Metro News Release

For immediate release: July 2, 2014

Metro plans to increase number of 8-car trains on Blue Line

With the opening of the Silver Line, up to half of all rush-hour Blue Line trains will run with eight cars, the longest possible length, Metro announced today.

The additional cars will provide capacity for Blue Line riders, where two trains per hour will be converted from Blue to Yellow trains to accommodate the Silver Line. 

Starting July 21, Blue Line trains will run every 12 minutes.  All Blue Line stations in Virginia except Arlington Cemetery will continue to have the same number of trains as they do today, but two more of those trains each hour will be Yellow, rather than Blue. Metro continues to encourage riders to consider the Yellow Line, which may be faster, even with a transfer at L'Enfant Plaza.

Currently during rush hour, one Blue Line trainset is scheduled to be eight cars long.  With the opening of the Silver Line, Metro's plan calls for up to six of 12 Blue Line trainsets to be eight cars in length.

The number of eight-car trains scheduled on the Orange, Red and Green lines will not change.  All trains on the Yellow and Silver lines will operate with six cars.  The number of 8-car trains can fluctuate slightly based on maintenance requirements and operational factors.

More info
Service change brochure for Blue LIne riders
Background on Silver Line service changes

News release issued at 2:48 pm, July 2, 2014.