First Metro Shutdown To End In NoVA, Bringing Back Normal Silver Line Service

VIENNA, VA — Metro's first shutdown that shut down several Northern Virginia stations and impacted Silver Line service will end after the weekend.

On Monday, the East Falls Church and West Falls Church stations will reopen, and normal Silver Line service between Ashburn and downtown Largo will resume. The Vienna and Dunn Loring stations will remain closed through July 16 for the second shutdown, and Orange Line will only run between West Falls Church and New Carrollton.

The East Falls Church, West Falls Church, Dunn Loring and Vienna stations have been closed from June 3 to June 25. Because the East Falls Church station is a Silver and Orange Line station, Silver Line service from Ashburn to McLean — including Dulles International Airport — has been cut off from other stations toward Arlington and DC. Orange and Silver Line shuttles have transported commuters from Ballston to closed stations and Dulles International Airport.

The first shutdown was due to Metro's crews constructing miles of new rail and fiber-optic cables. Crew also utilized the shutdown to remove trees, bushes, grasses and invasive vines on or near the tracks that could impede lines of sight or cause drainage issues.

"Our team has made great progress on this work so far," said Andy Off, Metro's chief of infrastructure. "As of last week, our team has replaced 15.5 miles of track, installed nearly 36 miles of fiber-optic cable, replaced two diamond interlockings, and installed 13 new switch machines. They are working to keep the system safe and reliable, and we thank our customers and visitors to the area for their understanding and patience."

During the next shutdown from June 26 to July 16, Metro will continue its rail replacement and fiber-optic installation between Vienna and West Falls Church stations.

Free shuttle service during Metrorail hours will serve the closed Vienna and Dunn Loring stations during the shutdown. The Orange Line service will provide local service between Vienna, Dunn Loring, and West Falls Church every 10 to 20 minutes. The Orange Line Express will run between Vienna and West Falls Church every 8 to 15 minutes on weekdays.

Metro advises riders that longer wait times are expected during rush hours.

Paid travel options from Vienna include Metrobus 1A to Ballston-MU, Metrobus 2B to Dunn Loring and Fairfax Connector 698 between Vienna and Pentagon (rush-hour only). Options from Dunn Loring are Metrobus 1B to Ballston-MU, Metrobus 2A to East Falls Church & Ballston-MU, Metrobus2B to Vienna and Fairfax Connector 401/402 to Tysons.

During the shutdown, Orange Line Metrorail service will run every 10 minutes between West Falls Church and New Carrollton during the daytime on weekdays and weekends. Late night service after 9:30 p.m. will be every 15 minutes.

Following the Vienna and Dunn Loring shutdown, Metro will have a shutdown between Fort Totten and Greenbelt on the Green Line from July 22 to Sept. 4.