Fun fact: There are actually more of these on the Silver Line. There’s an evening rush hour service that terminates at Dulles, and there’s also another one late at night, one of the last departures, that starts at East Falls Church and ends at Ashburn.
Yep. I've taken the 'Non-Rev' EFC silver line train a lot. If you get to Metro Center at closing time [12:07am on weekdays] -- They tell you to take the Orange Line Train to Vienna (which waits for the final red line trains to arrive at Metro Center) and get off at East Falls Church. There is a train waiting, out of service on the other track. Once the Orange line departs, the out of service train crosses over and becomes a Silver Line train to Ashburn.
@@Thom-TRA True, just wanted to point it out. I also want to say one time on a weekday recently I saw there was a yellow line train heading up to Greenbelt for whatever reason, there was no maintenance work going on for either line, so I took it up to Greenbelt to see why, and after I got out, it went right into the depot afterward which was interesting.
@@DMVRailfan well sometimes they do that i think either to make up for hindered green line service or for storage purposes in either the Greenbelt Rail Yard or Alexandria Rail Yard. Ofc from April 2019-September 2022, it did run to Greenbelt all the time but sadly cut it back months later in May 2023. Hopefully it comes back soon though cause the Yellow to me is much more useful when it does go to Greenbelt with the green and it serves all 3 jurisdictions rather than 2/3
New York City has several subway service patterns that aren’t on the map. 1. Two and a half N trains per hour during the rush hour period stay on the express track after 34th St-Herald Square and run to/from 96th Street on the Second Avenue Subway because of terminal capacity constraints in Astoria (which can only turn 15 trains per hour due to poor switch layout) and to provide extra service to the Second Avenue. 2. One R train during the morning rush period switches to the express track at 57th St-7th Ave and runs on the Second Avenue Subway to 96th St, to provide extra Second Avenue service. In the peak direction, it returns as an extra Q train. 3. Three E trains per hour during the rush hour period continue on the Queens Boulevard Line after Briarwood and run to/from Jamaica-179th St, an extremely efficient terminus (can turn upwards of 60 trains per hour), because of capacity constraints at Jamaica Center (can only turn 12 trains per hour due to poor switch location) and to provide limited express service along the Hillside Ave corridor 4. Two F trains run as express trains in the peak direction during the rush hour period between Jay St-MetroTech and Church Ave (helpful for my commute) on the Culver Line to provide limited express service for South Brooklyn. Additionally, a reverse-peak direction F train during the morning rush hour period switches to the express track at Smith-9th Sts, and terminates on the express track at Church Ave to provide additional service to Park Slope without causing congestion. 5. Half of F trains short turn at Kings Hwy due to terminal capacity constraints at Coney Island (can only turn 10 trains per hour due to signaling and poor switch location) 6. Half of 5 trains in Brooklyn during the rush hour period continue along the Eastern Pkwy express tracks and run to/from Crown Heights-Utica Ave to avoid congestion at Flatbush Ave-Brooklyn College (can only turn 24 trains per hour due to bumper blocks) and the at-grade Rogers Junction. 7. Half of 5 trains in the Bronx during the rush hour period continue along the White Plains Rd line to Nereid Ave to provide extra service along the high-demand corridor. 8. Some 5 trains begin/end at Bowling Green during rush hours to provide extra service to the Bronx. 9. Some 5 trains begin/end at 180th St at the beginning/end of the rush hour period in order to get trains to/from the yard. These trains also may run express in the reverse-peak direction. 10. Some 5 trains continue along the express track and end at Gun Hill Rd at the end of the morning rush hour period for yard access. 11. Two 5 train trips begin at New Lots Ave on the New Lots line and continue along that line and the Eastern Pkwy Line to Atlantic Ave for yard access. The first one runs local, the second one runs express. 12. Eleven 4 trains run express from 167th St to Burnside Ave and short-turn there at the end of the rush-hour period to enable easier yard access. 13. Some 4 trains towards the beginning/end of the late night period only run local in Brooklyn, and some others only run local between Franklin Ave and Utica Ave. 14. Some 4 trains begin/end at Bowling Green to allow more Bronx service. 15. Some 4 express trains begin/end at New Lots Ave for easier yard access. 16. Some (6) local trains run express from Hunts Point Ave to Parkchester at the end of the rush hour period, while some express trains run local from Parkchester to Hunts Point Ave. This is for easier yard access. 17. Some (7) local trains begin/end at 111th St or Mets-Willets Point for easier yard access and avoiding congestion at Flushing-Main St. 18. Some A trains at the beginning/end of the late night period only run local in Brooklyn. 19. Some E/F trains at the beginning/end of the late night period only run local east of Roosevelt Ave. 20. Northbound R trains short-turn at Queens Plaza after 9:30 PM so they can be laid up on the northbound express track. 21. Some R trains begin service at 36th St during the afternoon rush hour period. 22. Two W trains begin service at 86th St on the Sea Beach Line and run via the line, the Fourth Avenue Line local tracks, and the Montague St Tunnel into Manhattan. Three W trains are extended to 86th St. This is for yard access. 23. Some J trains begin/end at Broadway Junction to provide extra service to Williamsburg. 24. Northbound D and N trains stop running express in Brooklyn as early as 7:00 PM to accommodate work trains. In order to prevent a service meltdown, some D trains terminate on the Culver platforms at Coney Island and run express along the Culver Line and the Rutgers St Tunnel without passengers to Broadway-Lafayette St, where they begin service on the local track. They then switch to the express track and run normally. 25. One Franklin Avenue Shuttle train terminates on the southbound local track instead of the northbound local track. This is presumably for easier yard access. 26. Select 2 trains run to/from New Lots Avenue (via the New Lots line) for easier yard access. 27. During the summer, Rockaway Park Shuttle trains are extended to Rockaway Boulevard and run full-length trains. 28. Some L trains begin at E 105 St for yard access. 29. Some L trains short-turn at Myrtle-Wyckoff Aves for extra Williamsburg service. 30. Some F trains begin at Ave X in the morning rush hour period for yard access. 31. Some 1 trains begin/end at 137th St or 237th St for yard access. 32. Many Staten Island Railway trains run express to Great Kills in the afternoon rush and from New Dorp in the morning rush without stopping. Local trains short-turn at Great Kills. 33. (Extra) Prior to July 2024, a B train used to short-turn at 145th St and run light and loop through the 207th St yard and return as an A train to provide extra service.
@@Bombardier2199 Don't be obtuse and try following along. What our friend is saying is that the D.C. Metro is not the only transit system that runs train services that are not on any maps.
@@mikemainer3009 That’s not the point of my comment, now let me be acute for you. New York doesn’t have to be the only city to have a subway that has services that aren’t shown on the map. All I was saying is some of what he stated doesn’t exactly go with what is being presented in the video.
Two points: 1) Blue/Yellow hybrids were also common. Trains from Franconia/Springfield along blue and then heading up the yellow tracks to Mount Vernon Square (and some extended all the way to Greenbelt). They aren't regularly scheduled since COVID. The Blue/Yellow hybrid was useful way to get people from a basketball/hockey game at the arena to Franconia without a transfer and was sometimes called the Blue line shortcut. 2) I think more of these trains should be scheduled. Three terminals on the west and two terminals on the east for the BL/OR/SV trains means that Largo will be overloaded. Ideally, half of every BL/OR/SV trains will go to Largo and half to New Carrolton. The color can be used to distinguish between Virginia terminals, but people need to carefully read the desitination (NC or Largo) to determine which train to take for any station east of Stadium-Armory.
One of the downsides of the DC Metro being so new and so uniform is the lack of strange and unusual service patterns. It's always interesting and entertaining to see the few oddities
Yeah, it’s nowhere as wacky as New York for example. It’s why I like weekend construction: chances to film the announcements announcing weird destinations!
As an operations planner such moves are a daily thing for me, so I kind of fail to get the amazement out of it.^^ Great video though! In Germany we normally number lines - but such special moves often just get the letter "E" to signal its not following a normal line, but just goes to the destination shown by the quickest possible way.
@@Thom-TRA To clarify I meant this referring to the thumbnail with "secrets" or "ghost train"... Its a yard movement, like necessary railway operation basics. Nonetheless cool if you find out about this stuff - or come up with it yourself. ;)
@@GT670DN it’s not “just a yard move.” And creating a title like that helps peak people’s interest into something they might not have thought about. I really don’t understand what point you’re trying to make here. It all feels extremely arrogant.
