Metro News Release

For immediate release: July 3, 2003

Light rail demonstration endorsed for Anacostia corridor on unused spur of railroad tracks

A new mode of transit is gaining speed in the District of Columbia. Metro’s Planning and Development Committee today endorsed setting a public hearing this fall to receive public input on a light rail demonstration project within a portion of the Anacostia Corridor from Pennsylvania Avenue to the Anacostia Naval Station/Bolling Air Force Base along an unused spur of CSX railroad tracks. The Anacostia Corridor Demonstration Project is proposed as a transitional investment along an unused railroad industrial spur adjacent to the Anacostia Metrorail station in the Anacostia Corridor. The new service would provide immediate access to Metrorail for Anacostia, the far northeast neighborhoods, and the Anacostia Naval Station/Bolling Air Force Base to demonstrate the feasibility of light rail transit in the District. The permanent transit mode for the Anacostia Corridor will be determined through an 18-month alternatives analysis underway for four corridors across the District. The District of Columbia and the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (Metro) are conducting a community-based study of transit alternatives that will be a complementary addition to Metrorail and Metrobus. Four high-priority corridors were identified: the Anacostia Corridor (Minnesota Avenue to National Harbor), the Silver Spring to Anacostia Corridor, Woodley Park to Stadium-Armory and Georgetown to Stadium-Armory. All four corridors include approximately 33 miles of potential surface rapid transit-light rail, tram, or bus rapid transit. Metro and the District’s Department of Transportation are working to conduct an 18-month alternatives analysis and environmental assessment on the four-corridor system, due to be complete in 2004. The analysis is a first step in the process for the four corridors to qualify for funding by the Federal Transportation Administration’s "New Starts" funds. The key decisions that will be made through the alternatives analysis will include the preferred mode (light rail, tram, or bus rapid transit) for each corridor; the specific alignment and preferred station locations; and how the projects will be phased in. The goal is to move people and offer new transportation choices in the District on new and different transit technologies, complementing existing Metro service, and expanding the capacity of the entire transportation system. The Metro Board will consider the recommendation to hold a public hearing on the environmental assessment of the Anacostia Corridor Demonstration Project at its July 17 Board meeting. In addition, the Board will consider the purchase of the appropriate light rail vehicles as selected through the environmental assessment process.

News release issued on July 3, 2003.