We went along for the ride. Before you can take a ride, you have to cut a ribbon. And after that, the silver line officially opened for business, glitzy and polished, huge crowds waiting to hop on board. The silver line pennant, the keep seek item of the day. Imagine being the train operator for the first time. Cedric washington is getting ready for it. I thought this is serious. Thats when nerves set in. Reporter a whose who of dignitaries as we caught up with the first train with the head of metro. Rich, were walking in, is this going to happen . Absolutely, were in good shape. Weve had hundreds of cuts waiting to get on the first train. Hundreds of people at the ceremony. Its just a wonderful day. Words are hard to express how happy we are to get this moving. Reporter and the crowds did come out in force. There we are, this is the first silver line train. Were our our way to tysons corner. I think everybody is excited, right . Got a new transportation line. This is like the coolest thing ever. Here we are on the silver line. The first train. Reporter dana jim was one of the first to get on the train. She lives within walking distance of the silver line. Weve been waiting, my goodness, finally. Just awesome for me to have the convenience around us. Reporter no more waiting, the trains are here. Lots of fun to be on the initial ride of the silver line. Now, you know one of the questions we get asked a lot about the silver line is about the railcars. Are there going to be new metro railcars on the silver line . Well, for the time being, youre stuck with some of the older original rail cars. Now metro does have a plan to put new 7,000series railcars on the tracks. Theyre not here yet. A couple more months we did get to test a test drive on one of those rains. Climbing onboard the new metro rail cars. The metro hopes to have the new rail cars known as the 7,000series picking up passengers by the end of the year. Were going to walk you through some of the features of the new ride. The first thing you notice on the 7,000 series railcar, its brand new. The carpet is gone. The composite floor here. The lcd screens that tell you where you are. Protected by tough plastic. They actually take baseball bats to that plastic to make sure its tough. Right here, the silver line right here. Other notable, new blue cushioned seats automated station signs that track the trip and yesterday the announcement doors opening. Step up to allow customers to exit. Reporter that just makes things easier. Metro has a big problem with people putting their hands in the doors slowing down the trip. And it makes sure the train keeps moving. This door that were looking for is making sure that the car propers the way it was designed. Reporter keeping a close eye on the testing for metro. Is this going to be a better ride for customers overall . Theres no question in my mind. I think the customers love it. Reporter for right now, while the testing goes on, this new train draws stares, many snap pictures from the platform. Some even try to get on. Metro says soon enough, youll be able to take a picture inside. Step back, doors closing. Certainly a lot of optimism about those new metro rail cars. Well, lets switch gears a little bit from the rail to the roads. You know, taking a ride on the capitol beltway, yes, that often requires some patience. And we have a look at the most dangerous stretch of our most infamous roads. The beltway. Certainly doesnt bring up thoughts of joy. And it makes you fully aware of the people on the road with you. Thats one for me. People drive so crazy. Im always you dont drive crazy . No, not at all. You sure . Absolutely. How about this thought from driver steve simon netty about the beltway. I think its taxing to my life. Now were getting a look at numbers from the last few years the section between i95 and college park and route 50 in landover sees almost 50 accidents per miles. You take a look at the other beltway, its no picnic like the Montgomery County section or Northern Virginia. The numbers first reported by wtl radio. Talking about the prince georges side. Some say theyre not surprised. Lone anderson with aaa atlantic said prince georges comes up in the topic all the time he has a suggestion. Give police more time to operate. Make it easier to pull speeders over that means maybe enhancing shoulders. Yes, a little patience always required when taking a trip on the beltway. One of the transportation projects that we seem to be waiting a long time for, the d. C. Street car system. Were told that the street cars should be running by the end of the year. We got a chance to hop on one of the street cars when they were testing the brakes. Certainly a fun ride. Take a look. Reporter before d. C. s new street cars can hit the track, they have to hit the test track. News4 the only tv view to get the first ride on the new test car. The testing takes place on capitol streetsoutheast. Test of the emergency brake. One of the things the city has to do is test the vehicles to make sure they can respond to any situation. What were doing right now, an emergency brake going 15 miles an hour testing out the brake. You can see that the emergency brake worked. And we tested the brakes a number of times. So far, all of those tests have come back normal which is exactly what were looking for. Reporter as someone said these are not your grandfathers street cars, theyre sleek and modern. D. C. Has three with three more due. Theyll be put through dozens of tests when they finally hit the streets theyll come here to h street here. They always say its like a pregnancy, you have to be patient. Bumpy, its hard. At the end of the day, we end up with a great baby. Reporter here on h street the anticipation great. At nor established shops like hillman and sun barbershop since 1961, some not show thrilled with the street cars. Albert remembers problems with the old cars. What happens during rush hour, it backs up traffic for miles. Reporter the city will launch an Education Campaign to get drivers used to sharing the road with the new street cars. Still ahead carryon confusion. A surprising number of loaded firearms found by airport security. Plus, behindthescenes access. The place that keeps metro riders moving before they even board their train. And i hit the tarmac at dulles. Yes, they put me to work. Whoo this is like being in your crawl space of your attic. Grandma, your biscuits are the best these are from dunkin. Granny i have a life, you know. [ phone rings ] oh, thats for me. Ooh dunkins chicken biscuit sandwich is a tender breaded chicken filet on a southernstyle biscuit. Grab one for 2. 