Metro News Release
For immediate release: March 6, 2011
Metro winds down weekend improvements, repairs at Cheverly
Minnesota Ave, Deanwood, Cheverly, Landover and New Carrollton stations to reopen Monday morning
Track circuit upgrades outside the Deanwood Metrorail station, repairs outside the Cheverly Metrorail station and several maintenance projects on the Orange Line that closed the Minnesota Avenue, Deanwood, Cheverly, Landover and New Carrollton Metrorail stations and stopped train service between the Stadium-Armory and Benning Road Metrorail stations this weekend is progressing on schedule. Regular Blue and Orange Line service will resume on Monday, March 7.
This weekend, Metro is making repairs on the aerial structure outside the Cheverly Metrorail station, making track circuit upgrades near the Deanwood Metrorail station, installing 6,000 feet of cellular communication cables to ultimately improve cell phone coverage, replacing 2,000 feet of old track, installing 380 insulators, 1,400 new rail ties, 400 new track fasteners, making repairs to 19 escalators and 14 elevators, and fixing the platform at the Minnesota Avenue Metrorail station.
The free shuttle buses have been busy throughout the weekend with buses filling up as trains empty at the Stadium-Armory and Benning Road Metrorail stations. Through Saturday, March 5, about 20,478 people have used the shuttle buses to help complete their trips.
To inform customers about the track work, signs and banners were posted at key locations; advertisements were placed; messages were posted on platform display signs; and a brochure was produced in English and Spanish. Throughout the weekend, customers are hearing system-wide rail station and train operator announcements and receiving e-mail and Twitter alerts.
Today, the Orange Line is operating only between the Vienna-Fairfax/GMU and Stadium-Armory Metrorail stations. The Blue Line is split in two sections, operating between the Franconia-Springfield and Stadium-Armory Metrorail stations and between the Largo Town Center and Benning Road Metrorail stations.
News release issued at 11:45 am, March 6, 2011.