Being somewhat unimpressed with WMATA’s half-hearted “Rush+” program to improve Metro service, I dusted off my old idea for a Beltway Line.

My take is that much of the crowding downtown is due to Metro riders having no way to go around the downtown hub area.  For example if you live in Silver Spring and want to Metro to Bethesda, just a stone’s throw to the east, you have to go all the way through Chinatown first.  Several proposed updates to the Metro, including the Purple Line and the separated Blue Line, are intended to provide riders alternatives to this in-and-out approach.  Continue reading →