at a Metro Board committee meeting Thursday what more Metro would actually get done if the system was closed for longer periods.
Leader suggested Metro could do more preventive maintenance and regular work but would still require evening and weekend single-tracking and other additional track work periods, as well as the longer 24/7 work zones for more significant repairs and replacements.
In Leader鈥檚 view, the early closings are a way for Metro to finally do proper preventive maintenance.
Opponents of the cuts to service hours worry about the impact on businesses and workers who need to get home, many of whom have felt the impact from Wiedefeld鈥檚 decision this spring to start .
His authority for the 鈥渢emporary鈥� service change, which includes a ban on early openings for races or late closings for playoff games, expires at the end of May.
While Wiedefeld initially described his plan for service hour cuts as 鈥減ermanent,” this week he changed his tone slightly.
He told reporters he believes Metro could be in a position by July 2018 to reconsider any changes to hours that take effect next summer.
