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Metro’s short-term plans may not be quite as ambitious as some discarded longer-term ideas—-au revoir, Brown Line—-but they still do require money. And with federal funding dwindling, it hasn’t been entirely clear where that money will come from.
Enter Vince Gray, Martin O’Malley, and Terry McAuliffe. The D.C. mayor and the Democratic governors of Maryland and Virginia emerged today from a meeting in Arlington with an announcement: The three jurisdictions will be contributing a combined $75 million to Metro improvements.
Topping the priority list is the plan to bring eight-car trains to every Metro ride in order to reduce crowding. Other goals are more modest, such as upgrades to the power systems and certain stations.
“Thanks to the strong leadership of Mayor Gray and Governors O’Malley and McAuliffe, we can continue our rebuilding efforts and lay the foundation for all eight-car trains, with power upgrades, Union Station and Gallery Place station expansion designs, and buses for priority corridors,” Metro General Manager Richard Sarles said in a statement.
Each of the three jurisdictions will chip in $25 million to the effort.
Photo by Darrow Montgomery