Caroline Tucker
WMAL.com
WASHINGTON – (WMAL) – Metro’s ‘SafeTrack’ plan will go into effect on June 4th.
The final plan released on Thursday will mean reduced service on the orange, silver, and blue lines during June.
The plan to rebuild the system packs three years of work into one year and will eventually impact all of Metro’s rail lines.
The first safety project will run for 13 days and mean single tracking between Ballston to East Falls Church.
Crews will work to replace deteriorating wooden rail ties along that section of track.
The Federal Transit Administration worked with Metro to prioritize which work gets done first.
Metro also says it worked with the National Transportation Safety Board for safety recommendations.
“They [FTA] made their suggestions to Paul’s plan, we made our suggestions to them. We’ve come to an agreement and came out with a plan today,” said Metro Board Chairman Jack Evans, who appeared on NewsChannel 8.
But for some projects, it is about timing.
“They wanted at the top, the line over by the Stadium-Armory, but because school is in session we were able to convince the FTA to wait until summer so it is not as heavily impacted,” said Evans.
In addition to the 15 ‘Safety Surge’ projects planned, Metro will also close the rail system at midnight, seven days a week.
All of these changes are expected to impact thousands of trips weekly.
Free shuttle buses will run to provide alternate service from stations that are closed down.
Evans says they are also working with the local business community and governments to arrange alternatives such as telework.
Evans said this plan may also be good preparation for the future.
“In the future, if something devastating were to happen we have the mechanisms to get people around that don’t currently exist.. So there are some silver linings in this that I think are very important,” he said.
Metro says independent verification and inspection of track work will be performed regularly.
You can take a look at the full plan here: http://www.wmata.com/Images/Mrel/MF_Uploads/SafeTrack_Public.pdf?
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(Photo: CNN)
