Blue and Yellow line Metro riders could face some of the same delays as their Red Line compatriots in the next month as the transit agency gears up for major track repairs.
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The transit agency needs to replace an entire switch in the tracks at Pentagon City on Labor Day weekend, said Metro spokesman Steven Taubenkibel. But to replace the key track device that lets trains move to different tracks, officials need to prepare the site.
Starting this Sunday, he said, nighttime track work will slow down trains significantly after 10 p.m. Sunday through Thursday nights.
And the delays could mean those planning summer trips out of Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport on Labor Day weekend should plan on extra time getting to the airport.
During the nighttime preparation, Taubenkibel said, the Yellow Line trains will run only every 36 minutes between Huntington and Fort Totten, sharing a single track in both directions for the stretch between the L’Enfant and Braddock Road stations. The Blue Line may operate in three sections, forcing riders to use a shuttle from the Rosslyn to Pentagon stations and a shuttle train from the King Street to Franconia-Springfield stations.
The work is part of regular work on the system, unrelated to the June 22 crash that killed nine and injured more than 70 people. But it will be the latest slowdown for riders facing an aging system that has some $11 billion maintenance needs over the next decade.
Red Line riders, meanwhile, have already had to grapple with extra slowdowns since the crash, as trains run one by one between the Fort Totten and Takoma stations where the trains crashed.
Federal investigators released the crash site to Metro last Friday as they wrapped up their on-scene investigation, but the transit agency now needs to repair the track there. Metro has said it will take about 30 days of work, but as of Wednesday the agency was working on equipment at control rooms in stations, not doing track work yet, Taubenkibel said. Elsewhere, Metro has been working on circuits throughout the system in the wake of the crash.
A more substantial overhaul of the tracks also may be needed across the system once the National Transportation Safety Board releases its findings on the cause of the crash.