Fun part is that during special events you can also catch a Blue Line train from Nationals Park to Franconia-Springfield! Did it several times as a kid when my father would take me to watch Nats games...gods I miss the times back then.
As usual, I found this an informative video! Now, I know about the only non-Orange Line Metro trips to New Carrolton, as well as why the Blue and Orange Lines used to be the same. Also, this reminds me of the unusual San Diego Trolley routes you can find on the MTS Route Planner, which cannot be found on most other places: 1. two Orange Line trolleys skip Courthouse station (the usual western terminus) to end at America Plaza, which is otherwise reserved for the Blue Line and for Silver Line heritage trolleys (kind of like what you described in DC!) 2. three early-morning Green Line trains on Sundays only go as far east as Stadium station, before heading back downtown 3. a Blue Line train in the afternoon begins at UCSD Health La Jolla station at 4:14 PM (instead of UTC Transit Center, the usual northern terminus for half of the Blue Line trips, though the other half end at America Plaza), and ends at Santa Fe Depot at 4:44 PM (instead of San Ysidro, the usual southern terminus) 4. the last two Blue Line trips of the night begin at UTC and end at 12th & Imperial instead of San Ysidro, presumably to access the yards (again, similar to what is described in DC) Thanks for the video!
@@Thom-TRA, good question! I haven't had the opportunity to ride the Copper Line yet (which is ironic, since I was the one that made the Copper Line Wikipedia article to begin with). Maybe in the future, I should do so! In fact, if I _do_ ride the Copper Line, I might make a video about it, similar to one you would make. Thanks for asking!
The older 3000 and retired 2000 series trains sometimes have that electrical problem where the lights go out. Also, the train operators on those old trains are supposed to make station stop announcements, but they don't always do so. Once the 8000 series arrive in 2025 or 2026, the 3000 series will be retired
I live in Zurich, Switzerland, and the nearest tram stop also happens to be a (non-terminus!) depot. And indeed, near the beginning and end of service each day, “irregular” services run out and in as trams leave the depot and return at the end of the day. The line number used is always whatever regular line that tram will be running all day long - Zurich trams never change line number during the day. So that means that I will see trams coming and going whose lines don’t appear on the station signage (or timetables, though the digital departure signs and apps do show them).
Nice video! I rode the SV to New Carrollton from Loudoun Gateway once (originating at Ashburn), back when that train existed. I think the weirdest train I’ve been on was a westbound train originating at Ballston this past June!
Well we were gonna take the Metro to Union Station to get a Penn Line train, but once we found out there was a SV to New Carrollton we just got on at New Carrollton instead!
I haven't even watched yet but I'm so glad you're making a video about this, sometimes when I'm taking metro home from work at King St, I see blue line to New Carrollton and I'm always so confused
I didn’t know there would be some dc metro trains that aren’t on a map just because they may have to run differently. It kind of reminds me of when some CTA train displays have the wrong color line and destination when it’s not on the same one. I’ve seen that there in Chicago and on some TH-cam videos.
I think having trains which can run in all lines in the system is a wonderful thing. The operating organization can manage train schedules more flexibly. Unfortunately, that is not the case for tons of cities. I heard that some railway companies in Japan even have lines with different gauges!(I think it was Kintetsu, the company based in the Kansai region)
Yes, there are Japanese railways with different gauges. Even JR East has standard and narrow gauge. I personally much prefer systems that have dedicated fleets for each line myself, but operationally I understand the advantages.
Some fun facts I thought of from your comment - London has 2 gauges in the Tube, even noted by distinct train shapes. Conversely, Chicago has just one gauge, with all lines set with some connection point (including hidden ones outside of the Loop) that allows moves across the system, as well as some diversions.
Cleveland is planning to have hybrid rapid transit-style runs when the new rapid trains come in a few years’ time. In addition to Windermere-Airport, Green Road-Waterfront and Van Aken & Warrensville-Waterfront, there could possibly be Windermere-Waterfront, Airport-Waterfront, Green Road-Airport and Van Aken & Warrensville-Airport.
That's a good idea during rush hour. It could reduce connecting traffic during the rush hour. Keep up the great videos Thom! I need to find an excuse to fly into Dulles Airport one day. It's better than taking the Washington Flyer via Falls Church.
In San Francisco, the N-Judah inbound will sometimes switch at Duboce+Church to become an outbound J-Church train. Probably to get to the yards at the end of the J line.
In and around Mainz, there are many irregular service which may or may not be done for shunting. Some highlights: - The RB33 (Mainz - Bad Kreuznach) has service one pattern to and from Worms. Keep in mind that there exist no regular train between Ingelheim (between Bad Kreuznach and Mainz) and Worms and the interchange between the current trains (from S6 to RB27 or RB33) just sucks. Currently suspended because of the Riedbahn closure. - The RB33 also has trains to Frankfurt so you have one line with irregular through service. Notably, the train is coupled with an RB31 train (Mainz-Alzey) so you have one train with two different route numbers (this isn't too unusual in the RMV region but they are to this line) and it uniquely also skips the airport. The RB33 doesn't make any return trips, however, and two separate RB31 trains run instead, both which do drive over the airport. - There also exist an RB44 train between Mainz and Worms. The RB44 historically ran between Mainz and Mannheim before it was turned into the VRN S6. The sole exception is one train at morning which runs from Worms to Mainz. It incidentally is run by the same company which runs the RB33 (vlexx) unlike the S6 (DB), though it also means it's a diesel train under overhead wires. Currently suspended because of the Riedbahn closure.
There is a small layover facility just beyond the Largo Station. It's not a major yard and maintenance facility, but the two tracks go undergound where they split into a third pocket track like the turning track used at Silver Spring, Mt. Vernon Square, Franconia Springfield etc. Metro can store, move and deadhead trains between the other railyards as needed.
@@Thom-TRA I agree. The closest station to my brother is Franconia Springfield so anytime I use the Metro to get back and forth, I noticed the Blue Line tends to get the least amount in terms of frequency in between Stadium Aromory and Rosslyn with Orange and Silver getting most of the sevice. Twelve minutes isn't too bad but it could be better. I do have to wonder where most Blue Line on the Maryland side originate in the morning for the beginning of service. Largo has those trail tracks so you could use those but the what about the rest? Would you have to wait till they cycle from the Alexandria Yard in Virginia and make their way to Maryland 🤔. The logistics behind those moves sorta tie into your video. If WMATA had a full timetable that showed all their scheduled trains, you could see where they originate, the direction and where they're going, then plug in the nearby yard or facility and connect the dots.
A new TRA video is always welcome, especially one with a well researched and presented Thom-Talk. This one met the well researched and presented criteria but left me confused about its teaching point. My DC transit experience is limited to standing around on a Union Station platform while crews change the Cardinal’s engine from diesel to electric and vice versa. I’ve not ventured further into DC, other than to a nearby hotel, so I am not certain what story you were telling me, but you told it well.
GREAT Video …. Makes a lot of sense. I think. And those newer cars are certainly smooth. Thanks for brining me back “home.” I will only be un-confused for a little while…until I get back to DC!
Portland does this with all of its start and end of service runs. Until recently, every train either started or ended its day as the Blue Line (but now the Red Line also has a direct yard connection). They sign it differently though, a Green Line train will stay signed as the Green Line with an odd destination until it hits the shared section. They even do this with some of their buses
NYC has a similar thing with it's rush hour services, mainly on the IRT lines like the (2) line where it terminates at New Lots Avenue during Rush Hours, mostly for Yard Access.
Chicago has something similar called: "Ravenston" it where a brown line (Ravenwood) turns into a purple line (Evenston) - or vice versa in the downtown loop area. It can also happen with the Orange line (Midway) to either brown or purple. It common to move rolling stock within revenue service - different from the blue and pink changes where the train is "out of service" between those lines.
@@Thom-TRA Rarely but sometimes during rush hours when the brown line runs out of trains due to scheduled work on trainsets. Orange to brown sometimes occurs since one of the shops is the "heavy shop" which does full tear down for metal fatigue testing. What would be cool is a pink line train turning into a brown line train.
