Problems with turning around trains in the middle of the line mean some Metro riders will see rush-hour service double next week, even as six other rail stations shut down for more than three months.
Metro will start running all Yellow Line trains to Greenbelt this weekend, rather than turning them around at Fort Totten or Mount Vernon Square.
Riders at stations north of Mount Vernon Square — Shaw-Howard, U Street, Columbia Heights, Georgia Avenue-Petworth, Fort Totten, West Hyattsville, Prince George’s Plaza, College Park and Greenbelt — will see twice as many rush-hour trains next week as they did this week.
It should alleviate some of the crowding added when Metro cut rush-hour service in 2017 in an effort to provide more consistent service.
Green Line riders south of L’Enfant Plaza will not see any change in service.
Metro had already planned to extend Yellow Line service to Greenbelt starting at the end of June to eliminate complications from mid-line turnarounds and provide extra service through the heart of D.C.
Metro also plans to end mid-line turnarounds on the Red Line by July 1, which will add service between Silver Spring and Glenmont.
The Yellow Line change is coming now because a dry-run earlier this month for the summerlong shutdown of all Blue and Yellow Line stations south of Reagan National Airport exposed challenges Metro would face if trains had to turn around in the middle of the line.
“Metro determined that extending all Yellow Line trains to Greenbelt would improve train spacing, reduce congestion and maintain Metro’s commitment to operate normal service outside of the shutdown area,” Metro said in a statement.
Braddock Road, King Street-Old Town, Eisenhower Avenue, Van Dorn Street, Huntington and Franconia-Springfield stations are scheduled to be closed starting this weekend, May 25 through Sept. 8.
