Metro = Sweatbox

Photo courtesy of
‘Metro Center’
courtesy of ‘brianmka’

I’ve been around these parts for a while now, and in all my Metro riding experience, nothing has ever been *quite* as hot underground as the sweatbox otherwise known as Metro Center. I hop off my train to transfer there twice a day and walking out of the air conditioned car I’m hit with a wall of hot, humid grossness. And with the red line trains running much slower and farther apart, I’m left sweating on the platform for a very uncomfortable amount of time.

UnsuckDCMetro has been reporting that the “chiller” is broken at Metro Center and last week was supposed to be fixed “in a couple days”, whatever the heck that means. Ughhhh, nothing says professional like mopping sweat when you get to work, right?

But Metro Center can’t be the only sauna in the system right now, no way. So I ask you, dear readers, what’s the hottest Metro Station you’ve been to recently?

Katie moved to DC in 2007, and has since embarked upon a love affair with the city. She’s an education reform advocate and communications professional during the day; at night and on the weekends, she’s an owner here at We Love DC. Katie has high goals to eat herself through the entire city, with only her running shoes to save her from herself. For up-to-the-minute news and reviews (among other musings), follow her on Twitter!

13 thoughts on “Metro = Sweatbox

  1. Please add Gallery Place/Chinatown metro station to that list! I could never understand why they would allow the A/C to go un-fixed for so long! I could literally pass out waiting for the train b/c it’s so dag-on hot in there, and always super PACKED with people…and the sometimes slow service and packed trains doesn’t make waiting anymore fun!

  2. L’Enfant Plaza is right up there with Metro Center for hottest station award. It’s like a sauna in there–especially if there’s a Nats game.

  3. It’s really bad in Metro Center. They have maybe 4 fans set up, but you can only feel the effect of the fan once you’re within 4 feet of it. And then it’s just blowing warm air on you.

  4. Gotta second Gallery Place / C-town. The only saving grace is the occasional ‘tunnel wind’ that trickles up from the Yellow/Green platform. It’s the worst after a Verizon Center event and even remains sauna-like in the coldest of winter.

  5. In addition to hot metro stations, one of the things that really ticks me off is when I hop on a sweatbox car where the a/c is broken and it feels like the heater is turned on. Last week on the orange line, I managed to be on “that car” 3 times on my afternoon commute home. Each time I always tried to wait it out, because the surrounding cars were so crowded, but each time I made the switch once arriving in Rosslyn after the sweltering ride under the potomac.

  6. One of the things I definitely don’t miss about working near Dupont Circle is that metro station. Working there two years ago, I was miserable waiting for a train in the evenings.

    (Dis)honorable mention goes to Fort Totten- you’d think having one end of the green/yellow platform open to the outside would help, but that one always feels like being in a broiler.

    But I do appreciate Forest Glen for being very nice and cool.

  7. Metro Center wins hands down!
    What doesn’t win is not being able to get off (that’s right I said OFF) the train @ Gallery Place last night. Platform was too crowded, which forced me to endure an unplanned switch in the sweltering nastiness of MC.

  8. Um yeah, I have to change my answer b/c the A/C is “fixed” at Gallery Place compared to Metro Center! Geez! Just stopped through there about 20 minutes ago, wth?! That is some dangerous heat!!! Lol! I went from there right into another sauna minus the big cheap fans…a rail car on the Orange Line o Vienna had NO A/C! FML x2!!!

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