Washington Metro


(L) Metro system maps distributed to a train passenger free of cost (R) Map of Metro System drawn to scale

The Washington Metro, officially Metrorail, and commonly called Metro, is the rapid transit system in
Washington, D.C., United States, and its surrounding suburbs of Maryland and Virginia. Since opening
in 1976, the network has grown to include five lines, 86 stations, and 171km of track. Metro is
the second-busiest rapid transit system in the United States in a number of passenger trips, after
the New York City Subway. There were 215 million trips, or 727,684 trips per weekday, on Metrorail
in fiscal year 2008.


L'Enfant Plaza station, the major intersection, at which the railways of redline, Yellow Line, Blue Line, Green Line
and Orange Line are crossing.

(L) Ronald Regan Washington National Airport station is connected with the airport facilities.
(R) Underground plateform of L'Enfant Plaza station

An emergency-help system place at the platform of Branch Avenue metro station

Metro planners designed the system with passenger safety and order maintenance as primary
considerations. The open vaulted ceiling design of stations and the limited obstructions on
platforms allow few opportunities to conceal criminal activity. Station platforms are built away
from station walls to limit vandalism and provide for diffused lighting of the station. Metro's attempts
to reduce crime, combined with how the station environments were designed with crime prevention
in mind has contributed to Metro being among the safest and cleanest subway systems in the
United States.

A longstanding policy, intended to curb unlawful and unwanted activity, has to allow employees
to use Metro restrooms. Station managers may make exceptions for passengers with small children,
the elderly, or the disabled. Metro now allows the use of restrooms by passengers who gain
a station manager's permission, except during periods of heightened terror alerts.
Source: Wikipedia


Gallery Pl-Chinatown station

A colored-sign route and station information column placed at a railway plateform is very valuable
to know that you are at the right place.

(L) Sliver Spring is an urbanized area is a major business district that lies at the north of Washinton, DC.
(M) Many Metrobus routes serve the Glenmont Metro station, the north terminus of Red Line, which is in Maryland.
(R) New Carrolton is a suburban residential community, located just inside the Capital Beltway.

Interior of Metrocar

(L) Intersection of ceiling vaults at Metro Center station, one of the major transfer stations
(R) A platform of Branch Avenue metro station, the southern end of Green Line

(L) Newyork Avenue-Florida Avenue Station of the Red Line service
(R) An escalator of Glenmont Metrostation, in Maryland, is the northeastern terminus of the Red Line.
Metro rail service is now improving its 588 escalators, and we can see that many of them are not functioning.
　
Navy Yard station of the green Line ( Red flushing light on when a train is approaching )

New Carrolton Metrostation is located in Marylland. It serves as the terminus of orange Line, is connected
with the Amtrak station on the Northeeast Corridor.

(L) A Metrocar is crossing the Potomac River during the heavy rain. The bridge next is for the Amtrak train.
(M) Metro train is arriving at the Landover station.
(R) Double-deck Amtrak train runs along the Orange Line of the Metro rail system.
Video-photography was taken at the New Carrolton station.

Several collisions have occurred on Washington Metro, resulting in injuries and fatalities, along with numerous
derailments with few or no injuries. WMATA ( Washington MetropolitanTransit Authority ) has been criticized
for disregarding safety warnings and advice from experts.


(L) On November 3, 2004, an out-of-service Red Line train rolled backwards into the Woodley Park-Zoo
Adams Morgan station and hit an in-service train stopped at the platform. No one was killed,
but 20 people were injured.
(R) On June 22, 2009 at 5:02 p.m., two trains on the Red Line collided. Nine people were killed.
Source: Wikipedia

Information on the Train Ride

Riders enter and exit the system using a stored-value card in the form of a paper magnetic stripe fare card
or a proximity card known as SmarTrip.


(L) A standard self-service vending machine for passes and fare cards located at each station
(R) An automatic fare adjustment machine near the exit

(L) The front and back faces of the fare cards
(R) One-day Metrorail Pass is valid for one day of unlimited Metrorail travel on a weekday after
9:30 am, or all day on Saturdays, Sundays or federal holidays. The pass expires at 4:00 a.m. on
the day following first day of use.

Fare cards are purchased primarily at vending machines in each station. A minimum fee is $1.60. A mid-range
fee is $2.75, and $2.75 for a maximum fee. Fare cards can hold up to $45 in value and are reused until the
value of the card reaches zero. If the card contains the exact fare needed to exit, leaving the card at a zero
balance, the card is not returned by the exit gate.


