The Wayback Machine - https://web.archive.org/web/20200712221453/https://www.wmata.com/about/news/Silver-Line-reopening.cfm
 
Skip to Accessibility
Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority
TRIP PLANNER
X
TRIP PLANNER
NEXT BUS
X
NEXT BUS

Search for transportation near you

NEXT TRAIN
X
NEXT TRAIN

Search for transportation near you

For immediate release: June 24, 2020

Silver Line service will return August 16, along with reopening of six stations in Fairfax County

Metro will reopen six Fairfax County stations and restore Silver Line service on August 16—weeks earlier than originally planned—the transit agency announced today. The new reopening date reflects the progress made to date on two fronts: first, crews working to rebuild deteriorating station platforms are making excellent progress, and trains will be able to pass through East Falls Church station without stopping by mid-August; and second, Airports Authority contractors will have completed work that necessitated the temporary suspension of rail service to allow for the "phase 2" extension to be connected to the existing Metrorail system.

The six stations reopening on August 16 are the five "west-of-Ballston" Silver Line stations (McLean, Tysons Corner, Greensboro, Spring Hill, and Wiehle-Reston East) plus one Orange Line station: West Falls Church.

Assuming the platform work continues at its current pace, the remaining three west-of-Ballston stations (Vienna, Dunn Loring, and East Falls Church) are expected to reopen around Labor Day.

Metro has been working to efficiently use track access time during a period of historically low ridership. Earlier this year, the transit agency combined Orange Line platform reconstruction and Silver Line signal integration into a multi-month summer shutdown of the nine rail stations west of Ballston. Current Metrorail ridership continues to be down about 90 percent compared to last year.

"We appreciate the patience of our customers and the business community as we have worked to complete these projects as quickly and safely as possible," said Metro General Manager and Chief Executive Officer Paul J. Wiedefeld. "By combining the schedules of our two biggest capital priorities in Virginia during a time of historically low ridership, we believe we have positioned Metro and the region for a strong recovery."

"I am excited by the news of the earlier reopening of the Silver Line and the West Falls Church station this summer," said Fairfax County Board of Supervisors Chairman Jeffrey C. McKay. "As our COVID-19 case data improves, we need to be able to approach reopening the region in a safe and sustainable way, while also supporting the needs of the business community."

Free shuttle buses will continue to connect Vienna, Dunn Loring, and East Falls Church to the Metrorail system after August 16; however, Vienna and Dunn Loring customers will be able to connect to Metrorail at West Falls Church, rather than Ballston. Customers at all Orange Line stations will notice ongoing construction activity at the stations, even after they reopen. Metro's commitment to customers is to restore service as soon as it is safe to do so, even if the project is not 100 percent completed at that time.

More information and updates about the platform improvement project are available at wmata.com/platforms.