Snow impacting Saturday’s Metro services

The Metrorail system will open on time today (Saturday, December 19) at 7 a.m. and will operate train about 10 to 12 minutes apart this morning. Metrobuses and MetroAccess trips are experiencing major delays due to heavy snow on the area’s roads. Metrobus routes are limited to operating on snow emergency routes due to the poor road conditions.

Metrorail operates very close to a normal schedule in snowfall of up to six inches. However once snow reaches a depth of eight inches, it is difficult to operate trains because snow starts to cover the electrified third rail, which is necessary to provide electricity to power the trains. As a result, Metro may suspend above-ground rail service and serve underground stations only when snow accumulation reaches eight inches or more. Suspending above-ground rail service also allows Metro to spare more rail cars from weather-related breakdowns, focus snow clearing operations on above-ground tracks and store a limited number of trains underground.

“We will monitor snowfall levels very closely and we will plan and react accordingly,” said Metro General Manager John Catoe. “It is very slow moving on the roads today, and understandably so. Customers should please dress warmly as waits for buses and trains will be longer than usual.”

The transit agency kept empty trains running across the outdoor tracks throughout the night to help keep snow from covering the tracks. Today customers will see trains equipped with de-icing equipment being used on all five lines. Twenty such trains are in service.

Four Metrobuses were used to help transport homeless individuals to shelters last night between 10 p.m. and 3 a.m.

Metro has 2,200 tons of bulk rock salt to treat Metro roadways and parking lots, 18,000, 50-pound bags of de-icer for treating sidewalks and platforms and hundreds of snow-trained employees and contractors who have been working throughout the night and into today to treat snowy and icy surfaces at Metrorail stations including platforms, sidewalks and parking facilities.

via Metro – About Metro – News – Snow impacting Saturday’s Metro services.

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Posted by admin on Dec 19 2009. Filed under Northern Virginia News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. Both comments and pings are currently closed.