Metro will reduce its late weeknight service on four lines over the next three weeks to complete some needed maintenance, the transit system said Friday.
The work will begin at 10 p.m. and will take place during three separate Monday-Thursday stretches:
- Monday, Feb. 27 to Thursday, March 2.
- Monday, March 6 to Thursday, March 9.
- Monday, March 13 to Thursday, March 16.
Trains will be single tracking, two at a time in each direction in response to the maintenance.
The affected lines are the Blue, Orange and Silver between Foggy Bottom and Arlington Cemetery on the Blue line, and between Foggy Bottom and Ballston on the Orange and Silver lines. Franconia-Springfield to Downtown Largo and Huntington to National Airport on the Blue Line, Vienna to New Carrollton on the Orange Line, and Ashburn to Ballston on the Silver Line will also be affected.
The Yellow Line bridge will also be closed.
Over the three-week period, work crews will replace the grout pads that are anchored to and support the weight of the trains. Crews will pour new concrete into molds before reinstalling the rails, the transit system said in a statement.
In the statement, Metro said trains will gradually transition from the end of the lines starting at 9 p.m. until all trains are operating every 26 minutes by 10 p.m.
Metro justifies the late night reduction in service by saying ridership after 10 p.m. only accounts for 4% of total ridership systemwide.
Riders should seek alternative methods of transportation and monitor train arrival times closely.
Buses will also be more readily available to riders around those lines.
