Across Rail System, Metro Confronts Its Age

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THE VIEW FROM THE PLATFORM at the Shady Grove station on the Red Line wouldn't give you any hint that something's amiss. But if you look at the platform edge from the trackbed, you'll see the metal jacks pictured here. They tell a different story.

As The Post's Lena H. Sun has noted, Shady Grove is one of 10 aboveground Metrorail stations that's suffering from significant concrete platform deterioration. It would cost about $6 million to make full repairs at each of those stations, but, so far, the transit agency said, there's only been enough money to fix the problems at the Deanwood and Minnesota Avenue stations on the Orange Line. So the temporary bracing pictured above is the only option available to keep the platform structurally sound.

While most commuters aren't going to see the platform problems at aboveground stations, it's not difficult to see that something's awry at Metro Center. This weekend, work crews will begin $1.3 million worth of repairs to deteriorating bearing pads that cushion the 70-foot concrete bridge supporting the trackbed and platforms for the Red Line, which sit a level above the area serviced by Orange Line and Blue Line trains.

At a press gathering this morning, Metro officials pointed out the problems and previewed the work that will be done over the upcoming Martin Luther King Jr. Day weekend and next month's Presidents Day weekend. While Metro Center will remain open to passengers, the repairs will cause big delays for trains heading through the station work zone.

The deterioration was discovered about a year ago, and while the design of bridges at the Gallery Place-Chinatown and L'Enfant Plaza station is similar, it is only at Metro Center that the bearing pads have seen such wear and tear, Metro officials said.

The repairs are being done during winter weekends when ridership is the lowest. Average Saturday ridership for Metro Center last month was 11,361 people; average Sunday ridership was 5,741.

Since 1976, when the first phase of the Red Line opened, 610 million passengers have made their way through Metro Center, according to the transit agency.

» "Where the Money Would Go" [WaPo]
» EARLIER: "Metro Center Work to Cause Big Weekend Delays" [Free Ride/Express]

Photo by Katherine Frey/The Washington Post