Metro wants to build a new rail line from Rosslyn through Georgetown to help the agency handle expected increases in ridership.
Metro planners predict daily ridership will reach nearly 1 million passengers by 2030 – a painful thought for passengers who already feel crowded with average daily ridership in the 700,000s.
Metro staff are scheduled brief the agency’s board of directors on the measure and other potential solutions at a meeting Thursday.
Metro planning chief Nat Bottigheimer said the agency’s planners have long believed a new line from Rosslyn to Georgetown and onward to Northeast and then downtown could provide the system with the extra capacity it needs, but that the idea is purely conceptual.
Metro is already short of funds to maintain its current system. Officials recently announced the system has an urgent, unbudgeted need of almost a half-billion dollars.
“The Blue and Orange Line at Rosslyn is really the pace-setter in terms of capacity,” Bottigheimer said.
The Rosslyn station serves as a choke point for the two lines, which share tracks there.
Building a new line would involve constructing a new tunnel underneath the Potomac River and building a Metro station in Georgetown – a measure the Georgetown community opposed during the transit agency’s early days.
Ward 2 ANC Commissioner William Starrels, whose territory includes a part of Georgetown, said that while he does not believe the area is likely to see a Metro line any time soon, he believes the community would welcome one.
“Bottom line is, whether or not it’s imaginary or practical from a financial standpoint, I think people would be thrilled if there were a Metro stop in Georgetown,” Starrels said.
Bottigheimer said the proposed line could include a new downtowntransfer station – another system enhancement planners believe will be necessary when ridership increases.
Metro officials suggested several other expensive improvements for the rail system, including expanding the railcar fleet to increase the number of eight-car trains, expanding bus service and building new staircases, escalators, fare card machines and parking structures.
“It’s a societal option that we’re confronted with,” said General Manager John Catoe, referencing the growing ridership that eventually will surpass Metro’s capacity.
“What do we do? Do we do nothing and let it all collapse?” he said. “It’s not a popular discussion because it’s money that we’re talking about. But we need to start talking about it now.”
