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ggrnw27 t1_j1vkwv8 wrote

Per the EIS, it should take about an hour to go from Bethesda to New Carrollton, so an average speed of about 16mph compared to the metro average of 33mph. These are averages and include station dwell times, acceleration/deceleration, and waiting for traffic. The Purple line will top out at 55mph, however it’s unlikely that much (if any) of the route will actually be at that speed. Based on the published numbers, it looks like it’ll probably be between 10-15 minutes on average to go from Bethesda to Silver Spring

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kodex1717 t1_j1xcwpx wrote

I am super excited for the Purple Line and I was very bummed when I learned the average speed is so slow. Even with the worst beltway traffic it will almost always be faster to drive. :/

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voikya t1_j1xt4fz wrote

Bear in mind that average speed includes station stops. It's really hard to get a good intuition of—it's not like it will tootle along at 16mph; it will run at 30+ mph, stop, run at 30+ mph, stop, etc.

For comparison, I remember seeing (a ways back admittedly) that the average speed of the J buses on East-West Hwy are about 7-8mph. Compared to that, 16mph is a huge improvement. It seems very unlikely that between Bethesda and Silver Spring, for example, that driving would be faster, even with clear roads.

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kodex1717 t1_j1yn9t6 wrote

Yes, I understand that. The average speed is what matters for me personally when I want to travel from one of the line to the other.

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