Metro News Release

For immediate release: February 11, 2008

Metro considering realignment of the Blue Line

To improve rail reliability and provide more rail service to the growing area on the eastern side of downtown Washington, Metro officials are proposing a new way to move riders that would run from the Blue Line’s Franconia-Springfield station across the Potomac River to L’Enfant Plaza and then onto Greenbelt.

The proposed realignment would slightly alter Blue and Orange Line rail service during weekday peak periods. Currently, 10 Blue Line trains operate every six minutes an hour from Franconia-Springfield headed to the Largo Town Center Metrorail station. Under the proposal, four Blue Line trains an hour would operate over the Yellow Line bridge into the L’Enfant Plaza Metrorail station, continue onto the Mt. Vernon Sq/7th St-Convention Center Metrorail station, and its final destination, the Greenbelt Metrorail station.

To maintain the current weekday peak rail service between downtown Washington and Largo Town Center, Metro would run four trains per hour between the Vienna/Fairfax-GMU and Largo Town Center Metrorail stations using passenger trains that normally make one-way trips between the Vienna/Fairfax-GMU and New Carrollton Metrorail stations.

"We definitely need to look at maximizing the use of the Yellow Line bridge over the Potomac River and provide better service for Northern Virginians traveling to and from downtown," said Metro Board Chairman Christopher Zimmerman of the proposal that is being presented to Board members Thursday.

Metro has also noticed a shift in rider demands from south of the Pentagon into downtown Washington. In the last five years, Metro has seen a 13 percent ridership increase between the Pentagon and L’Enfant Plaza Metrorail stations, and a 4 percent ridership decline between the Rosslyn and Foggy Bottom Metrorail stations.

"The proposed pattern of service would provide relief at the Rosslyn Metrorail station, provide faster travel for the majority of customers boarding at the Yellow and Blue Line stations south of the Pentagon Metrorail station and provide a direct route into the growing northeast part of Washington," said Jim Hughes, Metro’s Managing Director of Operations Support. "It would serve as a short cut and save riders going from the Pentagon Metrorail station to L’Enfant Plaza Metrorail station about eight minutes which makes quite a difference."

Metro officials will seek input from rail riders whose trips originate south of the Pentagon Metrorail station before the Board revisits the proposal later this year.

News release issued at 6:18 pm, February 11, 2008.