New canopy glass fiber reinforced concrete paneling goes up for the rebuilt Rockville canopy. Image from WMATA.

The Rockville and Shady Grove Metrorail stations are no longer scheduled to reopen on December 5 but will now remain closed for a month longer, according to a notice from Metro contractor W. M. Schlosser. The stations are now set to reopen after work finishes on January 12, 2022.

The month-long delay is a further headache for Red Line riders. The two stations closed on September 11, 2021 so Metro could demolish and reconstruct the canopy over the platform at Rockville station; the two were set to reopen on December 5. Metro was also using the closure to construct a new staircase to the platform at Shady Grove.

Trains on the Red Line have also been running less frequently than usual after the 7000-series railcars, which make up over half of Metro’s active rail fleet, were removed from service due to safety concerns after a Blue line train derailed.

Metro said it hoped to be able to move some railcars32 in total, or enough for six additional trains — out of Shady Grove Yard to bolser service levels. Metro is currently running trains 2-3-times less often than usual due to not having enough cars available; trains are running every 30 minutes on Orange/Silver/Blue/Yellow, every 20 on Green, and every 15 on the Red line.

Being able to move railcars out of the Yard would require partially deconstructing the platform built over both inbound and outbound tracks at the station. The yard is currently inaccessible as it’s on the other side of the construction area.

Canopy demolition and reconstruction appeared to be proceeding at the station, according to updates posted on Metro’s website. The canopy reconstruction entered its second phase during the week of October 28 where crews were beginning to move in and install the steel beams needed to support the canopy over the station platform.

The construction delay notice, which GGWash was tipped off to, cited “unforeseen conditions” as the cause of the delay. It’s unclear how much of the delay is due to Metro needing access to the yard, or if other circumstances contributed.

When asked about the delays, W. M. Schlosser asked that all questions be directed to WMATA.

Metro confirmed the schedule delay in a press release issued Monday afternoon, saying “Red Line customers can now expect the stations to reopen in mid-January 2022.” A Metro spokesperson added that “We’ll have a better idea of the [reopening] date once the materials issues are resolved and will let the public know at that time.”

The agency blamed the delay on both the need to pause work to move railcars out of Shady Grove Yard, as well as “quality control issues” with some of the new canopy’s glass fiber-reinforced concrete panels that have yet to be installed.

Metro says that it’s “working directly with the manufacturer to ensure the remaining panels meet quality standards and are ready for installation.”

Metro awarded W. M. Schlosser a $49,477,000 contract in April to perform the Rockville canopy reconstruction as well as rehabilitation work on the tracks at nine locations.

The temporary platform placed over the Metro tracks at Rockville for construction, as seen from a passing Amtrak train.  Image by the author.

Metro is running three shuttle buses at the stations during the shutdown: two local routes run from Rockville to Shady Grove and Rockville to Twinbrook, and an express route runs from Shady Grove to Twinbrook.

Parking at Metro’s lots at Shady Grove and Rockville is free for the duration of the construction project. MARC trains on the Brunswick line continue to stop as usual at Rockville station.

Update: This article has been updated at 4:10 pm Nov. 3, to include information a WMATA press release issued today, and comments from a WMATA spokesperson.

(Disclosure: Tracy Hadden Loh is GGWash’s Board Chair and serves on Metro’s Board. Loh had no input in this article.)

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.