William World News William F. Yurasko's blog v.14 – Nats, Redskins, Capitals, D.C. life, transportation, not so much Penn State anymore,

BREEZEWOOD, Pa. — We had just gotten away from the indirect connection for Interstate 70 and the Pennsylvania Turnpike when I saw a familiar color scheme on a bus. As I got closer, I was kind of surprised to see that it was a D.C. Metrobus. Why it was approximately 128 miles away from Washington, [...]

In the last few weeks, Metro rail cars have begun traveling up and down the Silver Line. The tracks, at least east of Tysons, have been energized and testing is ongoing.
[flickr : Photos tagged with silverlineopenhousemaps/slideshow]
Big changes are coming when the Silver Line opens, some of them outlined in this Dr. Gridlock update from earlier [...]

The Silver Line, the largest expansion of the Metro rail system, is progressing to the point that un-powered “clearance car” rail cars are now being pushed up and down the track. I saw one on Friday.

View more videos at: http://nbcwashington.com.
The first phase of the project, from Whiele Ave. to East Falls Church via Tysons [...]

Long ago, I noted that the Washington Metropolitan Transit Authority needed to sell solid black Metro station t-shirts for all stations. I learned today through DCist (linked through Greater Greater Washington) that all black Metro station t-shirts are available. That’s great, though $24.95 is a little steep. I might still have to get a Pentagon [...]

Nationals ask District to pay to keep Metro open late for fans – WTOP
It is official, the Washington Nationals ownership is still really stupid. Rather than put down a $29,500 deposit on keeping the Metro going for an extra hour in the event of a really late game, they’ve asked the District to do it. [...]

The Washington Nationals again addressed their position on paying to keep Metro open if a game goes long – NO (DC Sports Bog, The Post). They choose poorly. Not risking $29,500 is short-sighted and cheap.
Also, tonight the Nats will honor a visiting player in a pregame ceremony:
Fans should arrive early tonight to see the pregame [...]

Metro-riding Nats fans stranded after 13-inning game – WTOP
The Washington Nationals have improved in many ways, especially on the field, but the business operation still needs work. Last night’s game started an hour late due to rain and went into the 13th inning. Unfortunately, D.C. does not have a 24-hour subway system, so fans using [...]

The Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority has released the next Metro rail map and some service changes called Rush+. The big changes (from the press release which includes the new map):
Rush+ will improve service for nearly 110,000 customers on the Green, Yellow, Blue and Orange lines. Seventeen stations will get more frequent service with six [...]

Here is a preview of the new 7000 series Metro train car that will run on the Silver Line as well as replace the oldest cars in the fleet.

The cars are being made by Kawaski in Japan.
The interior is sleeker and has dynamic maps like the newer New York subway cars. More poles [...]

There is a survey for station names along the Silver Line survey in Fairfax County that is worth filling out. Coming up with the Tysons station names isn’t really easy.
Meanwhile, disagreements over the type of labor (union vs. non-union) are the latest snag in the efforts to build the second half of the Silver Line [...]