Max Smith, wtop.com
WASHINGTON – Crowds coming to the D.C. area for the presidential inauguration ceremonies mean clogged airports and packed train stations.
Tips for Inauguration Day air travel
The Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority (MWAA), which runs Dulles International Airport and Reagan National Airport, says it expects the largest influx of passengers on Tuesday, Jan. 22, the day after the public inaugural ceremony and parade.
MWAA doesn’t anticipate any unusual issues, but says there may be longer-than- usual waits at ticket counters and security checkpoints.
Tips for traveling through the airports on, or around, Inauguration Day include checking in online rather than in person and checking on the flight status before leaving for the airport.
MWAA also suggests that passengers flying the Tuesday after Inauguration Day arrive between two and four hours before the flight.
Tips for Inauguration Day train travel
For those planning to take the train, MARC tickets for Inauguration Day are on sale online through 11:59 p.m. Sunday, Jan. 13. The $25 tickets are for specific morning trains, but can also be used for any of the afternoon trains. Regular MARC tickets will not be accepted.
If there are tickets remaining on Inauguration Day, they will be sold, cash only, at the Halethorpe, Odenten, Brunswick and Germantown stations.
There is no VRE service on Inauguration Day.
Amtrak will operate, and suggests that passengers allow extra time on Inauguration Day, due to expected crowds in Union Station.
Metro will operate rush-hour-level service from 4 a.m. to 9 p.m on Inauguration Day, but the Archives, Smithsonian and Mt. Vernon Square stations will be closed.
For more information on Inauguration Day logistics and tips, see WTOP’s inauguration survival guide.
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