Computerized motorman's panel

ワシントン・メトロは首都ワシントン市を中心にメリーランド州とバージニア州に広がる広域公共輸送システム
である。1976年の開業以来、乗客数は増え続け、2008年には月間、約2千万人に達している。ニューヨーク
地下鉄に次いで全米で2番目に利用者の多い公共輸送機関である。

鉄道はロナルド・レーガン・ワシントン・ナショナル空港に直結しており、市内各地及び郊外へのアクセスが大変
便利である。ことにイエローラインはポトマック川を跨いで市の中心地へ短時間で直行する。街の地下を走る
地下鉄の駅は大きなドームに覆われて一目で線路の端まで見通せる。これは防犯上の観点も加味して設計された
とのことだ。多くの駅のプラットホームには緊急連絡用のインターホンが設置されている。

鉄道の乗車券はすべて自動販売機で購入する。現金の場合は釣り銭が出ないので高額紙幣を使用すると損をする。
クレジットカードは最低料金の1ドル60セントでも使用できるのでよい。　購入したその日の夜中まで乗り降り
自由の一日券は9ドルである。ヨーロッパなどで使用されている24時間券ではない。

現在エスカレータなどの修復、改修工事が進んでいる。しかし、東京のように多人数で敏速に行っている気配はない。
修理の途中のままの状態で人の気配もなく放置されているところが多い。故障しているわけでもないのだろうが、
朝夕のラッシュアワー以外は下りのエスカレータの電源を切ってしまっているところが散見される。しかし、
乗降客のほとんどいない駅の上下のエスカレータがフルに作動しているところもある。日本の様なきめの細かさは
アメリカ人には苦手なのかも知れない。

メトロの車内は時折、汚れているが概してきれいである。ホームにはゴミは見当たらない。電車が到着した後、
日本では直ちにドアを開けるが、ここワシントンでは少し待たねばならない。その理由は運転手の動きで分かった。
メトロに車掌はいないので運転手は駅のホーム到着後に先ずブレーキの作動状況を確認し、車両が確実に定位置に
停車したことを確かめ、それから、始めて運転席の窓からホームの状況を目で見て、ドアの開閉スイッチを操作する。
この間、約10秒以上かかるのである。

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海外鉄道紀行
Travel by Train
All railway trains should be completely smoke -free.

　Italia Rail: Trenitalia
　Rail Travel Ireland
　Railways in Helsinki, Finland
　Train in Norway, Trondheim to Oslo

　Amtrak Acela Express: Boston-Newyork
　Washington DC Metro/Union Station
　Chicago CTA Rail
　Miami Metro Rail

　Stockholm Arlanda Airport and Express
　Stockholm County Railways
　X2000:Stockholm-Copenhagen Express
　Greater Copenhagen Railways
　Paris Rail Terminals
　Paris Metro-RER-Tram

　Korea Train Express, Airport Express and Metro
　Bangkok Mass Transit/Thai Railways
　Indian Railway
　Dehli Metro
　Airport Express and MTR, Hong Kong
　Taiwan High-Speed Rail
　China High-Speed Rail

　Portugal Metro, Railways
　Amsterdam Rail
　High-speed train in Spain 2010
　Barcelona Railways
　Railway Travel in France 2011
　Railway Travel in Germany 2011
　High-speed train in Germany, Austria and Switzerland 2013

　Vancouver Skytrain
　Edomonton Metro
　VIA train, Vancouver to Jasper
　Amtrak: Seattle to Glacier National Park
　San Francisco: cable-car, tram and Bart
　Alaskan Railroad

　Moscow Metro
　Saint Petersburg Metro
　Sapsan, high-speed train of Russia
　Allegro, high-speed train between Finland and Russia

　Railways connecting Canberra and Sydney, Australia
　Gold Coast Light-Rail
　NZ Rail: Tranz Alpine/Scenic
　Brief Journey by Australian Rail

　Narita Airport-City Rail Service
　Japanese high-speed train 'Hayabusa'
　Japanese high-speed train 'Super-Komachi'
Smoking ban in the railway trains of the world


Washington, D.C.
Arrival to Washington, D.C. The U.S.capitol Metro railway Union Station Museums Socioeconomic aspect
Smoking ban in Washington, D.C.

Ontario,Canada and Michigan, USA
Tobacco sale in Ontario 2010 Smoking ban in Ontario 2010 Smoking ban in Michigan 2010 Detroit Airport
Niagara Falls Toronto Upper Michigan Lower Michigan

ワシントン・メトロ案内
2010年10月執筆
執筆　医学博士 宮本順伯
★ This Web site is link-free.
The article was written and photographs were taken by Dr. J. miyamoto, in October 2010.