“Metro advises customers of weekend track work impacting service on four lines”

photo by m01229

From WMATA:

“Metro will begin track work over the weekend, August 12-13, that will require single tracking between Eastern Market and Stadium-Armory stations, reducing service on the Blue and Orange lines to every 24 minutes. Silver Line trains will also turn back at Federal Center SW instead of going to Downtown Largo. On the Red Line trains will single track between Grosvenor and Medical Center with trains operating every 20 minutes only between Friendship Heights and Shady Grove.

During single tracking trains must share one track, taking turns going through the construction zone. Due to the length of the single track, trains will alternate between 2 and 22-minutes between trains from Eastern Market to Stadium-Armory with two trains, one Orange and one Blue, serving the platform in one direction and then two trains, one Orange and one Blue, serving the platform from the opposite direction.

Trains will arrive more frequently, on average every 8-12 minutes, between Rosslyn and Federal Center SW, and every 10-12 minutes on average between East Falls Church and Rosslyn where lines overlap.

On the Red Line, most stations will still have frequent service. Additional trains will operate between Glenmont and Friendship Heights every 10 minutes, with every other train continuing to Shady Grove.

The construction will begin early Saturday and continue through the weekend, wrapping up before the system opens Monday morning. On the Blue and Orange lines work crews will be replacing grout pads, the concrete slabs necessary to support the tracks. The grout pads are located every few feet and anchor the tracks to absorb the weight of the train and provide stability.

Crews working in the area will need to remove the bolts, fasteners, and plates to detach the rails before demolishing the existing grout pads. New grout pads then need to be framed, concrete poured, and time allowed for the concrete to set. The rails then need to be reattached and re-calibrated for trains to resume service.

Between Medical Center and Grosvenor on the Red Line, track crews will replace rail and renew the joints, where the two sections of rail are fastened together.

Customers traveling to/from or through the single tracking zones are encouraged to allow for additional travel time while we perform this safety critical maintenance.”