East Falls Church Metro reopens June 26

The East Falls Church and West Falls Church Metro stations will reopen Monday, June 26, as crews complete track replacements on that stretch of the Orange Line.

The Dunn Loring and Vienna stations are slated to reopen on July 16. Until then, Metro is providing a free Orange Line shuttle bus between Vienna, Dunn Loring, and West Falls Church.

Metro, meanwhile is facing a $750 million shortfall in its FY 2025 budget when federal Covid relief funding runs out, the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority announced June 22.

Balancing the budget would require eliminating two-thirds of Metro’s existing service, terminating service after 9:30 p.m., and eliminating 98 bus lines, WMATA says.  

The ongoing rail replacement project involves removing the existing rails and replacing them with nearly 1,800 tons of new rail on the Orange and Silver lines.

As of last week, crews have replaced 15.5 miles of track, installed nearly 36 miles of fiber-optic cable, replaced two diamond interlockings, and installed 13 new switch machines, said Metro Chief of Infrastructure Andy Off. The new rails are being de-stressed under compressive force so they will be able to withstand extreme temperatures.

The closure also provided the opportunity to clear vegetation adjacent to the tracks that could pose a hazard, impede line of sight, and cause service disruptions. Crews have removed more than 42,000 linear feet of trees, bushes, grasses, and invasive vines.