The Goodspeed Update

Metrorail’s relatively new Station Access & Capacity Study provided us the raw data to evaluate how well the Washington region jurisdictions were doing cultivating transit oriented development, but now that summer is here I had more time to go back and investigate it in more detail. The study sought to predict ridership growth and station improvements that may be needed. They concluded ridership will growth to 970,000 daily by 2030, or a 42 percent increase from 2005 to 2030.

The report concludes major changes will be needed to smooth transfers at busy stations and respond to growing peak demand. Here are some of the recommendations:

“Based on an order-of-magnitude analysis, the study identified a list of highest-priority capital improvements, including:

• Farragut North-Farragut West Tunnel: Construct pedestrian tunnel between two stations.
• Farragut North: Add southeast mezzanine-to-platform vertical capacity.
• ƒMetro Center: Add platform-to-platform vertical capacity, possibly by building the Farragut North-Farragut West pedestrian tunnel. Building this tunnel could reduce Orange or Blue Line transfers to the Red Line.
• Gallery Place-Metro Center Tunnel: Construct pedestrian tunnel between two stations.
• ƒGallery Pl-Chinatown: Add platform-to-platform vertical capacity and faregates at the north mezzanine and extend mezzanine between 7th and 9th Street entrances.
• ƒL’Enfant Plaza: Add platform-to-platform vertical capacity, possibly by building the Gallery Place-Metro Center pedestrian tunnel. Building this tunnel could decrease L’Enfant Plaza transfers.
• ƒShady Grove: Add mezzanine-to-platform vertical capacity

Here’s the projected ridership by station in 2030:

And a full summary of where improvements will be needed:

The report is also full of data interesting to people like me. For example, did you know an escalator can handle 90 people per minute?

> Metrorail Station Access & Capacity Study (PDF)