Maybe? All images by WMATA.

When Greater Greater Washington was getting started almost 12 years ago, we had a lot of fun making up maps of what the Metrorail network might look like if we just added a few lines, or a lot. We’ve done this a lot less more recently, because while it’s fun, new Metrorail lines are very expensive and just drawing lines on a map doesn’t factor in what professional planners need to think about.

That doesn’t mean Metro hasn’t had its own proposals for expansion over the years, like a loop around downtown DC. It also considered and rejected various ideas. These more-serious fantasy maps show networks that could solve major Metro capacity bottlenecks and are thus more practical, though still often far from being a reality.

Now, Metro has six potential concepts for what could solve its most thorny problem: cramming trains from the Blue, Orange, and Silver lines through the tunnel at Rosslyn. All lines have to share a maximum of 26 trains per hour going through the tunnel, significantly limiting the frequency of trains that can be on any line. WMATA estimates these lines will get 40,000 more rides per day by 2040, making the segments around Rosslyn go from quite crowded now to extremely crowded.

Therefore, Metro has embarked on a study of potential options to deal with this. Now, they have some ideas for riders to weigh in on. These range from fairly modest to pretty ambitious. The agency would like rider input and will start narrowing down the ideas to come up with an actual recommendation for what to do about its Blue/Orange/Silver bottleneck problem.

1. Turn around some trains

The simplest approach would be to turn some of the Silver Line trains around instead of running them the whole length.

If some Silver trains don’t go all the way to Rosslyn and DC, they could still provide service in Loudoun and Fairfax and people going farther east could transfer to Orange.

I discussed these options, which originally arose in a 2016 study, in more depth here. These options could happen in about five years for relatively low(er) cost, but don’t add capacity on the rail system.

2. Keep the Blue Line in Virginia

Instead of the Silver Line turning around, the Blue Line could stay in Virginia and not go into the Rosslyn tunnel, making room for more frequent Orange and Silver trains.

The idea of a separate terminal station for the Blue Line has been around for a while. A second sub-option is for the Blue Line to loop around, stop at a new Rosslyn station with a transfer to the existing one, and then merge into the tracks toward Court House. These could happen in five-10 years for a “medium” amount of cost, according to the study.

3. Separate the Blue Line in DC

The Blue Line could stop at a second Rosslyn station and then take its own tunnel under the Potomac. From there, it could run along the northern edge of downtown, to Union Station, and then on to the east into Prince George’s County. This basic idea was something Metro had been suggesting decades ago and was part of the earliest “fantasy maps” we did on GGWash.

Alternately, it could turn up Wisconsin Avenue and connect to the Red Line. According to the study documents, this would reach high-density areas not served by Metro on DC’s west side, but wouldn’t serve all of the travel needs for people using the lines now. (Also, it’s highly questionable if adding such a line would spur any new development and likely is far less of an equitable use of funds than lines that go farther east.)

4. Do the loop

This was Metro’s recommendation as of about 2013. Blue and Yellow trains could come into DC, then loop around and go back south. The loop would hit Georgetown, Shaw, Union Station, the Capitol Riverfront (ballpark area) and Southwest.

This, the separate Blue Line, and the below Silver options would take 20-25 years and are very expensive. Another benefit of this loop is it also separates the Yellow from Green lines, allowing for more Green Line service. It’s especially benefit areas like around the Waterfront and Navy Yard areas which have grown rapidly but have less frequent Green service today. However, it doesn’t go to Maryland at all.

5. A whole new northern Silver Line

Instead of merging with Orange, the Silver Line could take its own path from West Falls Church or McLean into DC and the north edge of downtown. Or, it could go farther out of the way to Bethesda or Friendship Heights and then cut down through DC (though that doesn’t hit as many job centers).

6. A more southern Silver Line

A final set of options would have Silver cross Orange at West Falls Church, then keep going farther south, maybe along Route 7 and then Columbia Pike, corridors with a lot of potential for transit-oriented development. From the Pentagon area, the Silver trains could head through DC, such as past Waterfront and Navy Yard and then across the Anacostia River, or they could turn south on the Blue/Yellow corridor (but, wouldn’t this then cause crowding at Pentagon City and to the south?)

Give your thoughts

What do you think? Post in the comments below. After you’ve done that, you can tell Metro your thoughts using their online survey or at one of four open houses along the Silver Line route in Virginia, DC, and Maryland.

After that, Metro planners will narrow down the options in 2020. While it’s fun to think about long new Metro lines, it’s at least a long way off and likely quite expensive. On the other hand, the only way big transportation projects happen is by starting with a study showing they’re a good idea, which this could do.

It will also be really important to understand the relative equity impacts of these options. While this study’s purpose is to look primarily at the bottleneck issue, any option would be a large capital expense, and whatever is chosen should not just fix the bottleneck but do more for larger regional priorities like addressing the region’s east-west divide and creating a more equitable transportation system.

What would you pick?