Metro News Release

For immediate release: June 2, 2004

Metro to open at 5 a.m. on Saturday, June 5,for the 15th annual Komen National Race for the Cure

To accommodate runners, walkers, volunteers, and spectators at Komen’s National Race for the Cure on Saturday, June 5, 2004, Metrorail will open two hours early at 5 a.m. The race, held in downtown Washington, D.C., begins at 8 a.m. with several events prior to the start of the race. More than 60,000 participants and supporters are expected to attend the event, which is designed to raise money for breast cancer research, education, and screening treatment programs. This is the eighth consecutive year that Metrorail is opening early to accommodate participants’ transit needs. "We think that the smartest thing to do is to take Metro to the Race, and we’ll open at 5 a.m. to encourage people to do just that," said Lem Proctor, Metro’s Chief Operating Officer for Rail. "The Race for the Cure was the first organization to take advantage of our early opening-policy that we implemented eight years ago. In accordance with that policy, the organization requesting the early opening pre-pays Metro to open early, and if passenger revenues meet or exceed the deposit, the money is returned to the requestor." Participants attending the 6:45 a.m., pre-race rally are encouraged to utilize the Smithsonian Metrorail station on the Orange and Blue lines, or the Archives-Navy Memorial Metrorail station on the Yellow and Green lines. Participants arriving prior to the 8 and 8:15 a.m. starting line are encouraged to use the Metro Center Metrorail station on the Red, Orange and Blue lines, or the Federal Triangle Metrorail station on the Orange and Blue lines. Metro encourages all participants to purchase their round-trip farecards in advance of the race or when they first enter the system. The Smithsonian and Federal Triangle stations are expected to be among the busiest stations on race day, so customers are encouraged to exit at other nearby, less crowded stations such as Metro Center, Farragut West, or Archives-Navy Memorial. In addition to providing transportation for race participants that day, Metro will field a team consisting of more than 600 employees. Of these employees, 24 of them are breast cancer survivors. All Metro employees running or walking in Saturday’s race will be easily recognized as they will be wearing navy blue Metro baseball hats. Additionally, 1,161 employees have made contributions to the research for discovering a breast cancer cure. "Once again, Metro is pleased to be participating in such an important event, and it’s an honor that many of my colleagues will be joining me on Saturday in the fight against breast cancer," said Cheryl Burke, Metro’s General Counsel, and a breast cancer survivor. "Once again, we will walk and race this year to continue to raise awareness in the fight against breast cancer, celebrating breast cancer survivors, and honoring those who fought bravely, but lost their battle with the disease." For race information, individuals can visit www.nationalraceforthecure.org. For more information on riding Metro, customers can visit www.metroopensdoors.com, or call 202-637-7000 (TTY 202-638-3780) to obtain more information.

News release issued on June 2, 2004.