I want to say the Ravenston service went away after the Brown Line got expanded to 8-car service back in…2009-ish? Orange-Brown was done as a capacity boost when Kimball yard was full and the Brown needed extra AM peak service. They wouldn’t run one in service when it’s a shop move for heavy overhaul.
Interesting topic and you covered it, as always, flawlessly! In Chicago, there are occasional unusual runs as well. The days when the Douglas branch was a branch off the Congress (Forest Park) line live on, as you have documented, in occasional Forest Park line trains that terminate for revenue service at Racine, then run out of service onto the Pink Line to reverse direction. They carry the unusual green/yellow marker lights (green was the color of the Douglas branch). And I have read about something called the Ravenston, a contraction of Ravenswood and Evanston, but I don't know more about the details.
My understanding is that some Evanston (purple) expresses would go around the loop and turn into Ravenswood (brown) trains going to Kimball. This would supplement the then overloaded Ravenswood trains. The reverse would also happen. Not sure when this would happen, but I assume it was on the “shoulders “ of the rush/peak hour. Not sure if it still happens…
@@jmharper60 which direction around the Loop would these “Ravenston” L-trains go? Would they switch to the “Kimball” destination sign, the moment they went south of the Merchandise Mart?
@ I’m not sure how it worked. I know this was a thing when the brown line was getting overcrowded, before the project to extend the platforms for 8-car trains. Not sure how long it lasted of if they still do it today.
Wow! It is very unusual fact about this "special" trains. The same situation I saw in London Underground in 2016, when District and Metropolitan several trains in early morning and in late evening had their own schedule and unique route, which had unusual destinations. The reason was the same - trains run to/from depot (yard) and provide additional transport option for passengers, especially in periods with high interval (20 minutes or so). In Moscow we also had the same situation, because of regular yard train runs. It was in line 8A when this service started operation (in 2014), it was just two station shuttle with one train and one operational track (between "Park Pobedy" and "Delovoy Center"). So it was served by train from "Izmailovo" depot which is situated in line 3 and this train followed from "Partizanskaya" station (near to "Izmailovo" depot) to "Park Pobedy" with passengers as ordinary 3 line train and then just turned to 8A line. Train to depot used to do the same but in the reverse order ((8A) then (3) and finally depot). There were announcements in trains and destination signs also depicted this route and some stations were equipped by schedule of this "special" service. 8A became double-tracked and was extended to "Ramenki" in 2017, so the new train depot "Soncevo" for 8A line started operation in 2018 with another line extension. And "special" thought-line route ceased operation after 4 years. One more unusual "special" route was in line 2 and 11 ("Kahovskaya" line)... it was very twisted story. Firstly, when line 2 was expanded to the south of Moscow in 1969, three stations "Kashirskaya", "Varshavskaya" and "Kahovskaya" was included. Metro-depot "Zamoskvoretskoe" was opened near "Varshavskaya". Then in 1984 line 2 was extened futher in south, so trains started running from "Kashirskaya" to "Orehovo" as well. Trains ran from the city center to "Kashirskaya", where line splited in two branches the first one to "Kahovskaya" and the second one followed to "Orehovo". In 1995 to increase capacity and to reduce intervals from 3 to 1,5 minutes in section between "Kashirskaya" and "Orehovo" branch service was reorganized in two separated lines. The segment "Kashirskaya"-"Orehovo" (with several stations) stayed as a part of line 2, and the branch "Kashirskaya"-"Varshavskaya"-"Kahovskaya" converted in separate line 11. Now there was not all day throught-line train services and was cross-platform interchange. But, trains from and to "Zamoskvoretskoe" depot still ran with passengers in "Kashirskaya"-"Varshavskaya" segment of line 11 to continue their run to line 2 or return to the depot. There was announcements, destination signs and schedule in platforms. These "specials" ran from 1995 to 2019, until 11 ("Kahovskaya" line) closed to reconstruction into second metro circle line ("Bolshaya Kolcevaya" line). Now "Zamoskvoretskoe" depot doesn't serve line 2, so there are no "special" trains at Moscow at all... Also, there are technical opportunity to organize "special" train between "Bulvar Dmitriya Donskogo" and "Chertanovskaya" stations because now this segment uses for throught run trains to/from depot "Varshavskoe" in line 9 to/from line 12 (this is primarely elevated line with ordinary rolling stock but with smaller number cars per train - so called "light metro"). But "special" trains runs with no passengers and ordinary trains of line 9 the only transport option in this line segment. I think the key point of "no pax" service for special trains between "Bulvar Dmitriya Donskogo" and "Chertanovskaya" stations is that "light metro" (12) line trains are shorter then ordinary trains of line 9 because of smaller number of cars, so it could be uncomfortable and even unsafe for passengers which could run on the platform to catch "light metro" train, this situation also may leed to higher boarding time and to disrupt 1,5 minute intervals.
The Blorange eras and the Greenbelt express are very interesting quirks. It just doesn't look like there's a switch at Farragut North (at least not anymore) and the red line connections to have to be used carefully (Besides, it has a yard at both ends, there can't be many things that can ONLY be done at Greenbelt or Shady Grave that Dulles, New Carrollton, Alexandria, Branch Av, or Glenmont can't)
I wish these were scheduled, they could really help in speedruns of the system... Also, I think that more of these should honestly be implemented to some capacity, you could have the OR and SV switching destinations? It would probably cause more inconvenience than create convenienc... Anyways, great video.
Welcome to think about it Chicago had a combination Brown orange. They were lines or trains that operated in the rush hours and what would happen is an orange line would enter the loop going northbound I think and then it would turn into a brown line. And then you had Brown line trains that would circle South on Wells East on Van Buren and go back out as orange line. And sometimes we've had shuttle services or other deviations were orange and brown lines were combined for reasons like service and track improvements. So the train would go from Kimball down onto the loop via lake and Wabash and out as an orange line. It was bi-directional. And actually I was pretty neat when that would happen.
Great video. This an interesting aspect of Metrorail that I never knew aboout. Glad they can use this bring more capacity and frequenies to riders. I've always found WMATA to be one the easiest to use systems I've ridden.
I once had a weird trimet max run in the mid day it left Hillsborough as a blue line and when it arrived at beaverton transit centre it turned into a red line to Portland international airport via Portland city centre it often happens because there is only 2 yards for the whole Max system you might get a green line from beaverton, that says to Clackamas or a blue line to rose quarter and turn into a yellow/orange to expo centre
in SF there is only one tram line not on the map and that would be the S Caltrain station shuttle line. if you are referring to two colored lines coming together, then TrIMet Red line can have a tendency to do that.
Do you know if blue line trains going to New Carrolton that are 7000 series display Special, or do they just show the Blue line to New Carrolton route? Last time I rode the Blorange line home one night in 2023 it was just displayed as “special”
I was just in DC and really impressed with the metro. Clean, fast and good frequencies. Though a bit expensive compared to other systems. Question: on Silver Line just before Herndon Station there is a siding on the north side of the tracks and east of the station platform. What I found unusual is it has no third rail. So what is it used for and why does it not have a power supply? It seems to dead end on the freeway asphalt so I wondered if it is for loading trains into the line from trucks.
Cool video Thom! I want to visit Arlington Cemetery now to see that lower level mezzanine. I don't think I'll be getting up early enough for the 5:30am Silange/Oranver train. haha Is that Thom-ception at 13:04 of you filming a train while someone is filming you filming a train? When did we get a Sea Foam Green 1 car train? (is that a track maintenance/money train?) Thanks for sharing this stuff with us!
There were periods in the pre-Silver-Line era when they switched the east ends of the Orange and Blue lines for some service, and there were versions of the Metro map that actually reflected that. I think it was direction-dependent, so the eastern branches were indicated with a half-orange/half-blue line with directional arrows. Now, it seems like describing the service is too conditional and complex for it to be handled that way.
In Toronto the TTC does some similar things with the streetcars. It's common practice for streetcars to go to and from the yard in service signed into the route they are going to be on for the day or when they return to the yard. Although sometimes they will be signed as not in service and won't make stops. If they are in service you can sometimes see some very long and interesting routes as they have to go across various parts of the streetcar network to get to the route.
