Crowds a Hazard As Metro, Riders Brace for Crunch

Metro says it puts extra staff on the platforms to aid passengers and ensure safety during periods of great crowding, yet these incidents continue. An operator at the far end of a six- or eight-car train isn't enough to avoid problems on a busy platform.

Passengers shouldn't try to hold the doors open, because a busted door could force the unloading of the entire train. But those after-action lectures from train operators are not helpful, either. The target audience is still seething from a platform skirmish in which people desperate to get off collided with people desperate to board.

The weekend track work program is suspended through April 13. We're beginning a rough period, when cherry blossom tourists, baseball fans and commuters will do a lot of forced mingling. This will test Metro's management skills as well as riders' patience and fortitude.

Ice Storm Aftermath

Dear Dr. Gridlock:

I see that Commissioner David S. Ekern admits that the Virginia Department of Transportation was caught unprepared for the primary day storm. I was fascinated by his statement that "we'll learn from this and move forward." The simple fact that it was not his replacement making that statement tells me that nothing will be improved.

Holding someone accountable, perhaps even losing a job after demonstrated incompetence, is the only way to "move forward."

Dave Wolf

Lake Ridge