WASHINGTON — Metro expects to close at 11:30 p.m. on Tuesday, July 4, sticking to the new reduced hours that begin about a week before Independence Day, Metro spokesman Dan Stessel said.
As in the past, Metro still plans to run near-rush-hour service before and immediately after the fireworks show on the National Mall. The fireworks begin around 9:10 p.m. and end around 9:30 p.m. Most years, the lines to get back into Metro stations clear by 11 p.m.
Under the new hours, the rail system closes at 11:30 p.m. Monday through Thursday, at 1 a.m. Friday and Saturday nights and at 11 p.m. on Sundays. (The system will also open one hour later on Sundays than it does today, at 8 a.m. rather than 7.)
The closing hours do not precisely match up with the last train times. So, because Metro encourages riders to use a station near the National Mall that will allow them to avoid transferring between lines, riders who plan to linger around the National Mall should check schedules carefully.
Green and Yellow Line riders can use L’Enfant Plaza or Archives stations; Red Line riders can go to Judiciary Square, Gallery Place or Metro Center; and Blue, Orange or Silver Line riders have a number of station options along the Mall.
The last Silver Line train from L’Enfant Plaza toward Wiehle–Reston East is expected to leave at 11:05 p.m. under the new hours.
The last Blue Line train from L’Enfant Plaza toward Franconia-Springfield will leave around 11:18 p.m. The last Orange Line train toward Vienna will leave L’Enfant Plaza around 11:29 p.m., and the last Orange Line train toward New Carrollton will leave around 11:41 p.m.
The last Green Line trains in each direction will be scheduled to leave L’Enfant Plaza around 11:43 p.m., and the last Yellow Line train toward Huntington will be scheduled to leave L’Enfant Plaza around 11:30 p.m.
At Gallery Place-Chinatown, the last southbound Green and Yellow Line trains would leave a few minutes earlier. The final Red Line trains would be expected to leave Gallery Place for Shady Grove around 11:32 p.m. and for Glenmont around 11:38 p.m.
The new hours will impact people traveling to or from other events such as Washington Nationals games for at least the next two years.
Metro plans to charge off-peak fares all day on July 4, with free parking due to the holiday. To accommodate the significant crowds, bicycles will not be allowed on the rail system that day.
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