@@Thom-TRA I have yet to hear what the real air whistle or horn is like. In Philadelphia the Market Street subway trains have a hoot sound similar to the air whistle hoot sound of the Broad Street subway trains that I rode on 45 years ago. They were the original subway trains that ran there in 1928 and the 1938 latter models too.
There are some non-normal services on the London District Line, nearly all at each end of the day, connecting branch ends that usually would need a change at Earls Court. Some Circle Line services go out further east than usual onto the District. This is done mostly for stock positioning.
@@Thom-TRA Speaking of Lights Out: I once saw a 7000-Series Train (Railcar Number: #7591), and the lights inside were completely off. The other railcar's functionality is doing just fine when the doors are opening on the left-hand side, except for Railcar Number #7591. #7591's doors did not open at all. Maybe there was an issue with the voltage maybe? #7591's destination sign is functioning just fine, though. Have you ever seen Railcar Number #7591 from the 7000-Series Train, Thom?
I’ve seen something similar happen in Boston. idk if this counts but, I’ve seen Cleveland Circle or BC trains that don’t usually start until Government Center start at Medford/Tufts.
It doesn't really matter what your inbound train is called if it stays on the line it's supposed to be on while in the downtown area. For example, in NYC terms, if for whatever reason trains to/from Brooklyn use the Montague Street tunnel instead of the Manhattan Bridge (or vice versa) but pick up their regular run at Canal St./DeKalb Av., pretty much nobody's fussed TOO much since the only difference will be a few more/fewer minutes and a few more/fewer stops. So, at the extremity of the line, a train coming from the "wrong" terminal might just be "You won't need to change" and an outbound train in the non-peak direction is, "Who cares, it did its job hauling people downtown on its regular run." Doesn't SEPTA regional rail, with all the through-running capability, sometimes do what WMATA is doing here with Metro?
When I was younger I remember coming home from a nationals game and it being really cold since it was late September, and even tho the train said it was terminating at Huntington, the operator came on at king street and said that it was now terminating at Franconia Springfield, and we just had to wait on the platform at king street for the next Huntington train. this was on a Saturday night at like 11. I’m not sure why this happened
@@Thom-TRAthe train rebooted and switched to Orange to Vienna, but the signs in the stations still said silver to Ashburn. I only rode until Farragut North, so I'm not sure what the end result was
The Chicago L had something like this. Pre-pandemic, some Brown and Orange Line trains would be combined into one train. It's nicknamed both the "Brownge" Line or the Tiger Line (I like this name a lot). They did this because there wasn't enough brown line trains to facilitate enough demand so some Orange Line trains would be borrowed by making one long trip from Midway to Kimball. They stopped doing this regularly after all the pandemic service reduction but I've heard the Tiger Line has made a come back for special events like the Pride Parade or Lollapalooza.
@@Thom-TRA Update: It's back! The Brown and Orange Line revised their service earlier this month and the Tiger Line is back on the timetables for morning rush hour.
I thought 🤔 it my be the new Carrollton had a silver line but it will be the same as the orange line in New Carrollton station. I am still interested how two station of the Blue line is closed but i had no idea how that happened but thanks 😊
Just wondering are you gonna make a video about the purple line construction. I checked it out a little in college park but that was a while back I wanna know how it’s gonna be ran and how much progress has been made.
I've been living in Miami Most of my life, so A single line was the norm until 2012. Now They are adding 3 more lines in the next 10 years! Due to that we haven't had the mixing of lines like in Washington D.C.!
the pocket track between Stadium Armory and Benning Road/Minnesota Ave is way too short compared to the other pocket racks within the system near Silver Spring, Mt. Vernon Square, Franconia Springfield, Wiehle Reston East, Farragut North or Grosvenor for 8 car trains to use swiftly so the chances of them doing that tbh are pretty slim. Ofc 8 car trains are 600 ft long and the pocket track near Stadium Armory is only like 700 ft giving 8 car trains very little wiggle room to work with so doesn't seem like an ideal transaction. All the others I said are I wanna say like 800-900 ft long which ofc is more than enough wiggle room for them if they're trying to reverse paths
@@ethanparker7900 this is true, but given the rest of the operating plan with 6 car trains for the forseeable future maybe they'll just stop running 8 car trains on the silver line indefinitely
@@dctraining407 maybe ofc yah the last few months 7ks have been 6 cars quite a bit and most 3ks are still 6 so very possible. Ofc most 6ks tend to be 8 but there's always a small handful that are 6 too
Did you know (of course you do) that on the metro map, if the, say, red line is above the blue and orange line in the graphic, you have to go upstairs to get to it from the orange and blue.
When the Green line Rush Hour between Farragut North and Greenbelt existed, it says Takoma below Fort Totten, not Brookland-Catholic University of America in this video.
@@Thom-TRA in order to get from the orange line to the most convenient rail-yard on the blue line they need to do that and most if not all trains heading back are in service
Fun fact: There are actually more of these on the Silver Line. There’s an evening rush hour service that terminates at Dulles, and there’s also another one late at night, one of the last departures, that starts at East Falls Church and ends at Ashburn.
Those are short turns tho, kinda different
Yep. I've taken the 'Non-Rev' EFC silver line train a lot. If you get to Metro Center at closing time [12:07am on weekdays] -- They tell you to take the Orange Line Train to Vienna (which waits for the final red line trains to arrive at Metro Center) and get off at East Falls Church. There is a train waiting, out of service on the other track. Once the Orange line departs, the out of service train crosses over and becomes a Silver Line train to Ashburn.
@@Thom-TRA True, just wanted to point it out. I also want to say one time on a weekday recently I saw there was a yellow line train heading up to Greenbelt for whatever reason, there was no maintenance work going on for either line, so I took it up to Greenbelt to see why, and after I got out, it went right into the depot afterward which was interesting.
@@DMVRailfan well sometimes they do that i think either to make up for hindered green line service or for storage purposes in either the Greenbelt Rail Yard or Alexandria Rail Yard. Ofc from April 2019-September 2022, it did run to Greenbelt all the time but sadly cut it back months later in May 2023. Hopefully it comes back soon though cause the Yellow to me is much more useful when it does go to Greenbelt with the green and it serves all 3 jurisdictions rather than 2/3
New York City has several subway service patterns that aren’t on the map.
1. Two and a half N trains per hour during the rush hour period stay on the express track after 34th St-Herald Square and run to/from 96th Street on the Second Avenue Subway because of terminal capacity constraints in Astoria (which can only turn 15 trains per hour due to poor switch layout) and to provide extra service to the Second Avenue.
2. One R train during the morning rush period switches to the express track at 57th St-7th Ave and runs on the Second Avenue Subway to 96th St, to provide extra Second Avenue service. In the peak direction, it returns as an extra Q train.
3. Three E trains per hour during the rush hour period continue on the Queens Boulevard Line after Briarwood and run to/from Jamaica-179th St, an extremely efficient terminus (can turn upwards of 60 trains per hour), because of capacity constraints at Jamaica Center (can only turn 12 trains per hour due to poor switch location) and to provide limited express service along the Hillside Ave corridor
4. Two F trains run as express trains in the peak direction during the rush hour period between Jay St-MetroTech and Church Ave (helpful for my commute) on the Culver Line to provide limited express service for South Brooklyn. Additionally, a reverse-peak direction F train during the morning rush hour period switches to the express track at Smith-9th Sts, and terminates on the express track at Church Ave to provide additional service to Park Slope without causing congestion.
5. Half of F trains short turn at Kings Hwy due to terminal capacity constraints at Coney Island (can only turn 10 trains per hour due to signaling and poor switch location)
6. Half of 5 trains in Brooklyn during the rush hour period continue along the Eastern Pkwy express tracks and run to/from Crown Heights-Utica Ave to avoid congestion at Flatbush Ave-Brooklyn College (can only turn 24 trains per hour due to bumper blocks) and the at-grade Rogers Junction.
7. Half of 5 trains in the Bronx during the rush hour period continue along the White Plains Rd line to Nereid Ave to provide extra service along the high-demand corridor.
8. Some 5 trains begin/end at Bowling Green during rush hours to provide extra service to the Bronx.
9. Some 5 trains begin/end at 180th St at the beginning/end of the rush hour period in order to get trains to/from the yard. These trains also may run express in the reverse-peak direction.
