Four Red Line stations — Silver Spring, Forest Glen, Wheaton, and Glenmont — will reopen for service as scheduled on Sunday, September 1.
The on-time reopening was announced last week as part of Metro’s bus lane pilot extension and confirmed again on Monday.
The stations’ reopening signifies the completion of the Red Line rehabilitation work this summer, which coincided with the construction of part of a new Purple Line mezzanine at the Silver Spring station by the Maryland Transit Administration.
The summer closures are part of Metro’s three-year capital construction project to modernize the Metrorail system, enhance safety and reliability, and ensure proper maintenance. In the summer of 2026, the transit agency will close the Medical Center and Bethesda stations to connect the Purple Line to the Bethesda Metrorail Station.
Purple Line crews constructed columns to support the walkway from the Purple Line station to the Metro Red Line platform. Construction at the Silver Spring station will continue, with scaffolding remaining on site until 2027.
Metro said the mezzanine work will cover about one-third of the platform, but the station will remain open to customers.
During the construction, Metro crews:
- Replaced 6,500 feet of rail;
- Replaced 6,000 feet of grout pads, which improve ride quality;
- Repaired 857 areas for leak mitigation;
- Restored 1,350 square feet of concrete;
- Installed 102,000 feet of fiber optic cable for communications;
- Replaced 183 track signs;
- Replaced 2,500 crossties that support the rails;
- Replaced 1,000 fasteners that hold the rail to the grout pads;
- Replaced six switch machines;
- Replaced 12 train control processors;
- Replaced 650 insulators that insulate electricity around the third rail;
- Repaired 72,000 square feet of tile joints;
- Cleaned 40,000 feet of track bed;
- Cleaned 8,500 feet of drains;
- Repaired sidewalks;
- Replaced 354 signs on mezzanines, platforms, and entrances;
- Painted 12,700 square feet of interior and exterior surfaces; and
- Restriped parking and bus loop traffic directional arrows and crosswalks.
Metro is excited to welcome back customers to Glenmont, Wheaton, Forest Glen, and Silver Spring rail stations this Sunday.
Learn more about the great work we accomplished and what you can expect as MTA continues work on the Purple Line mezzanine: https://t.co/PTKh4PpR1B#wmata pic.twitter.com/H7jaFzRGoJ
— Metro Forward (@wmata) August 26, 2024
Additional work during the summer closures included replacing automatic train control systems, installing traction power cables, replacing drain pumping stations, replacing the tunnel standpipe, maintaining elevators and escalators, and reconstructing an interlocking switch area between the Fort Totten and Takoma stations before the Takoma station reopened ahead of schedule in late June.
Metro said that construction crews completed eight months of weekend closures and disruptions during the summer construction.
“More than 850,000 trips were made on the shuttles during the construction work. We thank customers for their patience as MTA made progress on this key connection between the Purple Line light rail and Metrorail,” Metro said.
Later this year, Metro will install new digital passenger information displays on platforms and station entrance digital screens at the Silver Spring, Takoma, Forest Glen, Wheaton, and Glenmont stations. Metro said on Monday that supply chain issues during the construction window delayed the installation of the screens.
More information on the Maryland Purple Line, which is now more than 65 percent complete and currently slated to begin service in winter 2027, can be found at PurpleLineMD.com.
Photo Courtesy of WMATA