Metro is showing its pride, ready for the huge crowds attending Pride Weekend events

#YourMetro is ready to take you to the festivities during Capital Pride Weekend, June 10 – 11, including the Pride Parade and Festival. More than 600,000 people are expected to converge on the region, which is also gearing up to host WorldPride in 2025.

Getting to events around Downtown DC couldn’t be easier with trains arriving every 4-5 minutes at stations in the downtown core area between Rosslyn and Stadium-Armory on the Blue, Orange, and Silver lines; and between L’Enfant Plaza and Mt Vernon Square on the Green and Yellow lines. Red Line trains will run every 8 minutes. Trains across all lines will run on a normal weekend schedule, largely free of any track work. The only exception will be Major Construction between Vienna and Ballston.

Many trains will operate with eight cars, the longest possible length for maximum capacity. We’ll also have extra trains available to relieve crowding or to fill in the gap should an unexpected operational issues occur. Ridership at some stations is expected to double compared to a normal weekend.

If you time it just right you may get a ride on our special Metro Pride train, wrapped in the colors of the rainbow flag with a nod to the event theme – peace, love, and Metro – written on it. Starting today, look for the six-car train decorated with pride inside and out to commemorate Pride Month. In the coming days, we’ll have two special rainbow wrapped Metro Pride buses making their debut, too. You can find the special buses and train on our tracker at wmata.com/live by selecting the “special edition” tab. The location of special buses and trains will only appear when the vehicles are in service.

On Saturday, the Capital Pride Parade will wind its way along a 1.5-mile route through Dupont Circle and Logan Circle, with the busiest stations expected to be Dupont Circle, Farragut North, and Farragut West. The celebration continues Sunday with the Capital Pride Block Party in Dupont Circle and the Pride Festival along Pennsylvania Avenue. Customers may experience large crowds at Dupont Circle, Archives, Federal Triangle, L’Enfant Plaza, Metro Center, and Gallery Place-Chinatown stations.

Metrobus customers should be aware of road closures due to the Capital Pride Block Party & Parade, June 10 resulting in detours on the 42, 43, 52, 54, D2, D6, G2, N6, L2, and S2 routes; and for the Capital Pride Festival, June 11 with detours to the 32, 36 and P6 routes.

For locals and out-of-town visitors attending weekend events, Metro provides a convenient, affordable way to travel. Parking is free on weekends at all Metro owned parking lots and garages, and fares are a flat $2 for any one-way trip anywhere in the system no matter how far you travel.

Travel tips

• Use Metro mobile pay for Apple iOS or Android for the quickest, easiest way to pay. Simply purchase a virtual SmarTrip card in your Apple or Google wallet before starting your trip to skip long lines at the fare vending machines. Learn more at wmata.com/mobilepay.
• Expect crowds due to events downtown and allow extra travel time.
• Please spread out along the platform. The last two cars are often the least crowded.
• Be aware of Major Construction on the Orange and Silver lines between Vienna and Ballston. Vienna, Dunn Loring, West Falls Church, and East Falls Church will be closed. Free shuttle buses will be provided. Customers should use the free Express shuttle from Vienna if traveling downtown.
• If you normally park at Orange Line stations west of Ballston, consider using Franconia-Springfield on the Blue Line instead.
• Plan your trip to avoid transferring between rail lines, if possible. For example, if attending the Pride Parade, riders on the Green Line should consider using Shaw-Howard or U Street stations, rather than transferring to the Red Line.
• Following the Capital Pride Festival on Pennsylvania Avenue, participants are encouraged to walk to a station on the same line as their destination. Red Line customers should use Metro Center, Gallery Place or Judiciary Square. Green or Yellow line customers should use Gallery Place or Archives. Orange, Blue or Silver line customers should use Metro Center or Federal Triangle.
• Taking Metrobus may be good alternative for some customers. To see if Metrobus is an option, use Metro's online trip planner and select the "bus only" option.