Metro unveiled a revised map Friday that features seven new stations and the 11½-mile Silver Line extension, signaling that the company is shifting nearer to opening the long-awaited venture that has been underneath building for eight years.
Washington
Metro unveils new map that includes Silver Line extension
It additionally contains the Potomac Yard station, additionally marked as “future station,” which is scheduled to open this fall south of Reagan Nationwide Airport in Alexandria alongside the Blue and Yellow strains.
New station names lately accredited by the Metro board are additionally included on the map. These names embrace Downtown Largo, previously Largo City Heart; Hyattsville Crossing, previously Prince George’s Plaza; North Bethesda, previously White Flint; West Falls Church-VT, which used to incorporate UVA; and Tysons, previously Tysons Nook.
Metro officers stated it should take a month to interchange all maps throughout the transit system, together with greater than 5,000 in stations and trains.
Whereas the transit company has not set a date to open the greater than $3 billion Silver Line extension, officers have pledged to start out passenger service within the late fall, supplied they obtain the wanted permits and accreditations from regulators.
On Thursday, nevertheless, Metro Common Supervisor Randy Clarke stated a fall begin date may very well be delayed if Metro isn’t allowed to make use of extra of its fleet by late subsequent month.
Metro has been working with about half of its trains for practically a 12 months due to the suspension of its 7000-series rail automobiles, that are being investigated for a malfunctioning wheel downside. The collection makes up 60 p.c of Metro’s fleet, however has been sidelined since mid-October by the Washington Metrorail Security Fee, the company that oversees Metrorail security.
The fee has allowed Metro to make use of as much as 20 trains from the collection every day, supplied their wheels are screened each 4 days. However with six stations reopening in late October south of Nationwide Airport after a six-week closure, Metro could be stretched too thinly if it additionally needed to function the Silver Line extension with its current fleet, officers stated.
Clarke stated he plans to petition the protection fee to permit Metro to reinstate extra 7000-series automobiles.