The History of Washington Metro Speedruns

[@tomo-tawa-linja]

you will notice that this video contains lots of screenshots of tweets. I do not actively use and do not endorse using that site, but especially following the election, I cannot be silent about this. unfortunately, the reality is that most speedruns have solely been documented on that site. I hope and expect that this will change in the future, but this is important context that I feel it would be negligent of me to not address. I also recorded the last section before November 5th, but following that, I think it's even more poignant.

[@owly6204]

I might open a bluesky account so I can do it there (maybe)

[@wreakjavik]

oh no I subscribed to summoning salt and rm transit and now my algorithm ate itself

[@Shortline819]

DC speedruns are an art form. I did a speedrun with two other friends and we got 8 hours 10 minutes. Our orginal plan had us completing the run in 7 hours 15 minutes, since it relied on perfect connections and a blue line train to New Carrollton that ran once a day. It thought me how vital it is for all your connections to go right. We did so in July as well. Made videos too. Great video!!!

[@colethomsen]

It should be noted that it was July of 2024, though.

[@29downtheline]

It was certainly one of the Metro Speedruns of all time! Hours of planning went into it, but it was fun!

[@benmason3402]

Can't wait to see how the meta changes after the introduction of the purple line.

[@tomo-tawa-linja]

I wanted to discuss this in the video but it was getting really long... to be honest, you could make the case that the purple line isn't required to be ridden in runs, because it won't be operated by WMATA but rather Maryland's DOT. that said, it would probably eliminate TheBus 21, because now you'd have a rail connection from NC to Greenbelt, and if you want to go to NC, you have to get the stations in between. it could also eliminate the RideOn between Glenmont and Twinbrook.

[@rileydosh1605]

​@tomo-tawa-linja It adds 50 minutes of ride time, but cuts (from my original route) some 30-40 minutes of excess travel so I really hope it's included. Ym standard is whether it's included on the WMATA map to be required for the run.

[@29downtheline]

I think the next big milestones in DC Metro speed runs will be after ATO and/or higher line speeds are reinstated. A route in the low 7 hour range is certainly possible, and maybe even a sub-7 hour run, but I think an improvement in system reliability will entice more people to attempt breaking the record. Thanks for putting together a record of the development of this speedrun!

[@colethomsen]

We will be back. Stronger and faster (hopefully)

[@29downtheline]

@@colethomsen Absolutely!!! I would love to attempt the 7:15 run again. It was theoretically possible! I’m honestly just waiting for higher line speeds and ATO. My second attempt was even worst than the one we did together.

[@pialba]

and a public transit nerd and speedrunning fan, this is the video I was waiting for

[@ClassyWhale]

Gonna need to update this in January ;)

[@tnkl_4254]

Records are designed to be broken

[@yukaira]

this was amazing! had me on the edge of my seat and captured the salt incredibly, so many jaw-dropping moments!

[@tomo-tawa-linja]

I guess you could say I summoned the salt

[@JoshDoesTravel]

Great explainer on the history of DC Metro speedrunning! There’s so much history I wasn’t aware of, and I’m definitely hoping to contribute to that some time in the next few months!

[@swamisound]

As a DC metro regular, I too have been waiting for this to drop

[@featscottyb]

Neat video! When I set the 7:59, I knew it could be done faster because I did it on the first day of snowy/rain in Dec 2019. Speeds were restricted above ground, so I lost about 25 minutes because I had timed it to be 7:34 with perfect transfers. I also never planned to use buses, so I did the whole thing on a single tap in and tap out. I started at Shady Grove and ended at Downtown Largo (then LTC). Would definitely do it differently now that the Silver Line is so much longer. And you're right about the evidence package Guinness required. It was *a lot* to manage by myself during those 8 hours. Exhausting day but really fun. I'm glad to see others joining in and making it a thing.

[@tomo-tawa-linja]

pleasure to hear from you! also I guess that means you still technically hold the full-network record; every run since has used at least one bus.

[@jackbates7467]

I hope to see more of these, especially since seeing other peoples routing will be helpful to me in my quest to ride every passenger rail line in America. I've already ended up sort of speedrunning the Houston Light rail system.

[@icelollyrainbow]

this feels like a fever dream crossover i love it

[@CraigStevenLikesStuff]

I am so tempted.

