When snow starts to collect, Metrobus and MetroAccess service scales back as the roads become too slick to navigate.
But when the snow reaches 8 inches, even Metrorail must shut down much of its service. The transit agency has to close all 39 aboveground and aerial stations, cutting off train access to much of the region’s suburbs.
The concern is when snow starts to cover the third rail that provides the electricity powering the trains, causing power to drop out and stall trains — as the agency has learned the hard way.
Metrorail’s major snow service
When snow reaches 8 inches or more, Metro cannot run trains on its aboveground tracks. Instead it can only serve the following underground stations until tracks can be cleared:
» Yellow Line: Pentagon to Crystal City
» Red Line: Medical Center to Union Station
» Green Line: Fort Totten to Congress Heights
» Blue/Orange Lines: Ballston to Stadium Armory
Source: Metro
In 2003, Metro ran trains through a major snow on Presidents Day weekend to accommodate riders attending a Disney on Ice production. But four trains got stuck and a few hundred riders had to be rescued. Almost three-quarters of the rail fleet needed repairs from snow getting sucked into the train motors. The rail system didn’t return to normal for a week.
Since then, the transit agency has tried to learn from those lessons.
During the Dec. 18-19 snowstorm, when up to 2 feet fell on the region, Metro focused on getting its service back in time for Monday’s commuters rather than shuttling rail passengers during the heaviest part of the storm Saturday.
But Metro gave riders only a couple hours notice before shutting down the aboveground trains, leaving more than a hundred riders stuck at some stations. Metro ran a last set of trains to the end of the lines to help those riders but two trains ran into problems, with one getting stuck with 10 riders aboard outside the Dunn Loring station.
But Metro gave riders only a couple hours notice before shutting down the aboveground trains, leaving more than a hundred riders stuck at some stations. Metro ran a last set of trains to the end of the lines to help those riders but two trains ran into problems, with one getting stuck with 10 riders aboard outside the Dunn Loring station.
For this storm, the agency was hoping to get the word out earlier to riders than it did in December. The agency also planned to run empty trains on aboveground tracks to keep the rails warm, even after reaching the 8-inch mark, said spokesman Steven Taubenkibel.
The agency is putting up some workers in hotels or having them sleep in division offices so crews could be mobilized when the snow stopped to start clearing tracks, he said.
Again, they are focused on trying to get Metro ready for Monday morning.
But Metrobus and MetroAccess are facing a separate timetable, as they depend on how quickly roads are plowed.
“We’re going to have to rely on our local jurisdictions to get done what they have to get done,” Taubenkibel said.
