WASHINGTON — Starting at 7 a.m. Friday, July 3, Washington Metro trains will return to regular speeds on the Red Line except for those passing through the area of last week’s accident between Takoma and Fort Totten Metrorail stations.
The Takoma Metrorail station will close at 10 p.m. Thursday, July 2, to allow investigators to continue their work to determine the cause of the accident. The Takoma Metrorail station will reopen with normal speeds at 7 a.m. on Friday, July 3, when the rail system will be open from 7 a.m. to 3 a.m. on the Federal Independence Day holiday.
While the Takoma Metrorail station is closed on Thursday, July 2, the Red Line will be divided into two segments, with trains running between the Glenmont and Silver Spring Metrorail stations, and between the Fort Totten and Shady Grove Metrorail stations. Shuttle buses will take riders around the accident investigation work, stopping to pick up and drop off riders at Fort Totten, Takoma and Silver Spring Metrorail stations.
If trains get backed up, it is possible that some may be offloaded to turn trains around. This maneuver will allow Metro to get some trains to Glenmont, which in turn can provide more service for people traveling from Glenmont or Silver Spring into downtown Washington.
Metro will operate additional eight-car trains to carry more passengers throughout the holiday in an attempt to alleviate crowded conditions.
In addition, all trains on all color lines will be pulling to the front end of all platforms, so riders should check the passenger display signs located both on the platform and at the mezzanine level to determine where they should stand as they wait to board a train. Eight-car trains will fill the entire platform.
Customers will notice that when six-car trains pull into a station that there will be about 150 feet of empty platform space behind the train, so when the signs indicate that a six-car train is pulling into a station, customers should move toward the center or front of the platform for easy boarding.
