- Silver Line and West Falls Church stations reopening.
- Great time for affected bike commuters to return to public transit.
Good news for bike and other commuters who were affected by Metro station closures on the Silver and Orange lines. Starting yesterday Silver Line service has returned and Metro is reopening the five Silver Line stations—McLean, Tysons Corner, Greensboro, Spring Hill, and Wiehle-Reston East—plus West Falls Church on the Orange Line.
Thanks to the work crews’ excellent progress, the reopening is occurring weeks earlier than originally planned. Assuming the platform work continues at its current pace, the remaining three west-of-Ballston stations on the Orange line—Vienna, Dunn Loring, and East Falls Church—are expected to reopen around Labor Day.
Free shuttle buses will continue to connect Vienna, Dunn Loring, and East Falls Church to the Metrorail system after August 16 with Vienna and Dunn Loring customers able to connect at West Falls Church rather than Ballston
If you previously used the Silver Line for part of your bike commute, you can begin using Metro again as long as you continue to follow commonsense precautions such as wearing a mask and not touching your face until after you have had a chance to clean your hands after the ride.
It is a good time to show your support for Metro, which provides a vital public service and contributes, despite its problems, to better transportation options and a cleaner environment.
Fear of the coronavirus has contributed to a massive decrease in public transit use since the spring. Initially, subways and buses in major cities around the world and in the United States were blamed for coronavirus outbreaks. A growing body of research, however, suggests this is not the case. No major cluster of COVID-19 outbreaks has been traced back to public transit, including in countries such as Japan were train and subway ridership has remained relatively high. As long as all passengers obey the rules and wear face masks that cover their noses and mouths, public transit is safe.