10. Some 5 trains continue along the express track and end at Gun Hill Rd at the end of the morning rush hour period for yard access.
11. Two 5 train trips begin at New Lots Ave on the New Lots line and continue along that line and the Eastern Pkwy Line to Atlantic Ave for yard access. The first one runs local, the second one runs express.
12. Eleven 4 trains run express from 167th St to Burnside Ave and short-turn there at the end of the rush-hour period to enable easier yard access.
13. Some 4 trains towards the beginning/end of the late night period only run local in Brooklyn, and some others only run local between Franklin Ave and Utica Ave.
14. Some 4 trains begin/end at Bowling Green to allow more Bronx service.
15. Some 4 express trains begin/end at New Lots Ave for easier yard access.
16. Some (6) local trains run express from Hunts Point Ave to Parkchester at the end of the rush hour period, while some express trains run local from Parkchester to Hunts Point Ave. This is for easier yard access.
17. Some (7) local trains begin/end at 111th St or Mets-Willets Point for easier yard access and avoiding congestion at Flushing-Main St.
18. Some A trains at the beginning/end of the late night period only run local in Brooklyn.
19. Some E/F trains at the beginning/end of the late night period only run local east of Roosevelt Ave.
20. Northbound R trains short-turn at Queens Plaza after 9:30 PM so they can be laid up on the northbound express track.
21. Some R trains begin service at 36th St during the afternoon rush hour period.
22. Two W trains begin service at 86th St on the Sea Beach Line and run via the line, the Fourth Avenue Line local tracks, and the Montague St Tunnel into Manhattan. Three W trains are extended to 86th St. This is for yard access.
23. Some J trains begin/end at Broadway Junction to provide extra service to Williamsburg.
24. Northbound D and N trains stop running express in Brooklyn as early as 7:00 PM to accommodate work trains. In order to prevent a service meltdown, some D trains terminate on the Culver platforms at Coney Island and run express along the Culver Line and the Rutgers St Tunnel without passengers to Broadway-Lafayette St, where they begin service on the local track. They then switch to the express track and run normally.
25. One Franklin Avenue Shuttle train terminates on the southbound local track instead of the northbound local track. This is presumably for easier yard access.
26. Select 2 trains run to/from New Lots Avenue (via the New Lots line) for easier yard access.
27. During the summer, Rockaway Park Shuttle trains are extended to Rockaway Boulevard and run full-length trains.
28. Some L trains begin at E 105 St for yard access.
29. Some L trains short-turn at Myrtle-Wyckoff Aves for extra Williamsburg service.
30. Some F trains begin at Ave X in the morning rush hour period for yard access.
31. Some 1 trains begin/end at 137th St or 237th St for yard access.
32. Many Staten Island Railway trains run express to Great Kills in the afternoon rush and from New Dorp in the morning rush without stopping. Local trains short-turn at Great Kills.
33. (Extra) Prior to July 2024, a B train used to short-turn at 145th St and run light and loop through the 207th St yard and return as an A train to provide extra service.
A lot of what you said here doesn’t really apply to what is happening in this video.
@@Bombardier2199 Don't be obtuse and try following along. What our friend is saying is that the D.C. Metro is not the only transit system that runs train services that are not on any maps.
@@mikemainer3009 That’s not the point of my comment, now let me be acute for you. New York doesn’t have to be the only city to have a subway that has services that aren’t shown on the map. All I was saying is some of what he stated doesn’t exactly go with what is being presented in the video.
The F🔶 is shown on maps, it's not a hidden move.
There's also the 7 super express
Two points:
1) Blue/Yellow hybrids were also common. Trains from Franconia/Springfield along blue and then heading up the yellow tracks to Mount Vernon Square (and some extended all the way to Greenbelt). They aren't regularly scheduled since COVID. The Blue/Yellow hybrid was useful way to get people from a basketball/hockey game at the arena to Franconia without a transfer and was sometimes called the Blue line shortcut.
2) I think more of these trains should be scheduled. Three terminals on the west and two terminals on the east for the BL/OR/SV trains means that Largo will be overloaded. Ideally, half of every BL/OR/SV trains will go to Largo and half to New Carrolton. The color can be used to distinguish between Virginia terminals, but people need to carefully read the desitination (NC or Largo) to determine which train to take for any station east of Stadium-Armory.
One of the downsides of the DC Metro being so new and so uniform is the lack of strange and unusual service patterns. It's always interesting and entertaining to see the few oddities
Yeah, it’s nowhere as wacky as New York for example. It’s why I like weekend construction: chances to film the announcements announcing weird destinations!
The silver line services from New Carrollton line up very nicely with MARC services. I've used it to go from Baltimore to Dulles.
As an operations planner such moves are a daily thing for me, so I kind of fail to get the amazement out of it.^^ Great video though!
In Germany we normally number lines - but such special moves often just get the letter "E" to signal its not following a normal line, but just goes to the destination shown by the quickest possible way.
An anomaly that only happens once a day not amazing? I think even if it was my job I would get excited about it.
@@Thom-TRA To clarify I meant this referring to the thumbnail with "secrets" or "ghost train"... Its a yard movement, like necessary railway operation basics.
Nonetheless cool if you find out about this stuff - or come up with it yourself. ;)
@@GT670DN it’s not “just a yard move.” And creating a title like that helps peak people’s interest into something they might not have thought about.
I really don’t understand what point you’re trying to make here. It all feels extremely arrogant.
@@Thom-TRA I agree, such a snarky comment lmao. Don't listen to him bro I enjoyed the video. It peaked my interest.
@@hashtagaroma7778 thank you :)
Fun part is that during special events you can also catch a Blue Line train from Nationals Park to Franconia-Springfield!
Did it several times as a kid when my father would take me to watch Nats games...gods I miss the times back then.
Hmm, I’ve never seen that before. Maybe that was a long time ago?
@@Thom-TRA Was back in 2011 from when I last took that route.
As usual, I found this an informative video! Now, I know about the only non-Orange Line Metro trips to New Carrolton, as well as why the Blue and Orange Lines used to be the same.
Also, this reminds me of the unusual San Diego Trolley routes you can find on the MTS Route Planner, which cannot be found on most other places:
1. two Orange Line trolleys skip Courthouse station (the usual western terminus) to end at America Plaza, which is otherwise reserved for the Blue Line and for Silver Line heritage trolleys (kind of like what you described in DC!)
2. three early-morning Green Line trains on Sundays only go as far east as Stadium station, before heading back downtown
3. a Blue Line train in the afternoon begins at UCSD Health La Jolla station at 4:14 PM (instead of UTC Transit Center, the usual northern terminus for half of the Blue Line trips, though the other half end at America Plaza), and ends at Santa Fe Depot at 4:44 PM (instead of San Ysidro, the usual southern terminus)
4. the last two Blue Line trips of the night begin at UTC and end at 12th & Imperial instead of San Ysidro, presumably to access the yards (again, similar to what is described in DC)
Thanks for the video!
Have you been on the new Copper line yet?
@@Thom-TRA, good question! I haven't had the opportunity to ride the Copper Line yet (which is ironic, since I was the one that made the Copper Line Wikipedia article to begin with). Maybe in the future, I should do so! In fact, if I _do_ ride the Copper Line, I might make a video about it, similar to one you would make.
Thanks for asking!
This reminds me of the “tiger” trains on CTA, when orange line trains become Kimball-bound brown line trains at the loop and vice versa
Yep, the good old brownage trains!
The older 3000 and retired 2000 series trains sometimes have that electrical problem where the lights go out. Also, the train operators on those old trains are supposed to make station stop announcements, but they don't always do so. Once the 8000 series arrive in 2025 or 2026, the 3000 series will be retired
we all know dude
I live in Zurich, Switzerland, and the nearest tram stop also happens to be a (non-terminus!) depot. And indeed, near the beginning and end of service each day, “irregular” services run out and in as trams leave the depot and return at the end of the day. The line number used is always whatever regular line that tram will be running all day long - Zurich trams never change line number during the day. So that means that I will see trams coming and going whose lines don’t appear on the station signage (or timetables, though the digital departure signs and apps do show them).
That’s fascinating!
Nice video! I rode the SV to New Carrollton from Loudoun Gateway once (originating at Ashburn), back when that train existed. I think the weirdest train I’ve been on was a westbound train originating at Ballston this past June!
