The Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority is planning several improvements to its red line service to be completed by 2040, a WMATA official said during a public meeting Thursday.
The meeting, hosted by the Tenleytown Neighbors Association, featured Nat Bottigheimer, the WMATA assistant general manager for the department of planning and joint development.
Bottigheimer said the Tenleytown-AU station will see a “moderate level of development” in the next 30 years. Bottigheimer said WMATA was trying to secure funding for a canopy over the entrance of the Tenleytown-AU station but said recent increases in the cost of the canopy are making it difficult.
The rider population growth expected in Tenleytown between 2010 and 2040 is 12 percent.
Other changes to the Metro include the replacement of old railcars, rail line rehabilitation, upgrading from seven-car trains to eight-car trains and station rehabilitation. WMATA plans to finish these improvements, as well as new purple line connecting northern Metro stops, around 2040.
Bottigheimer also said WMATA has discussed making the rail automatic again, after it was changed to manual after last summer’s crash that occurred because of an error in the automated system.
WMATA is also working to replace many escalators in the system, as most are between 35 and 40 years old. The escalators are supposed to be replaced every 30 years, but Bottigheimer said funding issues prevented earlier replacement.
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