UPDATE 4/19/17 4:43 p.m.: Metro has postponed the weekend shutdown of the Orange, Silver and Blue Line tracks. See updated service information for the weekend of Apr. 22-23 here.
EARLIER: WASHINGTON — A stretch of Metro’s Blue, Orange and Silver lines through downtown D.C. will be closed this weekend, in addition to the ongoing shutdown of the Greenbelt and College Park stations on the Green Line.
Farragut West, McPherson Square and the lower-level tracks at Metro Center that usually serve the Blue, Orange and Silver lines will be closed Saturday and Sunday. Metro plans to run shuttle buses, which could add 10 to 20 minutes per stop to a usual Metro trip. Some of the buses will stop at each station, while others will stop only at Foggy Bottom, Metro Center and Federal Triangle.
With the Blue, Orange and Silver Line tracks shut down between Foggy Bottom and Federal Triangle for ceiling tile replacement, trains will turn back toward Virginia at Foggy Bottom and turn back toward Maryland at Federal Triangle. Blue and Orange Line trains are scheduled every 15 minutes on each of the two segments, and Silver Line trains are only scheduled to run between Wiehle-Reston East and Ballston. Silver Line trips to or from the rest of Arlington or downtown D.C. will require a transfer to or from an Orange Line train.
None of the city’s major professional sports teams are playing home games Saturday or Sunday, but some other events are planned for downtown. The March for Science is scheduled to start gathering near the Washington Monument on Saturday morning before a march to the Capitol in the afternoon. Organizers of that event said on an original National Park Service permit application that they expected up to 150,000 people, although the number has since been revised downward.
Other options
Riders only planning to go one or two stops beyond Foggy Bottom or Federal Triangle should consider walking, since stations in that part of the city are not too far apart — the entire stretch between the Foggy Bottom and Federal Triangle stations is a walk of about a mile and a half). Riders looking to transfer to the Red Line from the Foggy Bottom area should consider walking to Farragut North. Federal Triangle and Metro Center are even closer together — less than a half-mile apart.
Red Line trains are scheduled to run every 16 minutes to and from Shady Grove and Glenmont this weekend, with additional trains during the day between Silver Spring and Grosvenor.
After the Washington Capitals game on Friday night, the Red Line is scheduled to single-track between Dupont Circle and Van Ness for maintenance work. Fans should remember that Metro closes at midnight every day of the week for now, including Friday and Saturday nights. That will change around July 1, when hours are cut back on other days and Friday- and Saturday-night riders get one of the old hours of service back — with a 1 a.m. weekend closing.
