Metro station closures will affect Orange and Silver line train service, starting tomorrow

The last train out of the Vienna Metro station for the next month will depart at 12:20 a.m. tomorrow (Saturday)

After that, the Vienna, Dunn Loring, West Falls Church and East Falls Church stations will all shut down, as the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority begins to replace a 40-year-old steel rail extending to Ballston.

All four stations will be closed through June 25. At that point, the Falls Church stations will reopen, but the Vienna and Dunn Loring stations will stay closed through July 16.

“Replacing some of the oldest tracks in our system is critical to safety and reliability, and crews will work 24/7 to complete this project as quickly as possible so we can get back to normal service,” Metro Chief of Infrastructure Andy Off said in a news release earlier this week. “We make every effort to minimize impacts to our customers, and we thank them for their patience while we continue to build a safe and modern Metro to serve the entire region.”

In addition to the rail replacement, the maintenance project will include upgrades of fiber-optic cables at the stations “to modernize communications and allow for more efficient maintenance in the future,” WMATA says.

Though the shutdown will primarily affect Orange Line travelers, the East Falls Church station in Arlington will also be closed to Silver Line trains, so anyone looking to transfer or travel between the McLean and Ballston stations will need to take one of the free shuttles provided by Metro.

The shuttle schedule during the shutdown’s current phase to June 25 is below:

Orange Line Shuttle: Local service between Vienna, Dunn Loring, West Falls Church, East Falls Church, and Ballston-MU stations during normal Metrorail operating hours.

• Every 5 minutes during rush hours. (6-9 a.m., 3-7 p.m.)
• Every 10 minutes all other times, including weekends.

Silver Line Shuttle: Local service between McLean, East Falls Church, and Ballston-MU stations during normal Metrorail operating hours.

• Every 5 minutes during rush hours. (6- 9 a.m., 3-7 p.m.)
• Every 10 minutes all other times, including weekends.

Orange Line Express: Express service between Vienna and Rosslyn stations.

• Service every 5 minutes during rush hours. (6-9 a.m., 3-7 p.m.)
• Service every 10 minutes during non-rush hours. (9 a.m.-3 p.m., 7-9 p.m.)

Silver Line Limited: Limited-stop service between Washington Dulles International Airport, McLean, and Rosslyn.

• Service every 5 minutes during rush hours. (6-9 a.m., 3-7 p.m.)
• Service every 10 minutes during non-rush hours. (9 a.m.-3 p.m., 7-9 p.m.)

The Silver Line Limited shuttle will be the fastest option for riders going to or from Dulles Airport, which accounts for about one-third of all trips on Metro’s Silver Line extension, according to WMATA.

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