Metro News Release
For immediate release: March 10, 2008
Metro Readies for Opening Day at Nationals Park
Metro Details Service Plans for the 2008 Washington Nationals Season
As the Washington Nationals prepare for the 2008 baseball season at Nationals Park, Metro is preparing to round the bases on opening day with more Metrobus and Metrorail service to the Navy Yard Metrorail station, just steps from the new ballpark.
Metrobus will begin extra service on the N22 to get people to the ballpark. Metrorail will have extra trains and personnel to help fans get to and from the game. In addition, the new expanded west entrance of the Navy Yard Metrorail station, just one block from the new ball park will be open.
“Metro has a distinguished history of providing safe, reliable and convenient service for large crowds, and this event is no different from other events in Washington, D.C.,” said John Catoe, Metro’s General Manager. “Everyone at Metro is excited about the new season and the new ballpark and we look forward to be able to provide fans with service to and from the game. People need to know it will be crowded inside the Navy Yard station, but we will get you to and from the games.”
Opening Day, Sunday, March 30
On Sunday, March 30, the regular season home opener for the Washington Nationals, Metro expects to carry about 24,000 people to and from Nationals Park for the 8:15 p.m. game.
To accommodate the crowds, Metrorail will operate up to 18 extra trains, most of them on the Green Line. All trains will be a combination of six and eight-car trains.
Metro personnel will sell specially designed commemorative Washington Nationals SmarTrip cards at the Navy Yard Metrorail station from 5 to 9 p.m. for $5. Customers will need to add fare to the cards.
The newly expanded N22 Metrobus route from the Navy Yard Metrorail station to the Eastern Market and Union Station Metrorail stations will operate every 10 minutes from 11 a.m. to 11:30 p.m.
Metro volunteers sporting Nationals gear will be at the following 11 Metrorail stations to answer questions: Navy Yard, Branch Avenue, Waterfront, L’Enfant Plaza, Gallery Place-Chinatown, Shady Grove, Vienna/Fairfax-GMU, Dunn Loring-Merrifield, West Falls Church-VT/UVA, East Falls Church and Rosslyn. The volunteers will remind patrons to check their SmarTrip card or farecard to ensure they have enough money to enter or exit the Metrorail system.
“Metro will be ready to provide safe, reliable, and convenient service not only for Sunday’s opening home baseball game at Nationals Park, but throughout the entire season,” said Mr. Catoe.
Metro is the best way to get to the ballpark because of the convenience of the Navy Yard Metrorail station, only one block from the new ballpark. The station has undergone a year-long renovation which expanded the station and will reopen the weekend of March 29. The new entrance will accommodate up to 15,000 people per hour, compared with 5,000 before the renovation. It will have more fare gates and vending machines, a new elevator between the entrance and the mezzanine and a new elevator and staircase between the mezzanine and the platform.
On game days, the west entrance will be exit-only three hours before games, and entrance- only after games. During games, the Navy Yard east entrance should be used by people traveling in the opposite direction of the crowds.
On weekends and at the conclusion of games, Metro will have extra trains available to get fans to and from the ballpark. Extra station managers, rail supervisors, and Transit Police officers will be stationed at the Navy Yard Metrorail station to assist riders and provide directions about how to get to and from Nationals Park.
Metro has free brochures that provide simple walking directions to Nationals Park from the Navy Yard Metrorail station, as well as information on Metrobus service and parking. The free brochure is available in stations and on Metro’s Web site at www.wmata.com/nationals
Metrobus routes 70, P1, P2, V7, V8, V9 and the N22 operate to the Navy Yard Metrorail station. Before and after Nationals games, people can avoid the crowds at the Navy Yard Metrorail station by riding the N22 Metrobus route to the Eastern Market Metrorail station on the Blue and Orange Line and the Union Station Metrorail station on the Red Line. The N22 will operate every 10 minutes.
Parking is free at Metrorail stations with parking facilities on weekends and federal holidays.
On weekdays, riders must have a SmarTrip card to pay for parking at all but six Metrorail parking facilities. Customers can pay the daily parking fee with a major credit card or SmarTrip card at the Anacostia, Franconia-Springfield, Largo Town Center, Vienna/Fairfax-GMU, Shady Grove and New Carrollton. Customers are able to use their Discover, Mastercard, Visa, American Express or Japanese Credit Bank cards at these locations.
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News release issued at 2:48 pm, March 10, 2008.