by mtuandrew
MACTRAXX wrote:In comparison can MARC and VRE - on their routes paralleling Metro lines - offer any form of added serviceIn four areas, yes:
during the term of a Metrorail route closure period? Can they reasonably accommodate added riders that do
normally use Metro during any major service changes such as the recent 3/16 one day shutdown?
MACTRAXX
-Union Station - L'Enfant - Crystal City - Alexandria - Springfield, for the Blue/Yellow Lines.
-WUS - New Carrollton (no intermediate stops currently), for the Orange Line.
-WUS - Silver Spring - Kensington - Rockville, directly paralleling the Red Line.
-WUS - College Park - Greenbelt, for the Green/Yellow Rush Plus Lines.
Otherwise, commuter rail can do nothing for the Orange & Silver west of L'Enfant, nothing for the Red west of Union Station, nothing for the Blue/Silver east of L'Enfant, and nothing for the Green south of L'Enfant (or between College Park and L'Enfant.) That leaves a LOT of the system uncovered, with a fair amount (Red and Yellow/Green north of downtown in particular) not parallel to major highways.
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Maybe the better solution is to single-track these lines for extended periods. Stuff as many 8-car trains as you can through the single straw, flip-flop directional running every half hour to hour, and coordinate opposite-direction buses... it ain't perfect, but it keeps the system from bursting as much.