Metro News Release
For immediate release: September 7, 2009
Metro's Labor Day weekend track work on schedule
Pentagon City, Crystal City, Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport Metrorail stations to reopen Tuesday morning
The complete track overhaul on the Blue and Yellow lines that has closed the Pentagon City, Crystal City and Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport Metrorail stations during the three-day Labor Day weekend is progressing on schedule. The three stations are expected to reopen on time -- at 5 a.m. on Tuesday morning, Sept. 8.
Metro is conducting six projects in the area of the closure during this time. Track workers are replacing four track switches at the Pentagon City Metrorail station, replacing 2,000 feet of rail, more than 735 ties, performing concrete and deck joint repairs along the Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport Metrorail station aerial structure, conducting fire line maintenance and installing cable to upgrade cell phone service in the Metrorail system. The track switch replacement is work recommended by the National Transportation Safety Board and the cell phone service upgrade is a Congressional mandate.
“By completing this work during the Labor Day holiday weekend, we will save more than $1 million in late-night maintenance costs that would have resulted in 150 days of single-tracking,” said Gerald C. Francis, Metro’s Deputy General Manager and Chief Operating Officer. “People can still take Metro to get where they want to go. It will just take a bit longer to get there. We have free shuttle buses to get people around the closures.”
The free shuttle buses have been busy throughout the weekend with buses filling up as trains empty at the Pentagon and Braddock Road Metrorail stations. Through Sunday more than 48,000 people used the shuttle buses to help complete their trips.
Labor Day Monday is traditionally a very slow ridership day on the Metrorail system with about 500,000 fewer trips expected to be taken today compared to next Monday. Last Labor Day about 227,000 people took Metrorail trips.
Sixty-eight additional Metro employees along with Metro Transit Police officers have been on site guiding customers from the rail platforms to the shuttle buses to assist them in completing their trips. They also have been busy answering questions from customers.
There has been relatively small demand for service to Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport, so far. The Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority Police officers have also been providing assistance guiding customers to and from the Metro shuttle buses and aiding the buses in airport traffic.
Throughout the remainder of the day, the Blue Line will remain split into two segments operating between the Largo Town Center and Pentagon Metrorail stations, and between the Franconia-Springfield and Braddock Road Metrorail stations. The Yellow Line will remain split into two segments operating between the Fort Totten and Pentagon Metrorail stations and between the Huntington and Braddock Road Metrorail stations.
At the Pentagon Metrorail station, all Blue Line trains from the Largo Town Center Metrorail station are pulling into the upper level of the station and all Yellow Line trains from the Fort Totten Metrorail station are pulling into the lower level of the station.
The last Blue and Yellow Line trains departing the Franconia-Springfield and Huntington Metrorail stations for the Braddock Road Metrorail station will leave 30 minutes earlier than usual tonight. This will allow for customers to connect to the free shuttle buses and to the last trains departing the Pentagon Metrorail station to the Largo Town Center and Fort Totten Metrorail stations.
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Media contact for this news release: Angela Gates or Lisa Farbstein at 202-962-1051.
For all other inquiries, please call customer service at 202-637-7000.
News release issued at 11:33 am, September 7, 2009.