Metro eyes 12am weekend closures

By Luke Rosiak

Two critical issues have pressed Metro leaders to make tough decisions: How to close a $72 million budget shortfall and how to get the system up to a "state of good repair."

Riders are inconvenienced by trains with malfunctioning doors, failing heat or cooling systems, stations with falling ceiling tiles or decaying platforms, and single-tracking caused by cracked rails and other malfunctions.

But they've also been inconvenienced by track work that has shut large segments of the system entirely on holiday weekends, and caused single-tracking on a steady basis during the day. Metro has introduced its most significant weekend repair schedule ever this year, causing unprecedented shut-downs.

One possible solution floated at board committee hearings today? Closing the system at midnight instead of 3 a.m. on weekends, which would give mechanics time to work on equipment during off hours, as well as save money.

Metro deputy general manager Dave Kubicek said if Metro closes at midnight on Friday and Saturday instead of at 3 a.m. it could gain the equivalent of 45 days a year for track work, the Post's Ann Scott Tyson reports.

Smaller systems, such as Boston's T, close at midnight on the weekends. But Metro shuttles thousands of riders around the city and to the far suburbs at night, including intoxicated revelers for whom driving is not an option, as well as service workers, some of whom must work late hours and cannot afford other forms of transportation.

Metro trains first began running after midnight in 1999, when the system's hours were extended to 1 a.m. "At the time, Metro had the earliest closing time among the nation's major transit systems, and the move was celebrated as a sign that button-down Washington was getting a shade hipper," as an August 2007 Washington Post story put it.

The 1 a.m. closing slowly crept to 3 a.m. with the encouragement of businesses. The 2007 story ran because then-general manager John Catoe mulled dealing with a budget crisis that year by replacing late-night rail service with buses.

In May 2006, the average after-midnight ridership on weekends was 22,376 trips, which rose slightly the following May, averaging 23,184 trips per weekend. Nearly half of those riders boarded trains between midnight and 1 a.m.

D.C. Councilmember Jim Graham, who represented the District on Metro's board, fought to preserve late-night service in the past. But he departed the board at the end of last year.

Where do you stand?

Tweet Given financial constraints and the need for rapid repairs, how essential is late service? Is there room for a compromise, like a 2 a.m. closing? Chime in on the comments section or on Twitter by using #metrocurfew.

@washingtonpost #metrocurfew is AWFUL. So many people rely on metro go get home from late night adventures! Ashley Chandler

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Just when I thought @wmata couldn't get any worse, they propose a #metrocurfew. Awesome. @unsuckdcmetro Laurie Montanus

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