DC Streetcar H Street Benning Road construction pictures

[amtrakhogger]

I saw one test train sneak on to H street bridge yesterday while arriving in WUT.

[farecard]

Transportation chief asks if troubled District streetcar system can be saved

http://www.washingtonpost.com/local/tra ... story.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

The District has invested $200 million in what was projected to be a $3 billion streetcar project. Now, the city’s new transportation chief is asking an existential question about the beleaguered new transit system: Is it worth saving?

Appointed by Mayor Muriel E. Bowser (D) in January after the previous administration’s unsuccessful scramble to open the streetcar line by the end of last year, Leif A. Dormsjo, a former top transportation official in Maryland, has spent a couple of months probing the project with a notable lack of sentimentality or defensiveness.

“We’re not planning for failure. I’m trying to prudently and responsibly prepare the service to be started. But if I can’t get to that point, I’m not going to be enchanted by some philosophy of transit that leads me to do something that doesn’t make sense,” Dormsjo said. “There’s been a lot of investment in this thing. It’s not a good outcome for that to be squandered. But at the end of the day, it has to work, it has to be safe, it has to have utility.”

......

[JDC]

APTA has sent a letter to DDOT indicating that its review found no 'fatal flaws' in the DC streetcar and attaching a bullet list of items to be addressed before opening day. A detailed report is forthcoming in April. http://ddot.dc.gov/sites/default/files/ ... 202015.pdf

[strench707]

Is anyone else of the opinion that Bowser's staff is meddling to make this as much of a catastrophe as possible? I think the delays over such trivialities are embarrassing and are a perfect representation of why nothing can get done in this country.

Davis

[JDC]

Mayor Bowser released her budget proposal, and the WP story describes it as thus in terms of its treatment of the streetcar:

"Although she took ownership of the city’s troubled streetcar system this week, promising an end to delays and to complete an east-west line, Bowser would largely pause all spending on the project next year. It appeared clear that she would not set aside enough money to complete the project before the end of the decade. Bowser proposed reserving room under the city’s debt cap to borrow $335 million between now and 2021 for the streetcar. That’s about half of what the council earmarked last year, after an earlier downsizing of the project. Bowser’s budget aides said that the shift was largely a function of deciding to delay, until 2020, a $132 million reconstruction of the H Street bridge that would be needed to carry the streetcars to Union Station. Streetcars could run to the station on temporary tracks that could be constructed before then, but at a cost of perhaps $40 million or more."

http://www.washingtonpost.com/local/dc- ... story.html

[YOLO]

I guess the M St subway won't happen if they build the streetcar out there

[Sand Box John]

"YOLO"
I guess the M St subway won't happen if they build the streetcar out there

The M Street subway is solution that could be solved at a fraction of cost without turning a single shovel of dirt.

Buy more rail cars to allow the shorting of headways.

Shorter headways = less crowding at the faregates.
Shorter headways = less crowding on platforms.
Shorter headways = less crowding on the trains.

More rail cars would eliminate WMATAs need to run the crap out of their fleet fill the daily time sheet.
More rail cars would allow WMATA to rotate the fleet through the shops for routine maintenance more often resulting reduced in service breakdowns.

[JDC]

Martin Di Caro has a story on ongoing issues with the streetcar and the efforts to get it up and running, including fixing broken rails. http://wamu.org/news/15/04/07/before_pa ... der_repair

[JDC]

Maybe, just maybe, we're getting close to the launch of the streetcar??? http://wamu.org/news/15/07/20/meet_dcs_ ... ch_manager

[JDC]

Some 'big' news of sorts on the status of the DC streetcar: https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/tr ... story.html

Segment may open by the end of 2015, or early 2016. The fare will be collected off-board and validated through proof of payment. The fare will be pegged to that of the DC Circulator, and there will be an initial free period lasting possibly as long as a year. And, the frequency will be every 15 minutes with a goal of 12 minute headways in the future.

[JDC]

DC is aiming to finally open the streetcar February 26, give or take a day. Supposedly all that remains is one final safety walk through. https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/dr- ... cial-says/

[JDC]

Mayor Bowser has announced the streetcar will begin carrying passengers February 27. http://www.nbcwashington.com/traffic/tr ... 02331.html

[Sand Box John]

Rather ironic, the opening will happen exactly one month short of the 40th anniversary of the opening of the first segment of Metrorail.

[NaugyRR]

I think that's more coincidence than irony lol

[lpetrich]

DC Streetcar | A Program of District Depart. of Transportation

Service started on Feb. 27 on the H-Street / Benning-Road line. It runs between Washington Union Station and Oklahoma Ave. / Benning Rd.

Planning | DC Streetcar shows all the lines that the streetcar planners have considered building. These including extending the new line eastward and westward, and also building a north-south line that goes into Anacostia.

However, Arlington Cancels Streetcar Program - Newsroom (Nov 18, 2014), but Arlington might eventually revive it if DC gets far enough along.