Wow, that was a long ride I bet!
Well we were gonna take the Metro to Union Station to get a Penn Line train, but once we found out there was a SV to New Carrollton we just got on at New Carrollton instead!
Thanks for showing these unusual but useful awesome train routes!!! And for your thorough explanations of why it is so. Awesome!!!
I’m glad you liked it!
2:50 Slorange
Ooh good one
Wouldn't that be SVORange? 🤷🏽♀️❓
I haven't even watched yet but I'm so glad you're making a video about this, sometimes when I'm taking metro home from work at King St, I see blue line to New Carrollton and I'm always so confused
Glad to clarify!
I didn’t know there would be some dc metro trains that aren’t on a map just because they may have to run differently. It kind of reminds me of when some CTA train displays have the wrong color line and destination when it’s not on the same one. I’ve seen that there in Chicago and on some TH-cam videos.
I think having trains which can run in all lines in the system is a wonderful thing. The operating organization can manage train schedules more flexibly. Unfortunately, that is not the case for tons of cities. I heard that some railway companies in Japan even have lines with different gauges!(I think it was Kintetsu, the company based in the Kansai region)
Yes, there are Japanese railways with different gauges. Even JR East has standard and narrow gauge.
I personally much prefer systems that have dedicated fleets for each line myself, but operationally I understand the advantages.
Some fun facts I thought of from your comment -
London has 2 gauges in the Tube, even noted by distinct train shapes. Conversely, Chicago has just one gauge, with all lines set with some connection point (including hidden ones outside of the Loop) that allows moves across the system, as well as some diversions.
Cleveland is planning to have hybrid rapid transit-style runs when the new rapid trains come in a few years’ time. In addition to Windermere-Airport, Green Road-Waterfront and Van Aken & Warrensville-Waterfront, there could possibly be Windermere-Waterfront, Airport-Waterfront, Green Road-Airport and Van Aken & Warrensville-Airport.
That's a good idea during rush hour. It could reduce connecting traffic during the rush hour. Keep up the great videos Thom! I need to find an excuse to fly into Dulles Airport one day. It's better than taking the Washington Flyer via Falls Church.
The Washington Flyer isn’t even running anymore! The silver line has been a great addition
In San Francisco, the N-Judah inbound will sometimes switch at Duboce+Church to become an outbound J-Church train. Probably to get to the yards at the end of the J line.
Oh cool! Like from Caltrain to the J?
@@Thom-TRA No, Caltrain has not gotten THAT much into Muni yet.
@@Maurice-Navel I mean from the 4th & King, which the Muni trains display as “Caltrain.”
In and around Mainz, there are many irregular service which may or may not be done for shunting. Some highlights:
- The RB33 (Mainz - Bad Kreuznach) has service one pattern to and from Worms. Keep in mind that there exist no regular train between Ingelheim (between Bad Kreuznach and Mainz) and Worms and the interchange between the current trains (from S6 to RB27 or RB33) just sucks. Currently suspended because of the Riedbahn closure.
- The RB33 also has trains to Frankfurt so you have one line with irregular through service. Notably, the train is coupled with an RB31 train (Mainz-Alzey) so you have one train with two different route numbers (this isn't too unusual in the RMV region but they are to this line) and it uniquely also skips the airport. The RB33 doesn't make any return trips, however, and two separate RB31 trains run instead, both which do drive over the airport.
- There also exist an RB44 train between Mainz and Worms. The RB44 historically ran between Mainz and Mannheim before it was turned into the VRN S6. The sole exception is one train at morning which runs from Worms to Mainz. It incidentally is run by the same company which runs the RB33 (vlexx) unlike the S6 (DB), though it also means it's a diesel train under overhead wires. Currently suspended because of the Riedbahn closure.
There is a small layover facility just beyond the Largo Station. It's not a major yard and maintenance facility, but the two tracks go undergound where they split into a third pocket track like the turning track used at Silver Spring, Mt. Vernon Square, Franconia Springfield etc. Metro can store, move and deadhead trains between the other railyards as needed.
Yeah, unfortunately it’s not nearly enough for the level of service
@@Thom-TRA I agree. The closest station to my brother is Franconia Springfield so anytime I use the Metro to get back and forth, I noticed the Blue Line tends to get the least amount in terms of frequency in between Stadium Aromory and Rosslyn with Orange and Silver getting most of the sevice. Twelve minutes isn't too bad but it could be better.
I do have to wonder where most Blue Line on the Maryland side originate in the morning for the beginning of service. Largo has those trail tracks so you could use those but the what about the rest? Would you have to wait till they cycle from the Alexandria Yard in Virginia and make their way to Maryland 🤔.
The logistics behind those moves sorta tie into your video. If WMATA had a full timetable that showed all their scheduled trains, you could see where they originate, the direction and where they're going, then plug in the nearby yard or facility and connect the dots.
A new TRA video is always welcome, especially one with a well researched and presented Thom-Talk. This one met the well researched and presented criteria but left me confused about its teaching point. My DC transit experience is limited to standing around on a Union Station platform while crews change the Cardinal’s engine from diesel to electric and vice versa. I’ve not ventured further into DC, other than to a nearby hotel, so I am not certain what story you were telling me, but you told it well.
Sounds like it’s time to come again and explore some more!
In fact, we’re booked on the Cardinal for a few days stay in DC the first week in December. I’d better begin studying TRA-DC videos now!😊
GREAT Video …. Makes a lot of sense. I think. And those newer cars are certainly smooth. Thanks for brining me back “home.” I will only be un-confused for a little while…until I get back to DC!
I actually really like the 7000s. And the 8000s will be even better.
@@Thom-TRA Thanks, Thom. You're always on top of it.
Portland does this with all of its start and end of service runs. Until recently, every train either started or ended its day as the Blue Line (but now the Red Line also has a direct yard connection). They sign it differently though, a Green Line train will stay signed as the Green Line with an odd destination until it hits the shared section. They even do this with some of their buses
I was looking at the transit app yesterday and noticed that. Even trains from yellow to blue! Would be fun to go out and film some of those.
NYC has a similar thing with it's rush hour services, mainly on the IRT lines like the (2) line where it terminates at New Lots Avenue during Rush Hours, mostly for Yard Access.
I actually made a spreadsheet this summer listing all of them
Chicago has something similar called: "Ravenston" it where a brown line (Ravenwood) turns into a purple line (Evenston) - or vice versa in the downtown loop area. It can also happen with the Orange line (Midway) to either brown or purple. It common to move rolling stock within revenue service - different from the blue and pink changes where the train is "out of service" between those lines.
Do these still happen? I haven’t really seen any since the pandemic
@@Thom-TRA Rarely but sometimes during rush hours when the brown line runs out of trains due to scheduled work on trainsets. Orange to brown sometimes occurs since one of the shops is the "heavy shop" which does full tear down for metal fatigue testing. What would be cool is a pink line train turning into a brown line train.
I want to say the Ravenston service went away after the Brown Line got expanded to 8-car service back in…2009-ish?
Orange-Brown was done as a capacity boost when Kimball yard was full and the Brown needed extra AM peak service. They wouldn’t run one in service when it’s a shop move for heavy overhaul.
Interesting topic and you covered it, as always, flawlessly! In Chicago, there are occasional unusual runs as well. The days when the Douglas branch was a branch off the Congress (Forest Park) line live on, as you have documented, in occasional Forest Park line trains that terminate for revenue service at Racine, then run out of service onto the Pink Line to reverse direction. They carry the unusual green/yellow marker lights (green was the color of the Douglas branch). And I have read about something called the Ravenston, a contraction of Ravenswood and Evanston, but I don't know more about the details.
My understanding is that some Evanston (purple) expresses would go around the loop and turn into Ravenswood (brown) trains going to Kimball. This would supplement the then overloaded Ravenswood trains. The reverse would also happen. Not sure when this would happen, but I assume it was on the “shoulders “ of the rush/peak hour. Not sure if it still happens…
@@jmharper60 which direction around the Loop would these “Ravenston” L-trains go? Would they switch to the “Kimball” destination sign, the moment they went south of the Merchandise Mart?
@ I’m not sure how it worked. I know this was a thing when the brown line was getting overcrowded, before the project to extend the platforms for 8-car trains. Not sure how long it lasted of if they still do it today.
