MENU
SEARCHPlanned closures are scheduled between summer 2024 and summer 2026, with additional construction planned over the winter holidays.
Beginning in early June, Glenmont, Wheaton, Forest Glen, Silver Spring, and Takoma stations on the Red Line will be closed.
Photo: WMATA
The Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA) announced plans for major capital construction over the next three years to modernize the Metrorail system, improve safety and reliability, and maintain a state of good repair.
Planned closures are scheduled between summer 2024 and summer 2026, with additional construction planned over the winter holidays.
Beginning in early June, Glenmont, Wheaton, Forest Glen, Silver Spring, and Takoma stations on the Red Line will be closed. The closure will continue through early September with the possibility of reducing the work zone to allow Takoma Station to reopen prior to the end of construction.
The planned work includes upgrading the signaling system, installing communication and train control cables, and repairing the interlocking — which allows trains to cross from one track to the other outside the Takoma Station.
Detailed service plans, including free express and local shuttle buses, are being developed and will be announced at least one month prior to the start of the closure.
The work is being planned in coordination with the Maryland Transit Administration (MTA) Purple Line Project to build a new mezzanine on the platform at WMATA’s Silver Spring Station to provide easier access between WMATA and the future MTA Purple Line.
The Maryland Purple Line light rail line is not part of the Metrorail system, but building the new connection between the two will require the use of both tracks for an extended period and can’t be completed safely and timely with single tracking only.
Additional work includes leak mitigation, automatic train control system replacements, traction power cables installation, drain pumping station replacement, tunnel standpipe replacement, and elevator and escalator maintenance.
Improvements in planning and scheduling track work through summer, winter, and extended weekend outages instead of extensive single tracking, have also helped reduce the amount of planned service disruptions.
In the past seven years, the impact on budgeted service declined by half to just 4% with more weekends free of track work on almost all lines.
Following the Red Line closure this summer, major construction is planned through Summer 2026.
The new bridge will begin carrying passenger trains on March 16, replacing a 116-year-old swing bridge that has long caused delays.
Read More →
Caltrain and its partners have implemented safety improvements at specific locations in response to known risk conditions, operational needs, and available funding since the agency’s founding.
Read More →
On a recent episode of METROspectives, METRO Magazine’s Executive Editor Alex Roman sat down with Ana-Maria Tomlinson, Director of Strategic & Cross-Sector Programs at the CSA Group, to explore a bold initiative aimed at addressing those challenges: the development of a National Code for Transit and Passenger Rail Systems in Canada.
Read More →
Competitive FTA grants will support accessibility upgrades, family-friendly improvements, and cost-efficient capital projects at some of the nation’s oldest and busiest transit hubs.
Read More →
The strategy outlines near- and long-term upgrades to ease congestion, support housing growth, and advance statewide climate goals.
Read More →
The 3.92-mile addition will soon take riders west beyond its current Wilshire and Western station in Koreatown, continuing under Wilshire Boulevard through neighborhoods and communities including Hancock Park, Windsor Square, the Fairfax District, and Carthay Circle into Beverly Hills.
Read More →
The procurement advances the agency's broader efforts to modernize its rail fleet and position Regional Rail for long-term improvement.
Read More →
Under the plan, all long-distance routes will transition to a universal single-level fleet, replacing today’s mix of bi-level and single-level equipment.
Read More →
The milestone is a significant step toward modernizing the MAX Blue Line’s power infrastructure, one of the oldest components of the region’s light rail system.
Read More →
The firm will lead the Tier 2 environmental review program for the Coachella Valley Rail Corridor, including the conceptual and preliminary engineering needed to develop project-level environmental clearance.
Read More →
