District says streetcars starting final dry run but still need safety sign-off
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Version 0 of 1. Officials pushing to open the District’s streetcar line to passengers early next year said they will launch a formal dry run, known as “pre-revenue operations,” starting Wednesday. But even before carrying its first passenger, the District has spent more than $13 million on the operation and maintenance of the system, according to city figures. The latest dress rehearsal is expected to last 21 days, but bad weather could extend it. Safety-oversight officials will examine the results and other safety documentation and decide when the system can open to riders. A spokesman for the District Department of Transportation said Tuesday that when the doors open to the public, streetcars will run six days a week, with no passenger service after 2 a.m. on Sundays. The city had already rolled back the frequency of daily service, which officials say will run every 15 minutes instead of every 10 minutes. “Going with six days provides a recovery day for the system. We’ll have a day we can perform track and vehicle maintenance without impacting service,” said DDOT spokesman Terry Owens, adding that officials think such an arrangement “will enhance the reliability” of the 2.2-mile line. “We want to deliver a system that’s safe, sustainable and makes efficient use of our resources. It’s a more conservative approach. But we will always have the option of expanding the days of operations.” The District purchased three streetcars from the Czech Republic in 2004 and stored them outside, uncovered, where they were battered by the elements. They later had to be refurbished, and one was so damaged by rain that it is out of service. Along with three streetcars purchased later, the District has five cars to work with, prompting the rollback in operating hours. [How the District spent $200 million on a streetcar with no passengers] Although officials first hoped to open a streetcar line nine years ago, and the bright-red vehicles have been shuttling back and forth along the H Street/Benning Road NE line since last year, streetcar backers see “pre-revenue operations” as a key milestone. It represents the resolution, at least from their perspective, of a long list of problems highlighted over the past year. Officials began a similar dry run once before as part of a scramble to open to passengers by the end of 2014. But concerns raised by city and federal safety regulators helped scuttle that rushed effort. This year, Leif Dormsjo, transportation chief for Mayor Muriel E. Bowser (D), brought in outside observers to take a look at the safety of the system. The team from the American Public Transportation Association said they found no “fatal flaws” but made a series of recommendations for improvements, which were added to a list of other needed fixes identified by streetcar officials and the District’s State Safety Oversight Office. Among the issues: Streetcar doors were scraping against platforms, and markers for where the streetcars should stop were installed inconsistently. Platforms were reconstructed. “High Voltage” signs were installed. New safety markings were put in place to better guide motorists and pedestrians. Operating procedures were recast. Additional training was provided. “Residents accustomed to the intermittent operation of streetcars . . . will see a noticeable increase in activity along the corridor for the next three weeks,” DDOT said in a statement. The streetcars will run 6 a.m. to midnight, Monday through Thursday; 6 a.m. Friday to 2 a.m. Saturday; and 8 a.m. Saturday to 2 a.m. Sunday, according to DDOT. Fare systems are not yet in place, so rides will be free for an undetermined period. In 2010, officials projected the H/Benning line would carry 1,500 passengers a day. The X-line Metrobuses that cover the same route, and go farther east and west, carry more than 12,000 riders a day. The District has spent $200 million on the streetcar system, which once was planned to run 20 to 40 miles or more. The Bowser administration has announced plans to spend hundreds of millions of dollars more to extend the H/Benning line west down K Street to Georgetown and east across the Anacostia River. |