Passengers ride a crowded Blue Line train. (By Dudley M. Brooks – The Washington Post)

By Stephen C. Fehr
Washington Post Staff Writer
Friday, April 9, 1999; Page A17

Metro rider Jill Quaid, of Arlington, was late for work yesterday – again. Her usual 25-minute trip on the Orange and Red lines between Ballston and Gallery Place in downtown Washington stretched to an hour, she said, because of a slow train stopping and starting the entire way.

"What is going on with Metro?" she asked. "There have been delays and overcrowding for several weeks now. I am tempted to drive to work if this continues."

The unprecedented mutiny Wednesday, in which a trainload of rush-hour passengers refused Metro's order to get off a train whose doors wouldn't close, has touched a nerve with riders. In interviews at stations and in about 100 e-mails sent to washingtonpost.com yesterday, riders said they are fed up with what they consider to be an increasing number of problems this year, especially delays from trains breaking down.

The timing of the incident couldn't have been worse for Metro – thousands of tourists are visiting the area because of the national Cherry Blossom Festival. The subway set weekday records for carrying more than 600,000 passengers.

"Tourists were asking if Metro is like this all the time," Mike Gardner, who commutes daily between Falls Church and downtown Washington, said of Wednesday's debacle at the Smithsonian and L'Enfant Plaza stations. Riders refused to obey transit officials' orders to leave the train until transit police intervened. The delay affected thousands of passengers for an hour or more.

Craig Jenkins, of Arlington, who said he was on the mutiny train, said that as people were told to leave the train, "they were kind of shaking their heads and talking about how ridiculous it was."

Since opening 23 years ago, Metro has become an indispensable part of the region's transportation network and has helped chart development patterns. But signs of strain are evident, as the incident Wednesday proved, because Metro's trains and tunnels and stations are aging even as the last legs of the planned 103-mile system are being built. Many riders are attacking the reputation of a subway generally regarded in the industry as one of the world's best.

"Wednesday was probably the worst I have ever seen the Metro," said Kristen Bourke, of Springfield, who spent 90 minutes trying to get home instead of the usual 30 minutes between McPherson Square and Franconia-Springfield.

Karisue Wyson, who commutes on Metro's Blue Line between her home in Arlington and the McPherson Square stop in downtown Washington said that since January, not a week has gone by without some type of delay on Metro. She has missed bus connections on several days.

"I've had it and am going car shopping this weekend," she said.

Jessica Rachel has been riding the Yellow and Orange lines between her home in Alexandria and job near Metro Center for about six years. Usually the trip takes about 24 minutes, she said, but yesterday it was an hour and 20 minutes because of a sick passenger in a train ahead of hers, Rachel said.

"The overcrowding was so bad people were getting hurt because everyone wants to push their way on," Rachel said. "Metro should advise its riders – loudly and clearly – of problems. I think the fare should have been refunded to everyone who was inconvenienced this morning and last night."

Metro officials said the major reason for the delays are trains with brake and door problems; since last month, trains have been driven manually by operators instead of automatically by computers while Metro investigates a breakdown with some of its train control devices. The effect has been to slow trains.

"Metro's explanations about its recent troubles are insufficient," said Gavin Kennedy, of Washington, who rides between Dupont Circle and Federal Center in Southwest. "These breakdowns should be top priority. It has taken the area years to build up ridership – ridership the D.C. area should be proud of. Don't blow it."

Charles Besecky, of Chantilly, rides every day from Vienna to the Smithsonian stop, where he walks to his government job.

"The timing of the trains is becoming more irregular and there are more stops and starts between stations," he said. "It's not as smoothly operating as it was."

Greg Lisa, a lawyer in Washington, had noticed the same thing.

"Recently there have been a lot more stops for no apparent reason," he said. "I've noticed a longer wait for rush-hour trains."

"It's not just the trains that are a problem," Greg Lockett added. "More escalators seem to be inoperative."

Asked how service had been recently, three women co-workers getting off a train at McPherson Square yesterday said in unison: "Terrible."

But some loyal Metro riders said the benefits of commuting by subway outweigh the inconveniences.

"I love it," said Ralph Muoio, a private lawyer who has rode the Red Line daily for 15 years. "I don't have to drive. Plus, I get some exercise on both ends. It's a great invention."

Staff writers Alan Sipress, Michael D. Shear, Alice Reid and Jennifer Lenhart contributed to this report.