Something seriously went wrong here....

I don't usually commute via the Red line. But whoa. Watching a press conference. General Manager Catoe seems to be vehement that the trains were not single tracking.

I was in SW DC when this happened (at happy hour!) and was actually in a place with a TV tuned to local news... and around 5:40 Breaking News alerts started coming in.

oddly enough never saw a metro alert that referred to the collision... only "mechanical difficulties" and "a police situation".

Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry

Dear Metro -- what is so hard to understand about this concept??

This is the second time in 3 years that I have been commuting via Metrorail, that your email alert system has sent out vague communication in regards to a MAJOR delay, caused by a derailment.

Exhibit A....back when this happened, Metro sent out alerts warning of delays due to "mechanical difficulties".

Exhibit B... today ... I've been getting alerts (and Tweets!) all morning about "track maintenance".

WMATA.... what can you not understand that in order for commuters to properly plan their "Plan B" you need to describe the situation accurately?? How hard is it?

Fellow DC blogger Metro Man featured this on his blog today...I couldn't help but spread the humor.

The real fun starts @ 3:03 :D

An answer to why no email alerts about Friday's Major Disruptions....(basically they blamed it on technical difficulties).


From: csvc@wmata.com <csvc@wmata.com>
Subject: RE: RAIL ANNOUNCE ORANG
To: XXXXXXX
Date: Monday, September 15, 2008, 1:00 PM

Dear Ms. XXXXXXXX:

Metro¿s Blue-Orange Line Team received your email of concern regarding not
receiving subscribed e-alerts this past Friday, 09/12, morning. I apologize for
the inconvenience of not knowing ahead of time of the delays, which caused you
not to be able to make alternate travel arrangements. Metro experienced a
temporary technical problem with the systems that provide the electronic
messages. The situation was corrected later that morning. We appreciate your
patience and thank you for riding Metro.


Sincerely,
Marjorie Strother
Customer Service Representative
Blue-Orange Line Team
Case number 432186

To speak to a Blue-Orange Line Customer Service Representative for Comments,
Complaints, Suggestions, or Concerns, please call 301 562-4606 weekdays between
the hours of 8:00 am - 5:00pm or email us at blue-orangeline @wmata.com.

Please call 202-637-7000 for trip schedules, fare information, general
information and customer assistance between the hours of 6 a.m. to 10:30 p.m.
Monday through Friday and 7 a.m. to 10:30 p.m. Saturday and Sunday.



**** DISCLAIMER **** "This e-mail and any attachments thereto may contain
information which is confidential and/or protected by intellectual property
rights and are intended for the sole use of the recipient(s) named above. Any
use of the information contained herein (including, but not limited to, total or
partial reproduction, communication or distribution in any form) by persons
other than the designated recipient(s) is prohibited. If you have received this
e-mail in error, please notify the sender either by telephone or by e-mail and
delete the material from any computer. Thank you for your cooperation.

When I arrive at New Carrollton after my MARC ride - there is usually an 8 car train waiting... today it was 6.... I though oh well ... maybe less cars because its Friday. In the rush from the MARC platform to the Metro platform I noticed 1 Bright yellow sign on 1 faregate ( about the size of an 8x11 in piece of paper) that mentioned major delays, and you may want to reconsider swiping your farecard. I didn't think much of it at the time... and proceeded on my way to the train.

Aside - Saw a dude taking up as much space as possible reading newspaper and with his messenger bag sitting on the other seat, this of course was my cue "Excuse me...." And with a huff of exasperation he moved his bag and then sat with his arms crossed... What a baby! LOL!

Anyway I pulled out my book, and started reading....Crackle-Crackle.... "If you have just arrived we have a situation... " I think uh -oh! The Metro guy proceeds to tell us that there is a suspicious package at Benning Road area, and he is only going as far as Minn Ave... where there will be shuttle busses to Stadium-Armory. I check my phone -- no alert from Metro ( which if they had sent one I possibly could have taken MARC all the way into DC) - (its now 8am - still no email alert from Metro)

We are on our way... after Landover, Metro guy announces... we are single tracking (so we switched to the Northbound track) due to a train already at Minn Ave. Ok... then we pull into Cheverly... where people heading into DC are on the opposite side of the track ... Metro guy "Well people are on the other side of the track... guess that's way it goes sometimes.." LOL - everyone on the train laughs!

