Metro Details Shuttle Bus Service Plans for Green and Yellow Line Station Closures

[Howard Hartman]

Metro Details Shuttle Bus Service Plans for This
Weekend's Green and Yellow Line Station Closures

Free shuttles to run from Gallery Pl-Chinatown to Waterfront-SEU,
Navy Yard, Archives- Navy Mem'l-Penn Quarter,
L'nfant Plaza and Anacostia stations

For immediate release: October 9, 2009

Starting tonight at 10:30 p.m., until closing (midnight) on Monday, Oct. 12, the Waterfront-SEU and Archives-Navy Mem’l-Penn Quarter Metrorail stations will be closed and the Green Line will be closed at the L’Enfant Plaza Metrorail station while Metro conducts major track work. Customers using the Yellow and Green lines should add 30 minutes to their travel plans to transfer to free shuttle buses to get past the affected work area. Throughout the weekend, extra Metro employees will be on hand to guide customers to their connecting shuttle buses.

Regular service will resume when the Metrorail system opens on Tuesday morning, Oct. 13.

During this weekend’s station closures, Metro will operate three separate free shuttle bus routes between the Gallery Pl-Chinatown Metrorail station and Anacostia; Gallery Pl-Chinatown and Navy Yard; and Gallery Pl-Chinatown and Navy Yard with stops at Waterfront-SEU, Archives-Navy Mem’l-Penn Quarter and L’Enfant Plaza Metrorail stations.

“This weekend, our customers have a selection of free shuttle buses to choose from depending on where they want to go,” said Milo Victoria, Metro’s Assistant General Manager for Metrobus. “By offering buses to Anacostia, Navy Yard, Waterfront-SEU, Archives-Navy Mem’l-Penn Quarter and L’Enfant Plaza, we are aiming to minimize inconvenience and maximize customer needs. Our free shuttle buses will get customers where they want to go. It will just take a little longer.”

From 10:30 p.m., Friday, Oct. 9, until closing (midnight) on Monday, Oct. 12, Metro will operate these free shuttle buses between the Gallery Pl-Chinatown Metrorail station and:

• Navy Yard Metrorail station with stops at Waterfront-SEU, L’Enfant Plaza, and Archives-Navy Mem’l-Penn Quarter Metrorail stations. This shuttle bus will depart from the Navy Yard Metrorail station (New Jersey Ave., SE) and stop at the Waterfront Metrorail station (4th St., SW), the L’Enfant Plaza Metrorail station (Maryland Ave., SW), the Archives-Navy Mem’l Penn Quarter Metrorail station (7th St., NW), and the Gallery-Pl Chinatown Metrorail station (9th and G St).
  
  
• Navy Yard Metrorail station with no stops in between. This shuttle bus will operate directly between these two Metrorail stations. This shuttle bus will depart from the Navy Yard Metrorail station (New Jersey Ave., SE) and the Gallery Pl-Chinatown Metrorail station (9th and G St.).
  
  
• Anacostia Metrorail station with no stops in between. This shuttle bus will depart from the Anacostia Metrorail station bus bay A and operate directly to the Gallery Pl-Chinatown Metrorail station (9th and G St).

This weekend’s free shuttle buses will operate every 12 to 15 minutes during the day and every 20 minutes after 9:30 p.m.

Special Metrobus Shuttle Service for Sunday, Oct. 11

As a result of numerous street closures for the “Bike for the Heart” ride on Pennsylvania Ave and the National Equality March, the local shuttle bus operating between the Gallery Pl-Chinatown and Navy Yard Metrorail stations will only operate between the Navy Yard and L’Enfant Plaza Metrorail stations from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m., on Sunday, Oct. 11. The shuttle bus will not continue to the Archives-Navy Mem’l Penn Quarter and Gallery Pl-Chinatown Metrorail stations during this time because vehicles will not be allowed to cross Pennsylvania Avenue during the march.

As a result of this service change, Metro will operate a special free shuttle bus loop service between the Gallery Pl-Chinatown and Metro Center Metrorail stations from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m.

The two other express special shuttle bus routes between the Gallery Pl-Chinatown and Navy Yard, and the Gallery Pl-Chinatown and Anacostia Metrorail stations are not affected. People who want to cross the National Mall may use the Blue, Orange or Yellow lines between the L’Enfant Plaza and Metro Center Metrorail stations. Customers who need to get to the Archives-Navy Mem’l-Penn Quarter Metrorail station are encouraged to ride Metrorail to the Gallery Pl- Chinatown Metrorail station or the Federal Triangle Metrorail station and walk a short distance to the Archives station.

This weekend, Metro will replace the entire rail interlocking (four switches) at the L’Enfant Plaza Metrorail station and will close the Yellow Line Bridge over the Potomac River to conduct an annual safety inspection and to replace rail fasteners. The track switch replacement work was recommended by the National Transportation Safety Board.

As a result of this weekend’s work, the Green Line will operate in two segments -- between the Branch Avenue and Navy Yard Metrorail stations and between the Greenbelt and Gallery Pl-Chinatown Metrorail stations.

Tonight, from 10:30 p.m. through closing (3 a.m.), the Yellow Line will operate between the Huntington and Pentagon Metrorail stations. However, from Saturday, Oct. 10 to Monday, Oct. 12, the Yellow Line will be rerouted and will run between the Huntington and Stadium-Armory Metrorail stations with a stop at the L’Enfant Plaza Metrorail station on the lower level platform.