99 today. America runs on dunkin. Welcome back. And thanks again for joining us. Were at the tysons corners station on the brandnew silver line. Now, we want to turn our attention to the airports. You can believe that loaded guns are making their way towards passenger planes all the time. In fact, the tsa says theyre catching them almost every single day. And happening at each one of our local airports. This is not what the tsa wants to find at the security checkpoint line. But more and more, firearms, sometimes loaded, are being stopped with people trying to carry them on board flights. Here youve got somebody who travels with a shotgun. And they thought it would be interesting to put it in the golf bag. Reporter its these kinds of stories the tsa says its seeing over and over again. A nearly 17 increase in the number of firearm discoveries comparing 2013 and 2012. Its just not safe. Its not safe. Reporter people need to follow the rules, right . Right. Reporter some travelers like alex rae didnt think it wasable to take a firearm to the airport. Did you even know you could check a firearm on to a plane . I didnt know you could check the firearm on a plane. I thought in the belly of the plane. Reporter thats what youre supposed to do. They come up to the ticket count here, they tell the agent they have a firearm and its unloaded. You get a ticket that says you have a checked firearm. You put it in there, you put a lock on it. Then you put your own lock to secure the firearm. It goes up on the conveyor belt. Thats what youre supposed to do, some people, though, trying to bring it through the check point. The tsa not happy people arent being smart about it. The top airports for gun catches, atlanta, denver, phoenix. If youre bringing a gun on a plane, have it checked the right way. Another story thats getting attraction in the area, mark and vre. There are plans to have mark trains and vre trains to run. Vre running into maryland and mark trains running into virginia. It may not sound odd but its being discussed. Take a look at this map from vre. You can see the kind of coordination being talked about. A true Regional Rail system that no longer looking at borders as stopping points. Amelia morales takes it from sta Stafford County but she goes to school in new york but they would rather get a vre train from baltimore. That would be more convenient. Ive driven 95. And its crazy. D. C. s traffic is terrible. Reporter and thats the message these rail riders tell us over the d. C. Traffic can get hectic. Reporter and over. And i hate it. Reporter and over. Andrea savage comes from woodridge. This kind of service is called runthrough service. Vre and marc leaders are quick to point out that there are hurdles that have to be cleared including a new crossing cross the potomac. But they say that could mean as much as two lanes of rush hour on 95 or 66 could be shifted to the rail. Every rider we talked to today was on board. Actually, they shold for it, two thumbs up. Reporter well see if the plan for marc and vre service contains any traction from our area. This, of course a very rideable thing for metro riders. The escalator. Did you know theres an escalator and elevator lab in our area that test these things to make sure you keep moving. We were the first news crew to check it out. Before you take a trip on the train, you usually have to take a trip on one of these,en elevator or escalator. Sometimes, its not exactly the way you want to start the ride. Almost every time i need to use it it, it seems that the escalator is out. Reporter riders not shy about venting when they do and dont work. Metro has close to 600 escalators. The most in all of america. Theres also 1500 elevators. Thats why they created this place, the elevator escalator training lab. Think of it as A Willie Wonka training area. All on display that valuable lessons can be learned. The lab that op 2004 is making a difference in performance. I believe our customers have seen an improvement. Our availability is up 10 . Reporter you half expect a gum ball to come dropping out of one of these machines. But this is serious business. They make sure youre protected, pictures around the room offer a reminder. You should be happy that metro has this elevator and escalator lab to train on because if they didnt, guess where theyd have to train . In the actual system shutting down the escalators that you ride on. Metro says they disable them on purpose, or just pressing the emergency stop buttons. Technicians learning how to spot a prank or a true breakdown so that you can keep moving. Still to come on changing lanes now, once you see them in line, you start going like this. And then i walk them and come over here. Bring them down about halfway. Right. Shoot it about a 45degree angle. Right. The complicated process happening around the clock at the airport to get your plane in the air on time. Welcome back. And thanks again for joining us. Here here at the tysons corners station along the new silver line. Lets turn back to the airport. Have you ever wondered what its like to be part of the ground crew. The guys that pack the plane and guys who load your bags and unload them . If you havent, we took the experience first hand for you. Let me tell you something, it was eye opening. If youve never given a thought to the rhythm thats involved with the airport ground crew, let me be the first to show you. Its complicated. This right here is a 37800, we know because the plane number is on the board there. We just hit the tarmac and already with the ground crew here putting us to work. Our first order of business, taxi plane 37800 that just came in. Today, were doing the 737. You are going to identify yourself with the straight motion with the leadin line. Whats my distress call oh, boy. Just here before you can blink, its go time. Here she comes. Right now, im the communication link to the pilot, telling him how far to come forward and when to stop. Putting blocks under the wheel, checking the plane for damage. Connecting the plane to a power supply. Connecting the plane to a push card that will push it back when all said