Blue Line Reroute and Communication

There have been several articles recently about rerouting some blue line trains so that they will run between Franconia/Springfield and Greenbelt, using the bridge over the Potomac rather than the Rosslyn tunnel.  I'll have to defer to Metro regarding how this improves capacity (I suspect it does), but my key point is that these cannot be called "blue line" trains.  In fact, from what I can tell, these trains would spend more time on green line tracks than blue anyway.  As I have ranted about in a previous post, how we identify our buses and trains can either make things easier or harder on riders.  I agree with this Dr. Gridlock letter writer that when this new route is introduced it needs to have its own identifying color.  Calling it a "Blue Line B" or something will only serve to confuse riders.
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Steve Offutt, Arlington

Comments

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[Mike]

I had no idea Leeds or anywhere else used colors like that. Mauve, magenta, claret -- that is amazing! Perhaps more color designations would work here, but I suspect the Brits might just have a more subtle understanding of colors than the average American. It would be fun, but I have trouble imagining ever hearing an announcement like this: "King Street, transfer point for the Canary line to Huntington. This is a Goldenrod train to Franconia-Springfield."

[Zoltán Connell]

The yellow line branch, as previously suggested, was my immediate idea.

Regarding Mike's comment, the most frequent bus routes in Leeds, England have line colours all to themselves. This means that on one segment of the spectrum alone we have a purple line, a mauve line, a magenta line, a claret line, a pink line and an indigo line - to say nothing of the other line shown in a shade of purple on the map that is not given a name!

A bunch of three lines on the map just seems like it would look unsightly on the map. And I'm sure DC's commuters can get their heads around there being two destinations - when on the long common stretch of the blue and orange together they effectively already do.

[Mike]

Commuter 182, your suggestion for a branched yellow line stikes me as eminently sensible. The only difference between the branches of the yellow line would be the last couple of stops, which probably are are not used much by tourists. The regular commuters who use those stops would get used to the new nomenclature on the first day, and there would be no confusion.

In general, using colors to designate metro lines has some advantages over using numbers or letters, like New York does. But the disadvantage is that unlike numbers, there are a limited number of colors that can reasonably be used to designate routes, unless you want the line designations to sound like they came from Benjamin Moore paint samples (Imagine explaining to visitors: "No, this is the Jade Line, to get there you want the Moss Line"). With silver proposed for the new Dulles line, and purple for the new Maryland line, we don't have many major colors left. If we start using a new color to designate every minor variation in routes, we will run out very quickly.

[Kevin Beekman]

YAY!!! Finally, somebody said it.

Sunday's WaPo showed the line in black. That works for me.

[Commuter182]

Rather than have a blue line that has an alternate route in the middle, which will confuse and disconcert many riders, a simpler solution would be to just branch the yellow line and add more trains to it:

During rush hour and going inbound, they can have yellow line trains departing from Franconia Springfield as well as Huntington. Each branch will only go through one additional stop, Van Dorn on left (blue line) branch and Eisenhower Ave on the right (traditional yellow line) branch before they merge at King St. station. Then blue and yellow lines essentially become the same line for the next 6 stations, up to the Pentagon. Then all yellow trains will simply cross the Potomac River into DC and go towards L'Enfant Plaza, as they've always done.

On outbound, it would also not be confusing. There would be either yellow line to Huntington, or yelllow line to Springfield (rush hour only). The route is essentially the same until they branch apart at King St.

However, Metro seem to have, for some unfathomable reason, written into their bylaws that lines shall never branch. Not sure why, as many other transit systems do this.