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Councilmember Jim Graham hosted the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA / Metro) on Monday, January 23, 2006, at a community meeting held in the auditorium of the Home Finance Agency, 815 U Street, NW.  WMATA presented several options during the meeting that could create substantal increases in Metrorail service on the Green Line and additional benefits for Metrorail riders.

Feedback from the attendees, which included members of ANC 1B, CSNA, and the MidCity Business Assocation, was nearly universal that for the short-term, the extension of the Yellow Line is not only feasible, but also an economic bargain when looking at transportation issues as a whole.

The presentation identified four options for the off-peak extension. Summaries of these four options are detailed below.  View the complete presentation given by WMATA. (PDF file) (477 KB)

Summaries of Peak Service Improvement Concepts

Summaries of Off-Peak Service Improvement Concepts

Some attendees felt that Option II and Option III for off-peak hours were the two options that made the most sense and were the most cost effective.  The main issues in providing expanded Green Line service for Option II and Option III:

• Option II - For $1 million to change signage and $5 million in operations, the Yellow Line could run to Greenbelt off-peak.

• Option III - For $1.25 million to change signage and install signals and $3 million in operations, the Yellow Line could run to Fort Totten off-peak.

Either of these options could happen quickly if funding is identified and made available.

Some additional facts and figures to put these costs in perspective:

• The "Inner Green Line", from U Street to Fort Totten cost $635,000,000 to construct, this does not include construction costs for the Shaw or U Street stations, so we are talking about an investment of over a billion dollars to build all of these stations, only to provide them with half the service possible.

• The rail cars that would be used are already in the Metrorail system and would be used more frequently, thereby maximizing that capital investment. The operations cost take into consideration more frequent maintenance cycles.

None of the options looks at revenue projections as these studies would be costly and time consuming on WMATA's end, however given the existing ridership numbers for weekends at Columbia Heights now, before the completion of the majority of the new construction that will include 1/2 a million square feet of retail (including the District's first Target and second Best Buy) and hundreds of new residential units, the ridership numbers clearly state that the need is there for additional service.

WMATA's presentation also provides a look at the peak hour extension costs, which start in the $200 million dollar range, because of new rail car purchases required. This level of investment, even looking at the previous costs are not justifiable right now.

In response to inquires about rerouting Metrorail tunnels at Columbia Heights to the west, estimated costs for new tunnels were $100 million per 1/4 mile.

The one surprise was an option that looked at rerouting every other Blue Line train during peak hours across the 14th Street Bridge to Greenbelt in order to alleviate delays and congestion at the Rosslyn tunnel. This option would use existing rail cars and resources, while providing a solution to an ongoing operational concern ("traffic jams" in the Blue/Orange Line Rosslyn tunnel) and would result in 50% more frequent trains during peak hours.

Special thanks to Councilmember Graham for his leadership and follow through, and WMATA for their willingness to look at new options.

Neighbors left the meeting with the potential for major service enhancement at extremely low costs in transportation terms.

CSNA encourages everyone to review and comment on the presentation and to contact the following people with your comments:

• Jim Graham - Ward 1 Councilmember and WMATA Board Member
• Dan Tangherlini - Director, District Department of Transportation and Interim General Manager, WMATA
• Gladys Mack - WMATA Board Member
• James Hughes - WMATA
• Peter Nevenglosky - CSNA, President
• Cheryl Cort - CSNA, Transportation & Parking Chair
• Scott Pomeroy - MidCity Business Association

Special thanks to Scott Pomeroy for not only providing the information for this story, but being the leading advocate for increased service for the Green Line.