Roads, Trains Can't Handle Jan. 20 Droves

Zimmerman wants alternatives to Metro, such as park-and-ride lots along Interstate 95 for special bus service.

Amtrak and airlines are adding trains and flights, although seats were available late last week. The additional flights represent a fairly hefty increase, officials said. Seats are added when reservation systems sense increased demand. Southwest, United Airlines and US Airways, one of the largest carriers at Reagan National Airport, have added flights and, in some cases, switched to bigger planes.

According to reservation data, the biggest travel days for airlines are going to be the Saturday before and the day after the inauguration. For Amtrak and local commuter rail services, the busiest times are expected to be Jan. 19 and 20.

Officials at National and Baltimore-Washington International Marshall airports said they had not made special arrangements for parking and are urging travelers to check the airports' parking hotlines and Web sites for availability.

Car rental companies have been scrambling to get enough vehicles to Washington area airports to handle the increase in reservations, said Paula Rivera of Hertz, who declined to provide specifics, citing competitive reasons.

Thousands of passengers have booked sleeper-car berths on Amtrak trains heading to Washington from Atlanta, New Orleans and Chicago, but some seats were still available as of late last week, spokeswoman Karina Romero said.

Amtrak expects Jan. 20 to be its busiest day of the week. For those who aren't planning to spend the night in Washington, a train leaving Atlanta the night before the swearing-in is scheduled to arrive at 10:10 a.m. at Union Station, a short walk to the Mall.

Amtrak is monitoring reservations to see where and when to add trains or cars, Romero said. Thanksgiving is the company's busiest period of the year. "But on Thanksgiving, everyone is heading everywhere," Romero said. "During the inauguration, everyone is heading to D.C."

Virginia Railway Express and MARC commuter trains, which do not operate on holidays, will provide service on Inauguration Day.

Regional transportation officials say they are meeting several times a day to work out a plan. D.C. officials say they have found parking in the city to accommodate half of the 10,000 charter buses expected by the Secret Service and will provide specifics this week. The goal is to park them within walking distance of the Mall.

About 4,700 buses are likely to be parked elsewhere at Metrorail-accessible locations, such as RFK Stadium in the District, FedEx Field in Landover and some Metro stations with surface lots. (Bus companies can go to http://www.dc.govto obtain the required city permits; they can reserve parking at RFK Stadium at http://2009inauguration.clickandpark.com. Bus companies can also go to that site and link to Metro to buy advance subway passes for their passengers. Mayoral spokeswoman Mafara Hobson stressed the importance of permits for buses parking in the District: "No permit, no parking, no party." People using these charter buses would need to take Metrorail or shuttle buses to the Mall.)

Let's say half of the charter bus passengers will be able to ride the subway. If 1,000 shuttle buses are available, they could make five trips each to move the remaining 5,000 busloads of people. If each round trip from the Mall to a parking site takes an hour, for example, it would take five hours to move all passengers.