Metro Proposing Rush-Hour Split for Blue Line

WHILE THE IDEA to re-route some rush-hour Blue Line trains between the Franconia-Springfield station and the District via the Yellow Line has been stewing in recent years, Metro officials will formally propose such a service pattern at this week's board meeting.

The goal of the re-routing?

To relieve the bottleneck at Rosslyn, where trains on the packed Orange Line merge with those on the Blue Line before heading into their shared tunnel into the District.

As The Post's Get There blog reports today:

While the transit authority staff points out in a report to the board that ridership is growing more quickly at the stations on the eastern side of downtown, this proposal is almost certain to be controversial among riders. The concept has been discussed before as a way of creating more room in the Rosslyn tunnel. It factors into planning for the Metrorail line to Dulles, which would send even more trains through the tunnel.

Don't expect the proposal to go into effect in the immediate future. Although the plan will be presented to Metro's Customer Services, Operations and Safety Committee, there won't be a formal board recommendation until June.

» "Blue Line Diversion Proposed" [Get There/WaPo]

» EARLIER: "An Inevitable Metro Marriage: Blue and Yellow?" [Free Ride/Express]

Image courtesy WMATA

Posted By Michael Grass at 11:55 AM on February 11, 2008 Tagged in Arlington County , Blue Line , Fairfax County , Franconia-Springfield , Free Ride , Metro , News , Orange Line , Planning , Rosslyn , The District , Top Stories , Transit , Virginia , Yellow Line

Comments (0) | Archive