A Model for Metro, in Romania

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By Ron Shaffer

Sunday, March 12, 2006

Dear Dr. Gridlock:

Kathy Kavalec [Dr. Gridlock, Feb. 26] wrote about the ways she finds the subway in Bucharest, Romania, superior to our Metrorail: side benches that leave room for more passengers in the center of the car, straps low enough for short riders to grasp, doors that allow passengers to move from car to car.

She's right, but she told only part of the story.

Bucharest, unlike the Washington area, also has a circumferential line (When will we get the Purple Line from Bethesda to New Carrollton?) and connections to a vast network of modern, ground-level light rail.

Why are we so far behind?

Jim Rosapepe

(U.S. ambassador to Romania,

1997-2001)

College Park

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