Metro Stands By Decision to Limit Service to Stadium-Armory Station During Construction

The interim general manager of the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority, Jack Requa, defended the decision to limit Orange and Silver line service to the Stadium-Armory Metro Station in a letter to ANC 6B commissioners.

The top Metro official also said he is confident but not certain that full service will return to the station by the end of the year.

The letter, which was sent on Tuesday, is a response to a letter that the ANC sent to WMATA at the beginning of October.

The commissioners’ letter asked for clarification on why Metro chose to limit service and what alternative options were considered. It also called for more regular updates on the construction on the power substations that forced the delays.

Last week, Metro unveiled a webpage that outlines progress on the construction, which began when a fire damaged the substation in September.

In his letter, Requa explained that the service cuts had to be made to limit the amount of electricity required from the damaged substation. Because trains use more electricity when accelerating, Metro made the decision to have less trains stopping and starting at the Stadium-Armory station. He also clarified that WMATA is not considering alternatives to the service cuts.

“We are currently focused on bringing the traction power substation back into service as quickly as possible and are therefore not exploring alternatives to the current service operations,” he said in the letter.

In response to questions about his confidence that construction would be finished by the end of the year, Requa said he is not certain but is confident in that estimate. However, Metro officials won’t know for sure if the construction will finish by the end of the year until they know if the two power line-ups that were only moderately damaged can be salvaged.

Photo via Flickr/NCinDC