Metro News Release

For immediate release: July 2, 2003

Metro’s Green Line gets extra morning trains

Metro’s Green Line customers are getting additional relief from the crowded morning trains as two additional trains are making trips during the morning peak rush periods. The additional six-car trains, which were added to the morning complement of service this week, depart from the Branch Avenue Metrorail station headed in the direction of Greenbelt, which is the Green Line route which tends to be most crowded during weekday mornings. " These trains are known as " tripper trains" because they each make the one-way trip from Branch Avenue to Greenbelt, allowing customers the opportunity to board two additional trains," explained Lem Proctor, Metro’s Chief Operating Officer for Rail. " The need for the additional service is inbound from Branch Avenue, and we are very happy that we are now able to provide the added capacity of two additional trains. We are able to offer this crowd-relieving service because during the course of the past several weeks, we have received enough new rail cars to put them on the tracks for our customers." It is expected that the additional new trains, which will depart Branch Avenue at 7:45 a.m. and 7:57 a.m., will each carry between 800 and 1,000 customers per trip, allowing some additional " elbow room" in other trains which are at capacity. In 2001, Metro officials began to receive the first of 192 new 5000 Series rail cars that it contracted the CAF company to build. During the past several weeks, enough of the new cars have been received to add them to the Green Line to move more customers and alleviate the crowded conditions. To date, Metro has received 146 of these cars.

News release issued on July 2, 2003.