Photo: Move it, train! Credit: R. Pace/SSP.
Trains on Metro’s Red Line route will continue to creep from station to station while transportation experts investigate the cause of last Monday’s train wreck near Fort Totten.
Commuters can expect train speeds to reach a mind-numbing maximum 35 miles per hour, WMATA general manager John Catoe announced during a press conference Tuesday. Trains are rolling even slower than that around the crash site between Takoma and Fort Totten stations.
Chalk it up to the manual mode of operation, in which humans and not machines judge the distance between trains. Investigators are looking into whether WMATA’s automated control system crapped out last Monday, causing one Red Line train to smash into another en route to Shady Grove. Nine people died in that incident.
On Wednesday morning, Silver Spring’s commuters were not amused, venting their frustrations all over the known Twitterverse:
“Got on train at Forest Glen about 20 minutes ago. Train has moved maybe 50 feet since then. *cries*” (@quix)
“60 minutes in, 10 stations to go. #wmata Red line teetering on epic impediment to the commute!” (@anthonyjennings)
“45 Minutes on the red line to go a whole two stops. Looks like i’ll get to work at 11″ (@jbilligmeier)
Catoe didn’t know how long Red Line trains would have to run in slow motion, only that it will take as long as it takes to ensure public safety. That means two weeks, one year or two years, Catoe said.
In the meantime, Metro riders can expect the Takoma station to close at 10:00 p.m. Wednesday night. Shuttle buses will be available to move people from Fort Totten to Silver Spring.
Read 
What the hell are they building now? Learn more from 
Boxed wines and rosés are back in vogue. Just ask The Penguin's sommeliers.
I can understand that the trains need to move slower because of the manual driving. But what is frustrating is that the system is constantly just STOPPED. This morning there was a “train malfunction” that caused it. Tomorrow there’s sure to be something else broken.
Not only is the system in complete disrepair, but the mismanagement of the repairs is embarrassing. For the last two evenings the down escalator on the SS platform has been broken. Fine; things break. But, inexplicably, the escalator is blocked off and everyone has to walk to the other side of the station to use the other escalator. It has only been blocked off in the evening and there’s never anyone working on it. HELLO. To quote the great Mitch Hedberg, “I like an escalator because an escalator can never break. It can only become stairs. You would never see an ‘Escalator temporarily out-of-order’ sign. Just ‘Escalator temporarily stairs. Sorry for the convenience.’ We apologize for the fact that you can still get up there.”
No, you can’t, not when metro’s in charge.
Letter sent to Washington Post today:
So, Metro General Manager John B. Catoe Jr. has gone on record and stated that Metro Red Line trains might be operated manually “for a month, a year, or two years.” How about Mr. Catoe then charging Metro’s “reduced fare” until trains can actually travel from points A to B in the time Metro states? It would certainly take the sting out of having to pay Metro’s “regular fare” of $2.75 for its indicated 17 minute trip from Silver Spring to Gallery Place that in reality took nearly an hour this morning.
I love that the WMATA site says nothing about the Takoma station closing at 10pm tonight.
I was on the Red Line this morning going from Forest Glen to Judiciary Square. The frequent unexplained stops roughly doubled the time of the trip.
If you guys need to commute to downtown DC, take the S9 express Metro bus from Silver Spring. Seriously, you will arrive in downtown DC in like 20-25 minutes because the bus makes limited stops along 16th Street. It’s MUCH FASTER (and cheaper) than taking the red line train at this point.
@IHateYuppies,
where does one get on the S9 at Silver Spring? Colesville and East-West? But what corner?
It’s all a plot to turn us into bicycle commuters! Seriously, you can get anywhere in downtown DC from SS in less time than the crippled Red Line. It’s free, and you don’t need to go to the gym later.
I’m with Jerry McCoy. We shouldn’t be paying premium fare for crappy service. I’ll ride your slow ass train, but I want to pay half what I regularly pay to do so.
I think the S9 stops next to the Lenox apt. building. I’ve been wanting to give it a try, but been too lazy to walk the extra block.
My turn to vent. It took me more than an hour to go 6 stops. And the air conditioning was barely working on my metro car. I went to coin the term “metro rage”…
Can I coin the term “Going Metro”?
I like “Metrocide” and “Metrocidal”. Example:
Just moved here a week or so ago. I’m not a metro-area person by any means. Driving to downtown DC has left me with an acute case of road rage, so I was thinking about taking the redline into the city…clearly that’s not going to happen anymore, lest I get, dare I say, “metrocidal.” Does anyone know of a good (road) bike shop around DTSS or Rockville/Bethesda?
Meghan,
If you want a large store there’s Performance Bike in Rockville up on Rockville Pike… Congressional Plaza I think it is.
If you want more personal service, locally owned, but a bit less selection, my wife likes Silver Spring Cycles. That’s up on Georgia in the little plaza next to the exxon station just before the beltway.
Thanks, Paul. Much appreciated!
I would traditionally agree about paying less for the decreased convenience of Metro, but thinking it through, Metro has always had a budget problem and these circumstances are only making it worse. If I want Metro to be able to improve and get themselves running again, I guess I’ll just have to pay full price. That’s just the way its going to be, I guess, and I won’t complain about that.
How about reimbursing folks for lost time and wages then? Some folks cannot afford to be late one month to one year and still hope to retain their jobs. Where is the thought about the actual quality of life impacts?
Maybe we should all wear red armbands to get sympathy and as a “free pass” from the rest of the world?
The S9 bus has been working for me. I’ve been riding it since the terrible accident. Given subsequent reports I can’t shake the feeling that Metro is a death trap!
The S4 which runs down Colesville by the Metro station and then to 16th Street also works. It’s a little slower than the S9 but not much.
Buses cost way less than Metro. And if something goes wrong, you can get off the bus, walk or take a cab. no worries about being stuck underground in a hot, crowded train.
Meghan
The Bicycle Place, on Grubb near the famed Parkway Deli, is another good bike store.