Capital Beltway CorridorRail Feasibility Study

Chip Badger, Director Public Transportation Division Department of Rail & Public Transportation

April 1, 2004

What This Study Did

• Responded to General Assemblymandate and VDOT’s Beltway MIS

• Identified most feasible transit technology and alignment

• Determined potential ridership• Evaluated potential impacts• Coordinated with previous and on-going

studies in the region and Maryland

The Process

STEP

1

STEP

2

STEP

4

STEP

5

STEP

6

STEP

3

Project Initiation

Short Listing

RefinedAlternatives

Second Evaluation

Preferred Alternative

InitialAlternatives

Three CorridorsBlue Red Green

Placed Technologies in Alignments

10 Technology-Alignment Alternatives

Heavy Rail

Light Rail

Monorail

Bus Rapid Transit

Heavy Rail

Light Rail

Monorail

Heavy Rail

Light Rail

Monorail

BLUE RED GREEN

Five Preferred Alternatives

Heavy Rail

Light RailMonorail

Bus Rapid Transit

Heavy Rail

Light Rail

Monorail

Heavy Rail

Light Rail

Monorail

Blue Red Green

Tier 2 Evaluation

Ridership

Light RailRed

Heavy RailRed

MonorailRed

Light RailBlue

Heavy RailBlue

73,000 62,000 87,000 74,000 69,000

CapitalCosts

($ millions)

$1,208 $2,253 $1,465 $1,499 $2,096

Potentially Affected 350-375 25-50 25-50 125-150 50-75

6,600 6,500 4,000 10,700 11,700Affected Environment

Principal Findings on Ridership

System would:• Attract some new riders to transit• Feed radial routes• Improve service for through riders• Increase load on Orange Line

Principal Findings on Ridership

• Fewer than 15% of riders are purely local• A minority of trips begin or end in

study area• DC is the major trip generator

Possible Transit Alternatives

• Monorail - Red with Heavy Rail extension to Maryland

• Heavy Rail - Red with Braddock Road Station

• LRT Red/Blue combination

Light Rail -Red/Blue

Combination

Findings

• Rapid transit is feasible• Potential for ridership warrants further

study• No fatal flaw environmental impacts• No fatal flaw community impacts • Several alternatives offer potential

Recommendations

• Advance the Capital Beltway Corridor Rail Feasibility Study to the alternatives analysis phase at an appropriate time.

• Before advancing this project perform similar feasibility studies for other transit projects in the Washington region.

Recommendations

• The inter-relationship between land use and transit should be further examined.

• Coordinate highway and transit improvements in the Beltway right-of-way

Capital Beltway CorridorRail Feasibility Study

Chip Badger, Director Public Transportation Division Department of Rail & Public Transportation

April 1, 2004