For Immediate Release: Tuesday, July 30, 2019
From the Office of Councilmember Tom hucker
ROCKVILLE, Md., July 26, 2019—Councilmember Tom Hucker applauds the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority board for voting Thursday to permanently end Metro’s “Grosvenor turnback” on the Red Line. Hucker chairs the Montgomery County Council’s Transportation & Environment Committee and has advocated along with his colleagues for this and other Metro service improvements.
“The Council knew that the Board’s efforts to provide full service to riders on the western end of the Metro would pay off,” Hucker said. “Metro is the backbone of our transit system and if we continue to invest in service improvements we will continue to win back riders.”
The Metro board formally voted Thursday to extend service improvements that run every Red Line train to and from Shady Grove, permanently ending the practice of turning back or starting every other train at the Grosvenor station.
According to Metro board documents, Metro ridership for stations on the western end of the Red Line north of Grosvenor station have all increased since the change in December. Ridership has grown as much as 8 percent at Twinbrook Station. Other benefits of the change: Trains are less crowded with riders spread out more evenly in the cars, and on-time performance has also increased because trains run into fewer problems with midline turns.
This month, Metro also ended the “Silver Spring turnback” on the eastern side of the Red Line, increasing service for this fiscal year for an estimated 18,000 trips each weekday to and from the Glenmont, Wheaton and Forest Glen stations. The Montgomery County Council advocated for these changes by sending a letter, organizing a Metro Town Hall in January, and gathering petition signatures in support of the service improvements.
“I think we will see similar ridership increases this year on the eastern end of the Red Line,” Hucker said. “If that’s the case, I hope the Metro board will move to make those service improvements permanent as well. It’s already having a big impact for commuters who use the Glenmont, Wheaton and Forest Glen stations.”
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