Empty Metro train by Mark Andre licensed under Creative Commons.

In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, Metro began cutting back rail and bus service in March. The agency has told riders to stay away from the system except if they are taking essential trips – and the message has gotten through.

Trains now run every 20 minutes during the week, and buses run on Sunday schedules on a limited number of routes. As a result, rail ridership is down about 95% compared to the same period last year, and bus ridership is down about 70%.

Taking advantage of the low ridership, Metro announced this week that it plans to shut down multiple stations on the Yellow and Green lines this summer. The new closures are in addition to previously announced plans to shutter parts of the Orange and Silver lines during this same period of time.

The shutdowns, which take place in parts of June and July, will be used for several projects such as installing a new radio system, replacing fire suppression standpipes, and performing “several state of good repair projects for the tracks,” according to the transit agency.

Metro says there will be buses in place to transport riders around the closed sections on the Yellow and Green lines. The addition of two transfers – rail to bus and then bus to rail – means many riders may have to add a good chunk of time to their commutes. Though trains travel faster than buses, riders will have to wait up to 20 additional minutes for their trains to come.

More shutdowns will be announced “mid-month for the following month’s work,” Metro says. So expect an update for July in June.

Here is the rundown of slated closures, thus far:

June 7-13: There will be no Yellow Line service north of National airport while Metro performs work on the Yellow Line bridge between Pentagon and L’Enfant Plaza. The Blue Line, running every 20 minutes during the week (30 minutes on the weekend), is the alternate rail option to get into DC.

June 14-20: Navy Yard and Waterfront will be closed with no Yellow Line service north of National Airport. Metro will be doing work between L’Enfant Plaza and Anacostia/Pentagon.

June 21-27: Archives, Gallery Place, and Mt. Vernon stations will be closed, with track work between L’Enfant Plaza and Shaw-Howard U. Again, no Yellow Line trains will be running north of National Airport.

June 28-July 12: Columbia Heights and Georgia Avenue will be closed, with Metro performing trackwork between U Street and Fort Totten. The Yellow Line will run north of National Airport, but no further than U Street.

Wiehle-Reston East Metro station by Elvert Barnes licensed under Creative Commons.

Progress on the Silver Line should come this summer

Metro announced in April that Silver Line train service will be suspended through the summer for work at the Wiehle-Reston East station. Integration of the Silver Line’s second phase, which includes the addition of six new stations, was scheduled to take place in January and February. However, the work was cancelled, in part “due to insufficient [Automatic Train Control] software documentation” from the contractor who would be performing the work, according to Metro.

The ATC software issue at Wiehle is a key step that needs to be resolved before the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority (MWAA), who’s contractor is building the new rail line, might be able to hand over control to Metro.

Metro estimates the ATC work at Wiehle will be completed between June and August; no specific date is given in agency documents. Completion of the work during the summer shutdown should be easier, Metro says, because it gives the contractor more access to install software and verify it without having to worry about interrupting trains in the system.

Metro is addressing five major issues in the rail system, while three remain unresolved

Metro says eight of 12 major issues need to be settled before they accept the new stations on the Silver Line.

The five issues being addressed include concrete cracks in the new Dulles Rail Yard, locations where the rails are too close together, concrete ties that may need to be replaced, non-compliant hardware that a contractor installed which created larger-than-acceptable gaps, and tracks that aren’t in certain spots.

Two of the eight issues remain outstanding include replacing “insulated joints” which separate different portions of the power and signaling system and replacing or cleaning ballast (the “rocks” which Metro tracks are supported by). In both instances, MWAA has directed their contractor to fix the issues but the work has yet to start.

Metro asked its Inspector General to investigate the third outstanding issue which is cracking concrete panels at the five new stations.

MWAA’s contractor proposed applying a sealant to the concrete every 10 years as a remedy, but the IG’s office said the approximately 1,700 panels would have to be inspected every three months. The OIG hired a contractor to do some independent analysis but they have been delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Workers perform maintenance along Metrorail route by Elvert Barnes licensed under Creative Commons.

Metro also outlines five milestones that must be achieved before the new portion of the Silver Line may enter service

The first milestone, Dynamic Testing, has already begun; a short train has been running intermittently on the tracks between Wiehle and Ashburn testing the systems needed to run trains through the area. While progress has been made, Metro says dynamic testing cannot be finished until the ATC work at Wiehle is finished — highlighting its importance to completing the rest of the project.

In addition to the ATC work at Wiehle, Metro needs to verify that the new section of the Silver Line properly feeds into its supervisory control and data acquisition (SCADA) system. SCADA is how Metro can remotely control and monitor things like power and ventilation fans on the railroad and is a critical component of the Rail Operations Control Center.

The second milestone, System Performance Demonstration, is when the contractors building the Silver Line demonstrate that the new systems are hooked up to the rest of the rail system. Testing of “normal, abnormal, and simulated emergency operations” occurs in this step, but they cannot happen until dynamic testing, ATC integration, and SCADA testing are completed.

The next three steps, Substantial Completion, Operational Readiness Date, and Pre-Revenue Activities cover the handoff of phase two of the Silver Line from MWAA. Metro does not expect the Silver Line to open until spring or summer 2021, so this is still a while away.

Stephen Repetski is a Virginia native and has lived in the Fairfax area for over 20 years. He has a BS in Applied Networking and Systems Administration from Rochester Institute of Technology and works in Information Technology. Learning about, discussing, and analyzing transit (especially planes and trains) is a hobby he enjoys.