The best solution for the Blue-Orange line tunnel under the Potomac

Arlington Subway
Originally uploaded by RdrCarlie.

In the past, the press has reported that WMATA is considering having every other blue line train go across the 14th Street bridge rather than continue on to Rosslyn and add to the rush hour congestion of going through the subway tunnel under the Potomac River. (See Metro to Extend Yellow Line, Expand Service to Shady Grove from the Washington Post.)

Reid commented that:

I'd shift Blue Line service during rush hour mornings. It would follow the Yellow Line across the Potomac, allowing the Orange Line to be the sole train through the Georgetown Tunnel at the height of the morning crunch. We could provide shuttles from the Pentagon or Rosslyn for the few people trying to get to the cemetery at that hour.


Of course, an issue is how many people travel from Virginia's blue line and get off at Rosslyn, or between Foggy Bottom and Gallery Place, and the cost-benefit analysis.

Still, this seems like the cheapest and easiest and virtually no cost solution, at least for this rush hour congestion.

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