Metro

News

Ribbon cut at Metro’s new technology hub in Alexandria’s Carlyle neighborhood

By James Cullum
Public officials and Metro employees cut the ribbon at the new Metro Integrated Command and Communications Center in Alexandria's Carlyle neighborhood (staff photo by James Cullum)

Like trains pulling into a station, regional transportation leaders converged in Alexandria today to cut the ribbon at the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority’s new technology hub, the Metro Integrated Command and Communications Center (MICC).

The new 14-story MICC, located at 2401 Mill Road in the city’s Carlyle neighborhood, will hold up to 1,400 Metro staffers, and is home to the system’s data center, cybersecurity operations, bus and rail video teams, communications, and administrative support.

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News

Metro considering earlier closure, eliminating bus routes, and other cost cutting measures

By Vernon Miles
Metrobus near Potomac Yard (staff photo by Vernon Miles)

A particularly bleak budget prediction is forcing the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA) to consider plans involving longer train waits, Metro station closures, and eliminating many bus routes, the Washington Post reported.

WMATA’s worst-case scenario plans, built on an assumption of no increase in funding from D.C., Maryland and Virginia, include layoffs of nearly 5,000 employees, closing 20-25 rail stations either permanently or on weekends, and closing stations at 9 p.m. WMATA said all but 37 Metrobus routes are also on the cutting board.

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News

NEW: Metro train derailed between Potomac Yard and National Airport, no injuries reported

By Vernon Miles
The Potomac Yard Metro station (staff photo by Jay Westcott)

Shuttles are running between the Potomac Yard Metro station and National Airport Metro station after a derailment this morning.

Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA) said there were no injuries in the derailment and shuttles are ferrying passengers between the stations.

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News

Virginia Tech joins discounted Metro ridership program for new Potomac Yard campus

By Vernon Miles
The Potomac Yard Metro station (staff photo by Jay Westcott)

Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA) announced yesterday that Virginia Tech students at the new Potomac Yard-adjacent campus will get unlimited metro trips at a significant discount.

WMATA said Virginia Tech is being added to the transit network’s “U-Pass Program.” The program is included in the cost of attendance at schools for around $1 per day.

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News

Mayor: Bailing out Metro’s budget shortfall will mean ‘pain all around’

By James Cullum
King Street Metro at sunset (Staff photo by Jay Westcott)

The price of riding on the Metro might go up and so could your tax bill.

Alexandria Mayor Justin Wilson said that the region will experience collective pain by bailing out the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority from its projected $750 million budget deficit.

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News

JUST IN: Long-awaited Potomac Yard Metro opens station in Alexandria

By Vernon Miles
Opening of the Potomac Yard Metro station (staff photo by Jay Westcott)

(Updated at 1:15 p.m.) During the celebration of the grand opening of the Potomac Yard Metro Station, electrician Antonio Jones looked up at the structure he and countless other laborers worked on over the last few years.

For him and other members of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers — as much as for the city staffers, transportation executives and elected leaders from across the region in attendance — today (Friday) was a day of triumph: the Potomac Yard Metro station is finally open.

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News

Alexandria City Council wants to incentivize locals and businesses to get private security cameras

By James Cullum
Alexandria City Hall sign (staff Photo by Jay Westcott)

Personal security cameras, speed cameras in school zones, summer youth employment programs and eviction prevention funding are just a few of the final additions included in the fiscal year 2024 budget by the Alexandria City Council on Tuesday.

Council approved funding a $20,000 program to encourage businesses and homeowners with a “small incentive” to set up security cameras to deter crime, as well as increase their coordination with the Alexandria Police Department.

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News

May 19 announced as opening date for Potomac Yard Metro station

By James Cullum
(Left to right) Alexandria Vice Mayor Amy Jackson, WMATA CEO Randy Clarke, Mayor Justin Wilson and City Council Member Canek Aguirre at a media tour of the Potomac Yard Metro Station on April 19, 2023 (staff photo by James Cullum)

After more than a year of delays, the Potomac Yard Metro Station will open on Friday, May 19, Mayor Justin Wilson announced today.

Wilson made the announcement alongside Randy Clarke, general manager and CEO of the Washington Metropolitan Transit Authority. He said that the city has been pushing to make the station a reality for more than a generation.

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Opinion

Poll: Will the Yellow Line reopening make you more likely to take Metro?

By Vernon Miles
King Street Metro at sunset (Staff photo by Jay Westcott)

The big announcement this week was the return of the Yellow Line.

The Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA) announced this week that the Yellow Line will open again on Sunday, May 7.

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