Metro Gearing Up for Higher Traffic During Cherry Blossom Season

Metro will perform limited track work over the first two weekends of the Cherry Blossom festival, starting this weekend.

The work, which will take place between Braddock Road and Reagan National Airport, is necessary, Metro says, to allow personnel to replace sections of rail and clear speed restrictions for a safer, smoother and faster trip. The last two weekends of the festival will be “track work free.”

Here’s a look at the Metro schedule coming up during the National Cherry Blossom Festival, which kicks off Saturday in DC:

• Saturday March 21 - Sunday, March 22: Regular weekend service (no track work) on the Red and Green lines. Orange, Blue and Silver will each run every 18 minutes, rather than every 12-15 minutes, as crews replace sections of rail between Braddock Road and Reagan National Airport. Through Downtown DC (between Rosslyn and Stadium-Armory), a train will arrive at each station about every six minutes during daytime hours. Yellow Line trains will run every 18 minutes between Huntington and Mt Vernon Square.
• Saturday, March 28 - Sunday, March 29: Same as above.
• Saturday, April 4 - Sunday, April 5: No weekend track work. Regular service on all lines.
• Saturday, April 11 - Sunday, April 12: No weekend track work. Regular service on all lines. Metrorail will open two hours early (at 5 a.m.) for the Cherry Blossom Ten Mile Run.