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CriticalStrawberry t1_jcp2zgo wrote

>METRO should make an exception and run on regular weekday hours during marathons all the time. Plus extreme light service for overnight (~1 train an hour).

FTFY

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LoganSquire t1_jcq22zm wrote

Can’t do overnight maintenance if trains are running.

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CriticalStrawberry t1_jcqby1d wrote

With 1 hr frequency? Sure you can. Maintenance is done on live tracks all the time. Maintainers call themselves train dodgers for a reason.

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Cythrosi t1_jcrv11x wrote

Metro has pretty consistently shown they can barely manage with the hours they have for maintenance, and a large part of what got them into a major hole in terms of maintenance in the 2000-2010s era was that the system prioritized more service at the cost of hours to get things done.

There are many maintenance activities that can move at much greater speeds when you can have both tracks down, and it's safer for the workers too. I'd certainly love 24/7 service, but Metro would need a fundamental restructuring of how it operates and how it does maintenance to even make it a remote possibility. The system wasn't built with 24/7 operation in mind.

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DCGinkgo t1_jcsb450 wrote

Exactly. To do real maintenance means a chunk of hours with no trains. DC is not NYC . There is no need for 24/7 subway service. Would there even be bus routes that would support 24/7 demand, have a significant ridership of third shift workers?

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Cythrosi t1_jcsdopk wrote

DC is moving to having some 24/7 bus routes, along with free fares for trips within the District. But those have flexibility in the routes for maintenance on the road, while the rails are harder to do that with.

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Macrophage87 t1_jcta4pd wrote

If we can have quality overnight transit, we might actually get some quality nightlife.

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zelaelaisly t1_jcsoadc wrote

NYC and Chicago do it.

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Macrophage87 t1_jct9z9s wrote

They have more than two rails on most lines and, as such, can shut down one rail without affecting service.

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Gumburcules t1_jcv2wq3 wrote

NYC and Chicago have significantly higher population and density and NYCs MTA is drowning in debt, so much so that they're looking at having to shut down entire subway lines.

Probably not the model we want to follow.

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Nexis4Jersey t1_jd71dzr wrote

I haven't heard of any subway lines being shutdown, they usually threaten to cut low ridership suburban branches.

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metrazol t1_jct6ppx wrote

NYC is fascinating how they do 24hr service. More tracks, more trains, and every model of car is pressure washable, top to bottom, inside and out. I love the old wicker seats, but alas...

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Gumburcules t1_jcv1ren wrote

There simply isn't a good reason to have 24 hour service on the metro.

Even when they had 3am service on weekends only about 1,500 people an hour used it after midnight. On weekdays that would probably be 500 or fewer.

Metro costs over $100,000 an hour to run, and much of that is fixed and doesn't go down running fewer trains - station manager salaries, electricity to the stations, Metro police, etc.

I'm the first person who will tell you that public transit shouldn't be expected to make money, but there's a common sense limit. Spending $200 per passenger to keep a subway running that nobody uses is well over that limit.

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