We get to Minn Ave - Rush to shuttle bus ... (I actually made it in the second one!) While waiting for the shuttle, Not in service bus pulls up... Driver starts shouting I am heading to Deanwood! Everyone around me "Why is the bus going to Deanwood, the trains are running to Deanwood!"

On the shuttle bus... we get cut of by a silver Durango - Metro driver lays on horn... Durango lays on brakes... Shuttle bus riders laugh... this continued for a while.

Arrive at Stadium Armory - go through faregates... which are all labeled with the Yellow Major Delays signs... Train headed for Vienna comes through, I get on, figure out the situation at Benning Road is resolved ... and here I am !

It only took me about 1 hour and 50 minutes to get to work today... could have been worse, But Metro really needs to improve communications!

Sent from my BlackBerry

I was checking my online account this am....$4.25 was deducted for parking.... If I had used the SmarTrip card it would have been $8.25....

what a waste of money for the SmartTrip card. Oh well now I know...

Lesson Learned Metro and SmarTrip suck!!

so I drove to New Carrollton and tried to pay for my parking after happy hour, with my newly purchased SmarTrip card... Denied! i had to pay with a credit card :P


It's probably demagnetized :P

So I woke up this morning, got ready and planned on taking a train that leaves 20 minutes later than what I normally take. As I was ready to head out I checked my BlackBerry and found an email from the MTA that PENN line service was suspended due to a fatality. So off I went to New Carrollton. Traffic was not bad and I actually made good time (I arrived before I would have if I had taken the later MARC train I was aiming for)...

This explains why a helicopter was hovering over the station.

PENN service has resumed.

I can't wait to see how much its costs me to park! ( I don't have a SmarTrip card because my monthly MARC pass includes unlimited Metro trips)

But did they answer my question? Um no!


----Original Message------
From: blue-orangeline@wmata.com

Subject: RE: Wednesday Blue Orange Delays JUly 30 - pm
Sent: Aug 1, 2008 3:35 PM

Dear Ms. XXXXXX:

Metro¿s Blue-Orange Line Team received your email regarding delays encountered on the Orange Line the evening of Wednesday, July 30. I apologize for your inconvenience caused by a mechanical problem with a train at our Clarendon Station, which impacted both directions. Trains shared the same track between Foggy Bottom and Clarendon.

Metro strives to restore service as quickly and safely as possible. We appreciate your patience during this service interruption.

Sincerely,
XXXXXXX
Customer Service Representative
Blue-Orange Line Team
Case number 424092

To speak to a Blue-Orange Line Customer Service Representative for Comments, Complaints, Suggestions, or Concerns, please call 301 562-4606 weekdays between the hours of 8:00 am - 5:00pm or email us at blue-orangeline @wmata.com.

Please call 202-637-7000 for trip schedules, fare information, general information and customer assistance between the hours of 6 a.m. to 10:30 p.m. Monday through Friday and 7 a.m. to 10:30 p.m. Saturday and Sunday.

**** DISCLAIMER **** "This e-mail and any attachments thereto may contain information which is confidential and/or protected by intellectual property rights and are intended for the sole use of the recipient(s) named above. Any use of the information contained herein (including, but not limited to, total or partial reproduction, communication or distribution in any form) by persons other than the designated recipient(s) is prohibited. If you have received this e-mail in error, please notify the sender either by telephone or by e-mail and delete the material from any computer. Thank you for your cooperation."

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
on 2008-07-30-19.01.46.000000

My original email

I would like to know why the decision was made to off- load a blue and an orange (both headed to Vienna/Franconia) at Federal Center SW, then with the doors closed on the orange one
they changed the destination from Vienna to New Carrollton (without
TELLING anyone) and sent it in that direction. The platform was packed, and was only getting worse and would be worse for the next orange train that made it through ( which was at least 15 minutes later). If I had been
able to be on that train, I could have caught my usual MARC train ( as could a bunh of other people trying to catch connections).

