Metro plans to shut down the rail station at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport on the weekend before Thanksgiving as part of a plan to overhaul the 35-year-old rail system. The transit agency released a yearlong calendar of planned track work on Wednesday, outlining when it will shut down stations and shuttle riders past the disruptions via bus.
The shutdowns will occur nearly every weekend as part of a new strategy as Metro undertakes a massive rebuilding program, with the first closures starting Aug. 6-7 at the Medical Center, Grosvenor-Strathmore, White Flint and Twinbrook stations on the Red Line. The idea is intended to be safer and more efficient than forcing trains to share a single track, though that technique will continue as well.
| The shutdowns |
| Metro plans to shut down at least one rail station on many weekends over the next year to complete track work as part of a massive rebuilding campaign. It will provide free shuttle buses to ferry riders past the work zones. In addition to the shutdowns, it also plans to continue to do some track work by forcing trains to share a single track, but the agency has said it will try to plan such work only on lines not facing shutdowns. |
| The full calendar is available at wmata.com/trackwork |
Metro officials have said the shutdowns are better for riders because they contain the delays. Those who pass through the closed sections will be slowed down but those delays don’t ripple across the entire line.
However, they have said they plan to protect some busy weekends from any major shutdowns, such as Thanksgiving, July 4 and the Cherry Blossom Festival.
But for the weekend of Nov. 19-20, the agency listed shutdowns at National Airport in addition to Braddock Road and Crystal City. That’s the weekend before Thanksgiving when people are starting to travel for the holiday, one of the busiest travel times for airports all year.
Metro spokesman Dan Stessel told The Washington Examiner that planners were aware of the issue when they created the calendar. “We put it out as a planning tool,” he said. “If there are substantial concerns, we’ll take a look at them.”
The Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority, which runs Reagan National does not keep statistics on passengers for individual dates at the airport, said spokeswoman Tara Hamilton. “Generally we start getting busy by the Friday before Thanksgiving,” she said.
But the real crunch starts Tuesday, she said.
About 21 percent of airport passengers use the Metro stop to get to the airport, according to a 2010 survey. Airport workers also use the station.
Two years ago, Metro board members and local officials lashed out at the transit agency when Metro closed the airport station for the Labor Day weekend. They argued the agency hadn’t given sufficient notice.
