Metro News Release
For immediate release: September 8, 2009
Metro successfully completes Labor Day weekend track work
Pentagon City, Crystal City, Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport Metrorail stations reopened on-time Tuesday morning
The track overhaul on the Blue and Yellow lines that closed the Pentagon City, Crystal City and Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport Metrorail stations during the three-day Labor Day weekend was completed successfully and all three stations reopened on time -- at 5 a.m. today, Tuesday, Sept. 8.
Metro conducted six projects in the area of the closure during that time. Track workers replaced four track switches at the Pentagon City Metrorail station, replaced 2,000 feet of rail, more than 735 ties, performed concrete and deck joint repairs along the Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport Metrorail station aerial structure, conducted fire line maintenance and installed cable to upgrade cell phone service in the Metrorail system. The track switch replacement work was recommended by the National Transportation Safety Board and the cell phone service upgrade is a Congressional mandate.
Labor Day Monday is traditionally a relatively slow ridership day on the Metrorail system with about 500,000 fewer trips than an average weekday. On Monday, Sept. 7, about 165,000 people took Metrorail trips. Last Labor Day about 227,000 people took Metrorail trips.
“By completing this work during the Labor Day holiday weekend, we saved 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. “We want to thank our customers for their patience and understanding the value of these projects while we completed this safety-sensitive work.”
The free shuttle buses were busy throughout the weekend with buses filling up as trains emptied at the Pentagon and Braddock Road Metrorail stations. More than 68,000 people used the shuttle buses to help complete their trips during the weekend.
Sixty-eight additional Metro employees along with Metro Transit Police officers were on site throughout Labor Day weekend guiding customers from the rail platforms to the shuttle buses to assist them in completing their trips.
###
Media contact for this news release: Steven Taubenkibel or Lisa Farbstein at 202-962-1051.
For all other inquiries, please call customer service at 202-637-7000.
News release issued at 9:53 am, September 8, 2009.