This weekend, Metrorail track work may affect your ride about town. All lines will be affected.
Here’s what you need to know:
Blue, Orange and Silver Lines:
Buses will replace trains between the Eastern Market and Minnesota Ave./Benning Road stations as an aerial structure rehabilitation project at the Stadium Armory takes place.
Trains run every 12 minutes during the day, and 15 minutes in the evening from Vienna to Eastern Market and Minnesota Avenue to New Carrollton.
Silver Line service will only run between Ashburn and Federal Center SW stations.
Red, Yellow and Green Lines:
Red Line trains will single track between Medical Center and Grosvenor stations, running every 10 minutes between Friendship Heights and Glenmont stations, and every 20 minutes between Friendship Heights and Shady Grove.
Green and Yellow line trains will single track between Mt. Vernon Square and L’Enfant Plaza stations, running every 20 minutes in both directions.
Read more about track work this weekend on the transit system’s website.
Traveling on Metrorail this weekend? Track work is affecting all lines, so plan ahead! Here’s what you need to know: https://t.co/cDFDP9hHQs #wmata pic.twitter.com/lngBAYTI7d
— Metro Forward (@wmata) October 20, 2023
Auto Doors roll out:
Try counting to five next time you’re getting off a Metro train. Automated doors were rolled out this week on the Red Line.
The new feature enables train doors to open manually instead of by a train operator.
The Metro was completely automatically operated when it opened in 1976, but the railway system switched to manually operated train cars after a crash in 2009 that killed nine people and injured over 80. Metro officials have said the safety concerns from that crash, including faulty track circuits, have all been addressed and they are hoping to return to automation to address the human errors that have lead to more recent Metrorail issues, including the doors opening on the wrong side of the train.
“Using Auto Doors eliminates human error from the process of operating our train doors, meaning a safer, smoother trip,” said Brian Dwyer, chief operations officer of Metro. “Anyone who uses Metrorail has experienced the wait, standing at the door wondering when the doors will open. Our customers tell us they want Auto Doors back and this change will improve customer experience and safety.”
