DC Metrorail

13 Pages 3140 Words

Introduction
The Washington Metrorail system is one of the finest in the nation, if not the world. After spending a fair portion of my life and an honest portion of my money on the Blue Line to and from Franconia-Springfield and Alexandria, I am interesting in delving into where Metrorail funds come from and how these funds are allocated in this portion of the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority’s budget.
The Washington Metrorail system is managed by the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority, which simultaneously operates a fleet of buses catering to the needs of area citizens. The Metrorail is comprised on five lines: Red, Orange, Yellow, Green, and Blue. These five lines branch off and into the adjacent areas Maryland and Virginia. The Metrorail system covers an expansive area and is over 100 miles in length generating nearly $437 million dollars in revenue.
The first section of the Metrorail system was opened in 1976. The system as originally planned has since been completed. Extensions to the original construction of Metrorail include the following:
1) The extension of the Green Line from Anacostia to Branch Ave
2) Eastward extension of the Blue Line to Largo Town Center
3) Future extension will include a new branch of the Orange Line to Tyson’s Corner and to Dulles National Airport

WMATA Budget Breakdown
Before we can examine the break down of the Metrorail budget itself, we must first look at the budget of the WMATA as a whole. The budget of the WMATA is $1.56 billion dollars.
As mention in my introduction, I am interested in where the money comes from as well as where it goes. $379.2 million dollars of the WMATA budget comes from Federal subsidies and government funding, $610.3 million dollars is received from regional funding subsidies, and $570.7 million dollars of revue is generated by the WMATA to round out the entire budget. The WMATA is ranks among the best in the country with a fift...