Metro News Release

For immediate release: June 17, 2004

Metro to open at 5 a.m. weekdays starting in September

Beginning September 27 the Metrorail system will open at 5 a.m. instead of 5:30 a.m. on weekdays. Customers traveling the longest distance on Metrorail will have an extra 30 minutes to ride when the transit system starts operating trains from the end of each line" one half hour earlier. Metro’s Board of Directors today included the additional half-hour of service in the transit authority’s budget for the 2005 fiscal year (July1, 2004 - June 30, 2005). Trains will begin service at 5 a.m. from the terminal stations (those at the end of each line) and as they make their way in town, the other stations will open along the way. The 5 a.m. trains will start at Vienna/Fairfax-GMU, Franconia-Springfield, Huntington, Branch Avenue, Addison Road-Seat Pleasant, New Carrollton, Greenbelt, Glenmont and Shady Grove. Approximately 1,700 riders are expected to take advantage of the early morning slot daily between 5 and 5:30 a.m. (428,400 riders annually), although Metro planners forecast that most of those riders already use Metrorail and will just shift their riding habits to the earlier time period. On weekday mornings, Metrorail trains will depart at the end of each rail line at 5 a.m. approximately every 12 to 15 minutes. Customers at the end of the line will see two additional trains prior to 5:30 a.m. Customers waiting for trains at mid-line stations will see one additional early morning train and customers in the downtown core area will see train service begin closer to 5:30 a.m., as those end-of-the line trains make their way downtown. Stations will open at least10 minutes before the first train is scheduled to arrive. The additional early-morning service will cost Metro approximately $515,000 for the first nine months of service, from the start of service on September 27, 2004, through June 2005, the end of Metro’s fiscal year. For more information on Metro, please call 202-637-7000, TTY, 202-638-3780, or visit www.metroopensdoors.com.

News release issued on June 17, 2004.