Metro Resumes Its Yellow Line Service, Prepares For New Station Opening

ALEXANDRIA, VA — Getting to DC will be easier for Metro riders along the Yellow Line in Alexandria and Arlington as the service resumed Sunday.

Yellow Line service had been suspended for eight months as Metro worked to repair its deteriorating 1970s tunnel and bridge. Typically, the Yellow Line crossing over the Potomac River provides a quicker way to DC than the Blue Line for riders at Pentagon and other stations to the south.

Metro's $384 million project involved crews replacing over 1,000 steel plates and mitigating water issues in the tunnel. On the bridge, barges and heavy duty equipment had to lift the bridge from steel girders to remove and replace 88 bearings. The bridge's fire suppression system and communication cables used by regional entities were also upgraded.

"This was incredibly difficult work, with construction crews working around the clock to reconstruct the steel lined tunnel and repair the bridge," said Metro's general manager and CEO Randy Clarke in a statement. "The tunnel today is like new again and built to last for decades to come."

Yellow Line trains are currently operating every 8 minutes weekdays from 6 a.m. to 9 p.m. between Huntington and Mount Vernon Square. Trains will run every 12 minutes all other weekday times and on weekends. In June, service will improve to every eight minutes daily.

Hundreds of customers and Metro employees were selected to take a first ride on the resumed Yellow Line station during a "Yellow Brick Road" preview event Saturday.

During the shutdown of Yellow Line service, Yellow Line stations were being served by the Green and Blue Lines. For example, there was Blue Line service to the normal Franconia-Springfield route as well as a Huntington route also serving Eisenhower Avenue station.

While most shuttle buses were ended when Yellow Line service returned, Metro is keeping its VA-DC Shuttle 3 route between Mount Vernon and Potomac Park. This route will remain until it is replaced with Route 11Y service starting on June 26, 2023. Express bus fares will apply.

The next major news for the Yellow Line will be a new station. The Potomac Yard station in Alexandria will open on May 19 on the Blue and Yellow Lines. It will be between the Reagan National Airport and Braddock Road stations.

Metro's Yellow Line project is part of a lineup of capital projects to repair its infrastructure. There will be other upcoming projects that will cause station closures or single tracking.

Two shutdowns will affect Northern Virginia stations. From June 3 to 25, the Vienna, Dunn Loring/Merrifield, West Falls Church and East Falls Church stations will be closed on the Orange Line. As East Falls Church serves the Orange and Silver Lines, the Silver Line from Ashburn to McLean (including Dulles International Airport) will be cut off from rail service continuing into Arlington and DC.

The next shutdown from June 26 to July 16 will close the Vienna and Dunn Loring/Merrifield stations. East Falls Church station will be open, which means the Silver Line will not be impacted by this shutdown. Orange Line service will also run from West Falls Church.

Information on upcoming shutdowns and shuttle alternatives is available on Metro's website.