Four Red Line stations reopen Sunday, MTA Purple Line construction continues at Silver Spring

Crews replaced crossties along the Red Line during the summer construction.

Metro will reopen four Red Line stations for customers on schedule Sunday, Sept. 1.

The reopening of Glenmont, Wheaton, Forest Glen, and Silver Spring marks the end of Red Line rehabilitation work that was completed while the Maryland Transit Administration built part of a new Purple Line mezzanine at Silver Spring.

Purple Line mezzanine work will continue on the platform at Silver Spring with scaffolding covering about one-third of the platform, but the Metro station will be open for customers. During the summer, Purple Line crews built columns that will support the walkway from the Purple Line station over the tracks to the Metro Red Line platform.

Silver Spring will still be an active construction site for the Purple Line and the scaffolding will remain on site until 2027.

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 processers
• 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
• Restriped parking and bus loop traffic directional arrows and crosswalks

Additional work included replacing automatic train control systems, installing traction power cables, replacing drain pumping stations, replacing the tunnel standpipe, and maintaining the elevators and escalators.

Metro also rebuilt an interlocking switch area between Fort Totten and Takoma before that stretch of track reopened in late June.

Crews were able to complete the equivalent of eight months of weekend closures and disruptions into the summer construction period.

Later this year, Metro will install new digital Passenger Information Displays on platforms and station entrance digital screens at all five stations. Supply chain issues held up installation during the construction window.

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.

In Summer 2026, Medical Center and Bethesda stations will close to connect the Purple Line to the Bethesda Metrorail Station.

The Maryland Transit Administration’s Purple Line is currently scheduled to begin operations in December 2027. For more about the Purple Line visit PurpleLineMD.com.

Crews work on the escalators at the Wheaton Metrorail station.

Crews replaced broken and uneven sidewalk at Forest Glen station.

Crews replace rails along sections of the Red Line during the closure.

Crews work in the Red Line tunnel during the closure.

Crews pull cable along tracks near Silver Spring.