Travel Blogger Racing Wednesday to
Set New Metrorail Speed Record

Quest for Visit-Every-Station Fastest Time

Occurs on First Full Day of Rail Expansion

Nov. 15, 2022

By LUCAS WALL

WASHINGTON – A 45-year-old travel blogger will set off Wednesday morning to establish the new speed record to transit through all 97 Metrorail stations in a single day. The previous record before today’s six-station Silver Line expansion was 7 hours 59 minutes, set by Scott Bennett in December 2019, according to the Guinness Book of World Records.

“With today’s opening of Silver Line Phase 2, expanding Metrorail from 91 to 97 stations, the prior record is history,” said Lucas Wall of Washington. “I want to raise awareness of this long-awaited transit expansion in the national capital region and set the mark future transit racers strive to beat. As a frequent traveler who has visited 135 countries, I fly often in and out of Washington Dulles International Airport and have been waiting decades to start and end my journeys with Metrorail.”

Transit racing is a hobby of transportation fanatics across the world. Wall said he’s tackling the challenge Wednesday to be perhaps the first out of the gate in search of the new Washington Metrorail quickest time. It’ll be his first time racing to visit every rail station in one day.

“No matter what time I get Wednesday, it will be the new record since 6 new rail stations opened today, negating the prior fastest time,” he said.

The rule is simple: pass through every Metrorail station in as short a time as possible using only transit and feet. Taking buses and walking between rail stations is permitted, but not biking, driving, or riding in a car.

Wall notes the challenge is to limit the number of duplicate rail stations passed through to cut down the time. This is complex since Metrorail has 41 stations served by at least two lines. He’s mapped out a plan starting Wednesday morning at the new Ashburn Station on the Silver Line and ending at Franconia-Springfield Station on the Blue Line. This routing has 14 segments, including two bus connections, with 34 repeated stations.

“The way the Metrorail system is laid out, it’s gonna be hard to cut down on repeat stops,” he said. “There’s also not good bus routes connecting many of the end stations to serve as shortcuts, a problem the Maryland Transit Administration Purple Line will help solve when it starts operating in 2026.”  

A possible handicap is the closure of the Yellow Line (including the bridge over the Potomac River) until May 2023. But Wall doesn’t think this will add much (if any) time. The Yellow Line is odd in having only two unique stations, and those are currently served by special Blue Line trains.

Follow along Wednesday on Facebook at www.facebook.com/lewnwdc.

Washington Metrorail consists of six lines, however many share track for a substantial portion of their routes. “Unique stations” are those served by only one line; “principal shared stations” serve multiple lines and are assigned to routes below based on alphabetical order:

BLUE LINE: 27 total stations; 3 unique stations; 24 principal shared stations

GREEN LINE: 21 total stations; 8 unique stations; 12 principal shared stations

ORANGE LINE: 26 total stations; 8 unique stations; 5 principal shared stations

RED LINE: 27 total stations, 24 unique stations

SILVER LINE: 34 total stations; 11 unique stations

YELLOW LINE: 21 total stations; 2 unique stations (**Yellow Line is closed until May 2023 due to rehabilitation of the Potomac River bridge and tunnel. The 2 unique stations – Eisenhower Avenue and Huntington – are being served by special Blue Line trains)

TOTAL METRORAIL SYSTEM = 97 stations (56 single-line stations and 41 multi-line stations)