Yellow and Green Line riders face fewer eight-car trains than expected

The number of eight-car trains on the Yellow and Green Line trains is falling, according to data from Metro analyzed by MetroHero. Both lines are budgeted for 100% eight-car trains, according to the agency's Fiscal Year 2020 budget.
Metro announced back in March 2018 that the agency was lengthening trains on the two lines to eight cars 'whenever possible.' The change was in response to service cuts the prior year when trains began running every six minutes instead of every eight, and Yellow Line 'Rush Plus' service to Greenbelt was discontinued.

The two lines combined averaged approximately 20 eight-car trains for all of April and May. Starting around June, the number of eight-car trains began dropping; the third week of July averaged just 17 eight-car trains during morning and afternoon rush hours when 22 trains were scheduled.

Yellow and Blue Line trains currently end at National Airport due to the 107-day Metro shutdown of Braddock Road, King Street, Eisenhower Avenue, Huntington, Van Dorn, and Franconia-Springfield stations for reconstruction.

Metro's most-recent data showing average passengers per car (PPC) from March suggests Yellow and Green Line trains are more crowded in the afternoons than when measured in the mornings; trains at L'Enfant headed south average 100 and 105 PPC for the Yellow and Green Lines, respectively. Metro defines the optimal railcar load as 100 passengers, with 80 being a relatively light load and 120 the maximum.

Northbound Yellow Line trains at Pentagon averaged 89 PPC in March; Green Line trains to Greenbelt at Waterfront averaged 93 PPC.

Explore Metro railcar trends over time with MetroHero's Performance Summary tool.

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