Wow! It is very unusual fact about this "special" trains.
The same situation I saw in London Underground in 2016, when District and Metropolitan several trains in early morning and in late evening had their own schedule and unique route, which had unusual destinations. The reason was the same - trains run to/from depot (yard) and provide additional transport option for passengers, especially in periods with high interval (20 minutes or so).
In Moscow we also had the same situation, because of regular yard train runs.
It was in line 8A when this service started operation (in 2014), it was just two station shuttle with one train and one operational track (between "Park Pobedy" and "Delovoy Center").
So it was served by train from "Izmailovo" depot which is situated in line 3 and this train followed from "Partizanskaya" station (near to "Izmailovo" depot) to "Park Pobedy" with passengers as ordinary 3 line train and then just turned to 8A line. Train to depot used to do the same but in the reverse order ((8A) then (3) and finally depot).
There were announcements in trains and destination signs also depicted this route and some stations were equipped by schedule of this "special" service.
8A became double-tracked and was extended to "Ramenki" in 2017, so the new train depot "Soncevo" for 8A line started operation in 2018 with another line extension. And "special" thought-line route ceased operation after 4 years.
One more unusual "special" route was in line 2 and 11 ("Kahovskaya" line)... it was very twisted story. Firstly, when line 2 was expanded to the south of Moscow in 1969, three stations "Kashirskaya", "Varshavskaya" and "Kahovskaya" was included. Metro-depot "Zamoskvoretskoe" was opened near "Varshavskaya".
Then in 1984 line 2 was extened futher in south, so trains started running from "Kashirskaya" to "Orehovo" as well. Trains ran from the city center to "Kashirskaya", where line splited in two branches the first one to "Kahovskaya" and the second one followed to "Orehovo".
In 1995 to increase capacity and to reduce intervals from 3 to 1,5 minutes in section between "Kashirskaya" and "Orehovo" branch service was reorganized in two separated lines. The segment "Kashirskaya"-"Orehovo" (with several stations) stayed as a part of line 2, and the branch "Kashirskaya"-"Varshavskaya"-"Kahovskaya" converted in separate line 11. Now there was not all day throught-line train services and was cross-platform interchange. But, trains from and to "Zamoskvoretskoe" depot still ran with passengers in "Kashirskaya"-"Varshavskaya" segment of line 11 to continue their run to line 2 or return to the depot.
There was announcements, destination signs and schedule in platforms. These "specials" ran from 1995 to 2019, until 11 ("Kahovskaya" line) closed to reconstruction into second metro circle line ("Bolshaya Kolcevaya" line). Now "Zamoskvoretskoe" depot doesn't serve line 2, so there are no "special" trains at Moscow at all...
Also, there are technical opportunity to organize "special" train between "Bulvar Dmitriya Donskogo" and "Chertanovskaya" stations because now this segment uses for throught run trains to/from depot "Varshavskoe" in line 9 to/from line 12 (this is primarely elevated line with ordinary rolling stock but with smaller number cars per train - so called "light metro"). But "special" trains runs with no passengers and ordinary trains of line 9 the only transport option in this line segment.
I think the key point of "no pax" service for special trains between "Bulvar Dmitriya Donskogo" and "Chertanovskaya" stations is that "light metro" (12) line trains are shorter then ordinary trains of line 9 because of smaller number of cars, so it could be uncomfortable and even unsafe for passengers which could run on the platform to catch "light metro" train, this situation also may leed to higher boarding time and to disrupt 1,5 minute intervals.
The Blorange eras and the Greenbelt express are very interesting quirks. It just doesn't look like there's a switch at Farragut North (at least not anymore) and the red line connections to have to be used carefully (Besides, it has a yard at both ends, there can't be many things that can ONLY be done at Greenbelt or Shady Grave that Dulles, New Carrollton, Alexandria, Branch Av, or Glenmont can't)
*and Falls Church-which is close enough to Vienna that trains can just deadhead whenever
I wish these were scheduled, they could really help in speedruns of the system... Also, I think that more of these should honestly be implemented to some capacity, you could have the OR and SV switching destinations? It would probably cause more inconvenience than create convenienc... Anyways, great video.
I hadn’t thought of the speedrun aspect!
Welcome to think about it Chicago had a combination Brown orange. They were lines or trains that operated in the rush hours and what would happen is an orange line would enter the loop going northbound I think and then it would turn into a brown line. And then you had Brown line trains that would circle South on Wells East on Van Buren and go back out as orange line. And sometimes we've had shuttle services or other deviations were orange and brown lines were combined for reasons like service and track improvements. So the train would go from Kimball down onto the loop via lake and Wabash and out as an orange line. It was bi-directional. And actually I was pretty neat when that would happen.
WMATA, "We heard you like interlining so we put interlining in your interlining."
Pretty much
Good coverage. Looked like a nice day for a rail safari!
I love riding the rails any day!
"BLORANGE LINE" 🤣🤣🤣 I love it.
I rode a blue line train to New Carrollton about two years ago when the Yellow Line was closed for about 8 months
In interesting situation but you explain it very well, as always
Thanks!
Great video. This an interesting aspect of Metrorail that I never knew aboout. Glad they can use this bring more capacity and frequenies to riders. I've always found WMATA to be one the easiest to use systems I've ridden.
It’s great!
I once had a weird trimet max run in the mid day it left Hillsborough as a blue line and when it arrived at beaverton transit centre it turned into a red line to Portland international airport via Portland city centre it often happens because there is only 2 yards for the whole Max system you might get a green line from beaverton, that says to Clackamas or a blue line to rose quarter and turn into a yellow/orange to expo centre
That is weird!
in SF there is only one tram line not on the map and that would be the S Caltrain station shuttle line. if you are referring to two colored lines coming together, then TrIMet Red line can have a tendency to do that.
Do you know if blue line trains going to New Carrolton that are 7000 series display Special, or do they just show the Blue line to New Carrolton route? Last time I rode the Blorange line home one night in 2023 it was just displayed as “special”
I’m pretty sure the 7000s displayed New Carrollton. The older trains will say Special.
Just call it the Silvange :)
SILVANGE 🤣🤣🤣 I love it.
I was just in DC and really impressed with the metro. Clean, fast and good frequencies. Though a bit expensive compared to other systems.
Question: on Silver Line just before Herndon Station there is a siding on the north side of the tracks and east of the station platform. What I found unusual is it has no third rail. So what is it used for and why does it not have a power supply? It seems to dead end on the freeway asphalt so I wondered if it is for loading trains into the line from trucks.
I’m not sure, I’ll ask around!
@@Thom-TRA I'm curious too! I've noticed it before as well
Cool video Thom! I want to visit Arlington Cemetery now to see that lower level mezzanine. I don't think I'll be getting up early enough for the 5:30am Silange/Oranver train. haha
Is that Thom-ception at 13:04 of you filming a train while someone is filming you filming a train? When did we get a Sea Foam Green 1 car train? (is that a track maintenance/money train?)
Thanks for sharing this stuff with us!
It’s a track geometry vehicle! Special video coming soon!
@@Thom-TRA nice! looking forward to it!
I always enjoy seeing one of these odd trains when using the Metro. Fun little surprise
I’m the same way!
There were periods in the pre-Silver-Line era when they switched the east ends of the Orange and Blue lines for some service, and there were versions of the Metro map that actually reflected that. I think it was direction-dependent, so the eastern branches were indicated with a half-orange/half-blue line with directional arrows. Now, it seems like describing the service is too conditional and complex for it to be handled that way.
Yep, tune into the last two minutes or so of the video for more information on that!
In Toronto the TTC does some similar things with the streetcars. It's common practice for streetcars to go to and from the yard in service signed into the route they are going to be on for the day or when they return to the yard. Although sometimes they will be signed as not in service and won't make stops. If they are in service you can sometimes see some very long and interesting routes as they have to go across various parts of the streetcar network to get to the route.
Cool, I had no idea!
@@Thom-TRA a lot of people don't really know that outside of the ttc fans and workers as it's not something that is published
My! What a weak air whistle the out of service that train had when it passed the station to the yard. 😮
Yeah the old whistles sound like a dying breath
@@Thom-TRA I have yet to hear what the real air whistle or horn is like. In Philadelphia the Market Street subway trains have a hoot sound similar to the air whistle hoot sound of the Broad Street subway trains that I rode on 45 years ago. They were the original subway trains that ran there in 1928 and the 1938 latter models too.
