Metro is preparing for a crush of people to swarm the rail line during the morning rush hour when Pope Benedict XVI celebrates the papal Mass at Nationals Park next month.
The April 17 event will mark the first papal visit to D.C. in 29 years.
The transit agency anticipates that about 26,000 people will ride Metro to the 47,000-seat Mass, which is scheduled to be held at 10 a.m.
Metro will run all of its available extra trains during the morning rush hour and will have 18 extra trains available at the Navy Yard Metrorail station near the ballpark to carry people after the Mass, officials said.
“We are preparing for a pretty big rush hour,” Metro communications manager Sara Wilson said. “We are going to have everything we’ve got available.”
To accommodate the thousands ofpeople arriving from out of town for the event, the agency is issuing a “Mass Pass,” a $9 commemorative fare card that will be good for use all day.
The Navy Yard station, which is in the process of being expanded to accommodate 15,000 people an hour, will be exit-only before the Mass and entrance-only after.
Metro will place extra personnel in and around the station that day, officials said.
Metro officials said they expect most riders to travel to the event between 5 a.m. and 8 a.m. The stadium’s gates will open at 5:15 a.m., and Mass attendees must pass through security at the ballpark by 9 a.m.
Parking for the event will be limited.
Parking spots at RFK Stadium — which will be available to Nationals fans during home games — will not be available for individual cars during the papal Mass, Archdiocese of Washington spokeswoman Susan Gibbs said.
Most of those spots will be reserved for buses arriving from area or out-of-town parishes, she said. Shuttles will carry those ticketholders between RFK and the new ballpark.