Thanks
Michelle XXXXXX

{ See Attached File: Attachment }

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
When responding to this email, please include the following ID number: "[THREAD_ID:390697]" . This will help us serve you better.

Sent from my BlackBerry

;)

(confused? Read this post first...)

Sent from my BlackBerry

(I need an Orange line to New Carrollton train. These are all Blue). :(

Updated - It took me 2 hours to get home. And I blame Metro -- They off loaded a blue and an orange (both going the opposite way I was) at Federal Center SW, then with the doors closed on the orange one they changed the destination from Vienna to New Carrollton (without TELLING anyone) and sent it in the direction I needed. If I had been able to be on that train, I could have caught my usual MARC train. This was all due to a train with mechanical difficulties at Clarendon. I really hope I am never in DC during a mass emergency... I would never get home :(

Sent from my BlackBerry

I have been riding MARC and Metrorail for approx 2.5 years (daily commute wise)... and this is the 2nd or 3rd time I have noticed MARC sends out these type of customer service announcements... (full text will be below) I get them because I am subscribed to the MARC Penn line email alerts.. as I am for orange Metro email alerts... and I have never gotten an apology ( or explanatory message). Not even after the terrible handling of the Orange line derailment many weeks ago (Metro was reporting a Major disruption due to mechanical difficulties..not even close to the real situation... and for a person that needs to transfer to another transportation system you need the most accurate info possible so you can start working on your plan B if needed, I was lucky that a coworker that drives had already left and heard the real story on the radio/WTOP and called) ... the one good thing to come out of that situation was I found this blog :)

MARC's apology/message -

A Message from the MTA Administrator

For the past six weeks on-time performance for MARC Train service has fallen far below what customers expect or deserve. During June Penn Line trains were on-time 81% of the time; Camden Line trains were on-time 63% of the time and Brunswick Line trains were on-time 63% of the time. Although some service disruptions are unavoidable, there were instances where we could have taken actions to reduce the anxiety, frustration and inconvenience that you and your family, friends and colleagues experienced. Specifically, service was disrupted for the following reasons:

• Rising summer temperatures put additional stress on equipment and tracks, increasing the likelihood of failure;
• A severe storm cut power to the track signals and blew down trees along the Brunswick Line, forcing us to cancel service;
• A fuel tanker overturned on I-95 in Baltimore City, causing fire authorities to close the Camden Line;
• Our fleet of diesel locomotives is nearly 40 years old, and despite a major overhaul 10 years ago is increasingly unreliable;
• Electric locomotives used on the Penn Line have been out of service for a scheduled overhaul, requiring us to use the older diesel locomotives instead and
• Persistent reliability problems with our newest electric locomotives.

We are taking immediate corrective steps to regain your confidence in us. I have directed MARC Operations to review and analyze each recent incident with Amtrak and CSX Transportation, and implement measures to reduce this risk of reoccurrences in the future.

Penn Line customers should know that MARC managers communicate with their counterparts at Amtrak on a daily basis to anticipate and address issues that cause service delays. We are also working closely with Amtrak to improve the reliability of the electric locomotives. An overhaul of our four AEM-7 electric locomotives is nearly complete with the first overhauled unit back in service in early August and the second in service by mid-August.

For customers of the Brunswick and Camden lines, you should know that CSX has recently relocated dispatchers from Jacksonville, Florida to Baltimore which should greatly improve the communication and reliability of the service.

As we have previously announced, MTA has awarded a contract for the replacement of the diesel locomotives, and 26 new units will arrive in Maryland at the rate of two a month beginning in early 2009. Maintenance on the existing units will be enhanced to keep them operating safely.

In the mean time, we will continue to provide real-time information about MARC service using our email notification system. You can also see the current location of any train at www.marctracker.com. To further enhance our communication we have initiated a project to replace the public address system at all stations.

As MARC customers, you deserved better -- a lot better! We regret any inconvenience you have experienced and thank you for your continued support of MARC Train. Over the next several days MARC managers will be available at Union Station to monitor the service and answer your questions.

Paul J. Wiedefeld
Administrator