The Silver Spring Penguin

Photo: Keep on waiting. Credit: R. Pace/SSP.

UPDATED — Crawling along the Red Line rail route could get worse — I’m talking an all-new circle of hell — before a planned $177 million overhaul makes things better.

The proposed upgrades, which WMATA announced Thursday in a press statement, will focus initially on that stretch of track between Silver Spring and Dupont Circle. Exactly what might get fixed around Silver Spring isn’t specified, but upgrades to traction power, automatic train control, tunnel lighting and ventilation, and public address system are planned up and down the Glenmont-to-Shady Grove line.

This first phase of work could start early next year and may take two years to wrap, Metro spokesperson Taryn McNeil told The Washington Post. Metro’s board of directors will vote on the proposed work next Thursday, The Post wrote.

All of this shit would be in addition to repairs relating to last month’s crash between Takoma and Fort Totten. While no one’s totally sure what caused that accident, federal transportation experts are giving the rail system’s automated control system a hard look.

So how much time might one expect to waste on the Red Line? Not much more than one wastes now, The Post reported. Single tracking could start at 8:00 p.m. on weeknights, and WMATA officials predict the work won’t screw with the Red Line’s 15-minute intervals. However, things would be slower between Farragut North and Judiciary Square, where the work could start around 10:00 p.m.

WMATA also plans to install slick new escalators at Dupont Circle and Farragut North, and new platform tiles at Shady Grove and Rockville stations.

Updated Jul 10, 2009, at 12:40 p.m. to reflect that these repairs aren’t definitely going to happen. A decision on that drops next Thursday. — JD