and done. And yes, unloading the bags. Climb inside what this crew calls the pit. And to do some heavy lifting. These will be getting over to the claim area first. You can leave the wheels up, thats fine. Its not exactly the ritzcarlton. And in the middle of the summer, imagine how hot it gets. Whew. This is like being in the crawl space of your attic. Here we are underneath the plane, in the pits. We are in the pits. You know how objects may be in place. You can see why. Not exactly comfy quarters under here. It is not easy work. My friend wade here passing me the bag reminds me that this plane has to turn around and go back up. Right after we get done unloading these, sweating. The plane will get loaded back up again. A quick job. A quick water break, the crews fuel up with gatorade. And the best treat of all, ice blocks. Break time over. Time to reload the plane. Here come the bags. And the clock is ticking. What is this . Really . Really . I dont even know what to do with this. Oh, wait, theres more coming. Thanks to the person who checked the very heavy exercise machine on the light. We loaded the bags on the plane, check it out. Look at what we have on the tarmac. Actually a shot clock. It tells you when the plane is coming in, when the planes leaving. We got 19 minutes. We got to get it ready. We do lock it up. Our reward, we get to make the flight crew and make a short announcement. Attention, everyone, my name is adam tuesday, i work for nbc4. I unloaded every single one of your bags off this plane. Clap it up, people. The last order of business pushing it it back to the gate and making sure its all clear. And finishing it up with a salute. We did our job. Our boss for the day rodney cox is pleased. And reminds us these are real people working really hard to get you and your bags from point a to point b. It is hot. It is cold. It is rainy as you experienced today. Yeah. And we have to fly a flier friendly airline, no matter what the elements are outside. And we strive to do that. And ladies and gentlemen, im pleased to announce that adams team got their plane out on time, five minutes early. So congratulation. That is a mission accomplished. Coming up next in search of the phantom birdseye man. The artist getting creative using these signs as the canvas changes. Changing lanes continues. [ mom ] when the nest gets too quiet. Its time to find some real harmony, with nature. [ family screams ] elmo [ wolf, kids howling ] [ train whistles ] [ bird chirps ] [ people screaming ] [ snoring ] music to moms ears. [ female announcer ] turn your visit into a getaway. Busch gardens and water country usa summer packages from just 60 per person per night. [ mom ] we may live in houses, but were born for busch gardens. Welcome back and thanks for joining us. We didnt want to leave bikes out of the picture. Capitol bike share has become one of the best success sources. Here theres actually a line to get one of the bikes. Capitol bike share in d. C. , maryland and virginia. An interconnected system, over 300 docking stations like this one. And over 2500 bikes you that can use. Thats certainly good news for the region. We want to shift gears and talk ago a guy thats been having a little fun with road signs around the area. Specifically, in Northern Virginia, this guy is dressing up the signs with creatures. Take a look. Who are is responsible for these . All along the great bulgarian. Birds, black birds, redbirds, owls, popping up, carefully bolted to the signs. Who is responsible . I have to ask you a question, are you the phantom bird man in Northern Virginia . No. Reporter not you . No. Do you know who it is . No. Is it you . No. Is it the guy in the backseat . Is it new . Reporter vdot sent this statement theres no denying that theyre charming and fun and they dont appear to pose a safety hazard to motorists. So we have a trufant to me bird sign man in the great falls area. A mystery, time to investigate further. Shhh hes not just having fun with the road signs. Take a look up in the tree. That right there is the rare old dominion drive gold finch. Right at the old dominion drive and farm road. Rare to see that in the tree. Isntt isnt just the birds, butterflies spreading their wings. We reached the birdman by phone, he said he wants to become nonus in. This is an nbc news special report. Heres lester holt. Good morning, president obama is about to speak on the ongoing situation in iraq before heading out to Marthas Vineyard for vacation. Overnight, the u. S. Military made a second air drop of humanitarian supplies to members of an iraqi Minority Group who are cut off, trapped by islamic extremists. Earlier, u. S. Fighter jets pounded islamic militants with a second round of air strikes. Lets turn to kristen welker. What do we expect to hear from the president . Reporter well, president obama will update the nation on the ongoing crisis in iraq. The past few days, theis has launched several air strikes, striking key isis targets. Those are islamic militants who were making steady gains over to the northwest part of the country and threatened to take erbil, the kurdish stronghold. Earlier today, United States made an air drop delivering food and water to tens of thousands religious minorities driven out of their homes by militants and who are now trapped on top of that mountain. Its the second air drop in several days and brings the number of meals delivered to the refugees to more than 36,000. Now, the u. S. Has also dropped thousands of gallons of water. The white house says this mission is necessary to protect u. S. Interests in the area. And also to deal with that mounting humanitarian crisis that is unfolding there. Now, there are reports that the militant forces at least today are not showing any signs of advancing. President obama has called on a political resolution to all of this, calling on the Iraqi Government to create an inclusive government and hes been adamant that hes not going to put u. S. Boots on the ground. But lester, there have been some concerns about mission creep. About the fear that this military exercise could escalate. The white house says that is not the goal and that president obama seeks to avoid that from happening. Lester. There are diplomats, military advisers around the capital of that islamic kurdish region. Any indication theyre in immediate danger actually, lets go to the president on