Express Service will be discontinued

[snuffy]

Metro Gold Line
SERVICE ALERT for Monday, December 3, 2007: 4 p.m. > Metro Gold Line trains are operating on regular schedules, however, trains are subject to minor delays (5 minutes) on the south end of the line between Southwest Museum Station and Union Station. This advisory is in effect until further notice.

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Beginning Sunday, December 16, Metro Gold Line trains will provide additional service on all days of the week.

Weekday trains will run every 7-8 minutes, stopping at all stations, during peak periods and every 12 minutes during the mid-day period. Weekend trains will run every 12 minutes from mid-morning until early evening.

Weekday Express Service will be discontinued.

For schedule details, please refer to the revised weekday timetable accompanying this notice.

Metro realizes that at the beginning of any change in service, our passengers may experience some scheduling difficulties during the initial adjustment period. We ask for your patience and understanding.

www.metro.net/riding_metro/system_delays/default.htm

[bluelineshawn]

This was announced a couple of months ago, but it's just now happening.

[snuffy]

but why are they going to stop express service on Gold Line?

[tonyw79sfv]

Ever since Metro improved the running time of the Gold Line, the time saved on the express service was trivial (the new local end-to-end running time is about the same as the express service before the improvements); also, the Gold Line is not getting a lot of riders compared to other lines (even the busway) so this would give those on non-express stations peace of mind that all trains stops there. This is not the same as running Rapids with Locals, that's an issue with improving a crowded line; which the Gold Line is not.

[art]

What did they do to improve trip time, and how much has it saved?

[Mac]

The main slow-poke part of the line was in, the Highland Park area, but I think they bumped the speed up a bit, and now, the line is also a bet bumpier at certain points.

[tonyw79sfv]

About 5 minutes was saved in the overall improvement, which also happens to be the time difference between local and express service. So in essence, the new local is as fast as the old express.