DC Metro Shutting Down for at least 29 Hours
 

In case anyone is in the DC and environs and planning on taking the metro. "The entire Metrorail system will shut down for at least 29 hours starting at midnight tonight for safety checks of electric cables..."
https://www.washingtonpost.com/local...d=ss_fb-bottom

This has the potential to be somewhat chaotic for tourists!

Yup & all the 100,000's who use it for commuting.

Uber drivers will have a field day.

Metro, which has mostly been a great system, has pooped the bed far too often in the last few years. Safety first.

<i>This has the potential to be somewhat chaotic for tourists!</i>

It will feel just like European countries when the transit workers strike.

"Metro, which has mostly been a great system," hmm, we must have VERY different experiences.

DC Circulator will likely get a lot of business and yes, Uber will have a field day. They are probably counting their $$s already.

I don't think it will be as chaotic for commuters because they are well aware of all the options available. And many will opt to stay home, if they can. Surely the government will go to liberal leave?

<i>"Metro, which has mostly been a great system," hmm, we must have VERY different experiences.</i>

Yes, apparently we do have different experiences. I live in Foggy Bottom.

Good for Uber drivers.

Just spoke to my daughter who lives in VA, works in DC. She can work from home, but Federal employees have certain rules for giving advance notice to do so - all are hoping this rule will be suspended for the day.

This coming weekend is predicted to be beginning of peak cherry blossoms. If even half the tourists that were waving selfie sticks near me last year try to rent cars and drive, anyone local to DC area has my sympathies.

You're closer to downtown. Red line rider - lots of issues over the years.

I was in DC when Metro first opened, and for another 20 or so years after that, and it always had a lot of maintenance issues. I thought it had to do with the funding stream, the way it's divided between the three jurisdictions.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/local...mepage%2Fstory

This is too inside baseball for the average tourist, but I found the post mortem on the emergency closure interesting, and scary. The takeaway: Metro is a troubled organization that identified serious safety failures, but now has a new General Manager determined to make safety a priority. The problem, of course, will be funding, and changing a culture that discourages employees from reporting safety concerns.

How did you all do? Was it a mess?

I had to go to Union Station for Amtrak. We left with time to spare, after rush hour, and it wasn't too bad. However friends having to drive in rush hour said it was a nightmare. Lots of people did telecommute, but the metro carries 700,000 or so. The metro has been problematic from the start. I hope this new GM will make headway in correcting systemic issues.