15 Metro stations got much brighter in 2018. Here are the next 14 to get LED lighting installations.
In less than six months, Metro has installed new trackbed lighting systems at 15 underground stations – making them an average of six-times brighter – as part of a multi-year $50 million capital investment in state-of-the-art, energy efficient LED lighting. The new lighting infrastructure improves visibility and enhances safety and security, all while cutting energy use in half and reducing ongoing maintenance requirements.
All of Metro’s 48 underground stations will be upgraded to LED systems over the next 30 months.
To date, Metro has installed new LED trackbed lighting at the following 15 stations: Union Station, Court House, Rosslyn, Foggy Bottom, McPherson Square, Farragut West, Federal Triangle, Bethesda, U Street, Columbia Heights, Archives, Waterfront, L’Enfant Plaza (upper level), Metro Center (lower level), and Gallery Place (lower level).
Each of the stations measured 3-to-9 times brighter once the new lights were installed. Installation of new pylon and parapet lighting is ongoing and the platforms are expected to be even brighter once complete.
Three stations – Van Ness, Tenleytown, and Friendship Heights – are 50 percent complete, with new light fixtures installed along the inbound track only. Installation on the outbound track is scheduled for the weekend of January 26, 2019.
Eleven more stations will be upgraded in the first half of 2019: Crystal City, Pentagon City, Pentagon, Navy Yard, Anacostia, Wheaton, Glenmont, Congress Heights, Farragut North, Metro Center (upper level), and Gallery Place (upper level). The work at Pentagon, Crystal City and Pentagon City, scheduled for the weekend of January 12-13, will require that buses replace trains because the lights are located in a narrow strip between the two tracks. Likewise, the installations at Metro Center and Gallery Place, which also have lighting in the center of the tracks, will require that buses replace Red Line trains on February 9-10.
Because the installation of new light fixtures along the tracks can only take place when trains are not running, the project is one of several that has benefitted from the expanded overnight and weekend maintenance time that was approved by the WMATA Board last year.