Great vids. You have helped me a lot in getting around.
Glad to hear it!
Thanks Thom I never thought the orange line or blue was connected I didn't know they have a silver line to new Carrollton station but thanks 😊
There are some non-normal services on the London District Line, nearly all at each end of the day, connecting branch ends that usually would need a change at Earls Court. Some Circle Line services go out further east than usual onto the District. This is done mostly for stock positioning.
Cool!
Wooooo, all aboard the spooky train 👻🎃
Lights out in the spooky train
@@Thom-TRA Speaking of Lights Out: I once saw a 7000-Series Train (Railcar Number: #7591), and the lights inside were completely off. The other railcar's functionality is doing just fine when the doors are opening on the left-hand side, except for Railcar Number #7591. #7591's doors did not open at all. Maybe there was an issue with the voltage maybe? #7591's destination sign is functioning just fine, though. Have you ever seen Railcar Number #7591 from the 7000-Series Train, Thom?
I’ve seen something similar happen in Boston. idk if this counts but, I’ve seen Cleveland Circle or BC trains that don’t usually start until Government Center start at Medford/Tufts.
That’s cool!
It doesn't really matter what your inbound train is called if it stays on the line it's supposed to be on while in the downtown area. For example, in NYC terms, if for whatever reason trains to/from Brooklyn use the Montague Street tunnel instead of the Manhattan Bridge (or vice versa) but pick up their regular run at Canal St./DeKalb Av., pretty much nobody's fussed TOO much since the only difference will be a few more/fewer minutes and a few more/fewer stops. So, at the extremity of the line, a train coming from the "wrong" terminal might just be "You won't need to change" and an outbound train in the non-peak direction is, "Who cares, it did its job hauling people downtown on its regular run."
Doesn't SEPTA regional rail, with all the through-running capability, sometimes do what WMATA is doing here with Metro?
When I was younger I remember coming home from a nationals game and it being really cold since it was late September, and even tho the train said it was terminating at Huntington, the operator came on at king street and said that it was now terminating at Franconia Springfield, and we just had to wait on the platform at king street for the next Huntington train. this was on a Saturday night at like 11. I’m not sure why this happened
I'm currently on a silver line to Ashburn that I boarded at New Carrollton. are they coming back?
Ooh, let me check!
@@Thom-TRAthe train rebooted and switched to Orange to Vienna, but the signs in the stations still said silver to Ashburn. I only rode until Farragut North, so I'm not sure what the end result was
The Chicago L had something like this. Pre-pandemic, some Brown and Orange Line trains would be combined into one train. It's nicknamed both the "Brownge" Line or the Tiger Line (I like this name a lot). They did this because there wasn't enough brown line trains to facilitate enough demand so some Orange Line trains would be borrowed by making one long trip from Midway to Kimball. They stopped doing this regularly after all the pandemic service reduction but I've heard the Tiger Line has made a come back for special events like the Pride Parade or Lollapalooza.
Yeah, kimball yard was too small to accommodate all the trains they needed for brown service! It’s really too bad it’s not a regular thing anymore.
@@Thom-TRA Update: It's back! The Brown and Orange Line revised their service earlier this month and the Tiger Line is back on the timetables for morning rush hour.
This is some Blue Line Plus shenanigans!
Brilliant video sir, will you do similar on other metro services?
Did Lyndsey tell you off?
Perhaps if I get the chance to ride them!
@@Thom-TRA hurrah!
Ooh, I've always wondered about these odities!!
That’s great!
It's amazing how much those cars look like BART.
There are announcements for green line to Franconia Springfield. Do you know when they have been used if ever?
7:01 oh my gosh that’s so cool and weird! It’s like the scene from Charlie and the chocolate factory with gene wilder!
I thought 🤔 it my be the new Carrollton had a silver line but it will be the same as the orange line in New Carrollton station. I am still interested how two station of the Blue line is closed but i had no idea how that happened but thanks 😊
Great video on dc metro
Thanks!
@@Thom-TRA your welcome
Just wondering are you gonna make a video about the purple line construction. I checked it out a little in college park but that was a while back I wanna know how it’s gonna be ran and how much progress has been made.
Maybe next year!
Where is that @12:49? It looks like Blue Line South?
Potomac Yard
I've been living in Miami Most of my life, so A single line was the norm until 2012. Now They are adding 3 more lines in the next 10 years! Due to that we haven't had the mixing of lines like in Washington D.C.!
3 more lines? That’s awesome!
@@Thom-TRA add 2 more by 2050.
What is that at 13:03? Thank you for the interesting video!
It’s a track geometry vehicle! Known as the pickle
When did the BL to New Carrollton stop running? I thought it was still running a few months ago. I wonder why?
I believe this summer. Probably just new shifts for the operators.
@TrainsAreAwesome! Why wasn’t the Blue or Silver Line going to Largo? Just curious! I also like your videos as well
Watch. The. Video.
@Thom-TRA I watched the video! It’s kinda cool! Thanks for posting jt
It
What’s the train at 13:06?
What about Blue and Yellow Line trains going to Huntington and Franconia-Springfield respectively?
I don’t think that really happens right now
When I looked a the metro map it the bus line it was half blue and red and now it was red does bus line change 🤔
I feel like Silver and Orange should combine to Bronze.
Hmm, interesting proposition
Orange and silver sound like perfect team colors for the Orlando Knights. Not sure what they play... 🙄
Image of the green line to Huntington
They’d probably just call that a yellow line
The Orange/Silver Line train to Ashburn? How about the Oranver?
Hmm… don’t know if that rolls off the tongue quite as nice
Might not have any silver line trains at all past Stadium Armory soon if the new operation plane with turnbacks comes to fruition
I don’t think that will happen to be honest
the pocket track between Stadium Armory and Benning Road/Minnesota Ave is way too short compared to the other pocket racks within the system near Silver Spring, Mt. Vernon Square, Franconia Springfield, Wiehle Reston East, Farragut North or Grosvenor for 8 car trains to use swiftly so the chances of them doing that tbh are pretty slim. Ofc 8 car trains are 600 ft long and the pocket track near Stadium Armory is only like 700 ft giving 8 car trains very little wiggle room to work with so doesn't seem like an ideal transaction. All the others I said are I wanna say like 800-900 ft long which ofc is more than enough wiggle room for them if they're trying to reverse paths
@@ethanparker7900 this is true, but given the rest of the operating plan with 6 car trains for the forseeable future maybe they'll just stop running 8 car trains on the silver line indefinitely
@@dctraining407 maybe ofc yah the last few months 7ks have been 6 cars quite a bit and most 3ks are still 6 so very possible. Ofc most 6ks tend to be 8 but there's always a small handful that are 6 too
Did you know (of course you do) that on the metro map, if the, say, red line is above the blue and orange line in the graphic, you have to go upstairs to get to it from the orange and blue.
That’s very smart!
Orilver line
Blurange line
Do they have any combo trains going the opposite direction?
Yes, they did. I show a few clips of them.
Had no idea WMATA trains had roll signs I gotta see footage of that
They all used to have rollsigns before the flipdot signs. The flipdot signs were later upgraded with LED Signs.
Interesting
Silvorange Line Is Awesome 👌 👏 👍 Outstanding Video 🇺🇸 USA 🇺🇸 Solving The Puzzle Of Ghost 👻 Train 🚆 😊😂
I'm glad you enjoyed it!
how often do they do that?
This was every weekday until the summer
When the Green line Rush Hour between Farragut North and Greenbelt existed, it says Takoma below Fort Totten, not Brookland-Catholic University of America in this video.
You’re right, my bad
Ah, the SOB line.
When will the Purple Line train be available?
i heard in 2026 or 2027
2027.
Estimated is sometime in 2027
Fall 2027 sadly
2 years from now. 2027.
They started this sometime September 2023
Interesting
Saurenge.
How about calling it Whatever...?
Blorange
Srange
Very
in portland you can ride a train that goes from orange to green to blue
Really? Interesting
@@Thom-TRA in order to get from the orange line to the most convenient rail-yard on the blue line they need to do that and most if not all trains heading back are in service