Next weekend includes Columbus Day. Because lighter passenger volumes are expected that weekend, Metro is planning disruptive, but necessary trackwork.

The Blue and Orange Lines will be severed by the work zone. There will be no train service at Farragut West or McPherson Square. Blue and Orange trains will not call at Metro Center, either.

All weekend, beginning at 10pm Friday and lasting until Tuesday morning, Blue Line trains will operate from Franconia-Springfield to Foggy Bottom and from Largo Town Center to Federal Triangle. Orange Line trains will operate from Vienna to Foggy Bottom and from New Carrollton to Federal Triangle.

Additionally, on Saturday, Sunday, and Monday before 9:30pm, half of all Blue Line trains departing Franconia-Springfield will travel across the Yellow Line bridge between Pentagon and L’Enfant Plaza. Those trains will run from Franconia to Mount Vernon Square, allowing patrons to bypass the work zone.

In the week following the closure, riders should expect trains to travel very slowly though the area.

These slow zones are put into place for customer safety, but the agency is not in the habit of announcing this to customers. After last month’s Red Line closure, many riders complained about the slowness, and Metro’s only response was one belated tweet. Update: Metro has informed us that since these tracks will be affixed to concrete (as opposed to gravel ballast), there will not be a slow zone in place after the track work.

Downtown, Metro will be providing free shuttle buses to get patrons around the closure.

There will be two routes: A clockwise route and a counterclockwise route. They will make stops only at Metro stations, including the closed ones.

Diagram by author.

Metro is advising customers to add 40 minutes to their expected trip time. They are also strongly advising people to avoid the trackwork zone because long waits are expected for shuttle buses.

The work will replace the interlocking at McPherson Square. This replacement has been recommended by the National Transportation Safety Board, and the new interlocking should improve safety for customers. Metro is also using the closure to replace other components in the affected areas.

As always, you can keep track of planned Metro service disruptions on GGW’s Disruption Calendar.

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Tagged: metro, service disruption, transit, wmata

Matt Johnson has lived in the Washington area since 2007. He has a Master’s in Planning from the University of Maryland and a BS in Public Policy from Georgia Tech. He lives in Dupont Circle. He’s a member of the American Institute of Certified Planners, and is an employee of the Montgomery County Department of Transportation. His views are his own and do not represent those of his employer.