[@NewYorkRecordingsNYC]

Good job on this video! I should look more into my subway’s speedrunning

[@BenjiShepard-tb4eq]

As someone who takes the Farragut long jumó to get to school every day, I feel like a proud father 🥲

[@S-CB-SL-Animations]

I would love to do a Metro Speedrun someday!!! 😁😁😁

[@TFTSB]

Fantastic dive!

[@me18guy]

Wait this is a thing? Time for me to speedrun

[@tomo-tawa-linja]

it's been a thing for decades!

[@me18guy]

@ i am currently planning my speedrun, where would i post it?

[@nafak1]

waiting for the purple line patch

[@owly6204]

Awesome video! I'm considering doing a solo run within the next month or 2, I just need to create an actual twitter account first so it can be tracked.

[@seanr-m4262]

Summoning Salt esque!

[@tomo-tawa-linja]

one of the best storytellers on the platform, I have tons of respect for him

[@ericdanielski4802]

Nice world records.

[@KB-313]

I should have known it would lead to this!!

[@rileydosh1605]

I did a run in Jan 2019 with a time of 7:59. I didn't know any other completed runs so I thought I might have the record (despite losing 16 minutes to a mistake). Turns out I was wring and the record at the time was 7:40 ish. My route had an average time of 7:40 and could be as low as 7:10, but I also wasn't using buses. I haven't bothered to try it again due to all the construction and the purple line coming in (eventually). Once I find an opportunity I'll be trying it again.

[@rileydosh1605]

Also for context, this is before the Silver line extension, which adds about 30 min to my route. It's pretty close to the Chicago team, but startingbat Shady Grove and ended at Wiehle

[@Waoweens]

this makes me want to run the jakarta rail network

[@DanHominem]

I did a run in September, def didn't get a record. It's a little over half edited but not sure when it'll be up 😅 don't remember what my time was

[@DanHominem]

Haven't published anything really about it so you didn't really miss anything

[@commercialcritic4676]

sweet!

[@CaptainLilVicakaDjCLVCateyes]

Well, tbh, I have exited and entered through every station and its entrances for the record.

[@papyrussemi2848]

I hope that, one day, I will become the first person to complete a Greater Toronto Area All IKEAs% speedrun.

[@tomo-tawa-linja]

ah yes, I've done that before for the Bay Area! but make sure you locate a Blahaj in every store.

[@zcarlettt]

Great video! Whenever i visit DC w family wed always use the metro. Any idea what discord seveer that was? Im going to want to make this route next time im in dc

[@xpdev0]

NYC Subway (MTA), PATH New Jersey & NYC, MBTA Boston or Chicago El Speedruns next?

[@xpdev0]

I'd like to do a (5) line (NYC) or a Green Line (Chicago El) speedrun! The (5) is a fast express line, skipping most stops on the line, and going to vital places, it's the best when the (5) skips everything from 125th Street in Manhattan to East 180th Street during Rush Hours or Construction, saving plenty of time in a speedrun. The Green Line on the Chicago El is "okay", it's not great and it's not perfect but it's good for speedruns when done right, the new Damen station on the Green Line DOES slow the speedrun down a bit.

[@xpdev0]

Doing a full NYC Subway run with all lines & shuttles is very difficult, even with the amount of buses you have to take.

[@wildthang08]

Is there a discord or some sort of active community for this stuff (not twitter or something like that) edit: also if there is can i get a link

[@EspnAndConrailRailfan]

Song name?

[@CasualScrub]

Are bikes banned in speed runs? How come no one is using them?

[@tomo-tawa-linja]

it's very disputed. some see no issue with them at all, some think they should be a different category, and others think they should be banned outright. the community isn't in agreement yet. for what it's worth, Guinness' stance is that they are not allowed. that said, I can't really see that many places where a bike would be useful in this run. perhaps from Benning Road to Minnesota Ave, or even the Farragut jump. but you'd have to either have a bike on you already or engage one from the bikeshare bays very quickly. ideally you'd start riding the moment you exit the station and get onto a sidewalk or lane.

[@Suwawako]

I don't know how I got here, but spill me your knowledge please!

[@snowyyyyyyyyyyyyy]

toki!! 👋

[@austinhall9307]

Love this, but a pessimistic view of the Metro's current status at the 10 min mark. It's been much better the last couple years and significant delays are quite rare! In Randy we trust

[@oliviapg]

tomo tawa linja en musi pi tenpo lili li lon sitelen tawa wan? ni la, sitelen tawa ni li pona mute tawa mi a! sina pona a.