We've had plenty of good news about Metro lines and stations recently opening back up — but you knew work on Metrorail wouldn't be over for long. The latest round of work (and closures) is coming for the Orange, Silver and Green lines.
The planned work projects include waterproofing station roofs, replacing 40-year-old rails and installing fiber optic cable, Metro said.
"Yeah, you need to do it," Metro rider Les Blake said. "I'm a welder, so you've got to maintain these things."
Another passenger, Julia Sobaszkiewcz, said, "In the long run, it’s probably going to be great."
We're making it easier for you to find stories that matter with our new newsletter — The 4Front. Sign up here and get news that is important for you to your inbox.
Metro’s general manager, Randy Clarke, talked about this work during a recent Metro event.
"I don't want shutdowns either," he said. "But we are in between a rock and a hard place. The same people that will say 'I don’t want this shutdown' are also the people that will say, 'Metro must do everything possible to be the safest system'."
Shuttlebuses will be running to help riders get around.
Orange Line Work in DC, Maryland: May 12–21
Transportation
Reporter Adam Tuss and the News4 team are covering you down on the roads and in transit.
From May 12 to May 21, trains will be single-tracking on the Orange Line between Stadium Armory and Cheverly.
WMATA says it will run extra "Orange Line Plus" trains between Vienna and Downtown Largo during morning and evening rush (6-9 a.m. and 3-6 p.m.) to try to handle capacity at busier downtown stations.
- During morning rush: Eastbound Orange and Orange+ trains combined will run about every 12 minutes between Stadium-Armory and Vienna. Westbound Orange and Orange+ trains will run every 2-22 minutes.
- During evening rush: Orange and Orange+ trains heading toward Vienna will run every 9-15 minutes; Orange and Orange+ trains traveling toward New Carrollton or Downtown Largo will run every 6-18 minutes.
- During off-peak times and weekends: Orange trains will run every 20 minutes between Vienna and New Carrollton only, with no Orange+ trains. Metro will also run extra trains throughout the day between Vienna and downtown stations to reduce waits, and weekend shuttle bus service will be available between Stadium-Armory and New Carrollton.
Orange and Orange+ service, combined with the Blue and Silver lines, should keep trains arriving about every four minutes between Rosslyn and Stadium-Armory, WMATA said. However, due to "operational constraints," WMATA said, some passengers may find wait times up to nine minutes.
Orange Line Work in Northern Virginia: June 3–July 17
The intensity will pick up between June 3 and July 17, as a number of stations in Northern Virginia will be closed, with no Silver or Orange line service.
Four stations will close starting June 3: Vienna, Dunn Loring, West Falls Church and East Falls Church.
On June 26, two of those will reopen: West Falls Church and East Falls Church.
However, the Vienna and Dunn Loring stations will remain closed through July 16.
Green Line Work in DC, Maryland: July 22–Sept. 4
Toward the end of the summer, between July 22 and Sept. 4, stations will be closed and there will be no Green Line service between Fort Totten and Greenbelt.
On the weekend of July 22-23, five stations will be closed: Fort Totten, West Hyattsville, Hyattsville Crossing, College Park-U of Md and Greenbelt closed.
While Fort Totten is expected to reopen July 24, the other four stations will remain closed through Labor Day, Sept. 4.
