Metro closing stations in advance of Inauguration Day

Virginia National Guard troops are assisting the inauguration security efforts in Washington, D.C. [U.S. Army]

Metro is closing 13 stations and reducing bus service in advance of the inauguration ceremony on Wednesday, Jan. 20, for President-Elect Joe Biden. 

In response to concerns of further violence by Trump supporters following the siege of the Capitol on Jan. 6, an expanded security perimeter is being set up around the Inauguration site beginning Jan. 16. The National Mall will be closed to the public during the Inauguration. 

More than 20,000 National Guard troops are being deployed to D.C. The approximately 1,000 Virginia National Guard troops who were deployed to the Capitol during the siege will remain in D.C., and will be joined by another 2,000 troops from Virginia. 

Fairfax County Government offices will be closed on Inauguration Day and also on Monday, Jan. 18, for Martin Luther King Jr. Day. 

Fairfax County Board of Supervisors Chair Jeffrey McKay advises people to avoid downtown Washington, D.C., on Inauguration Day and the preceding days. “Sadly, the terror that occurred at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, was not a contained or isolated incident and there is continued concern that similar violence is an ongoing threat to Americans and our democracy,” he said. 

According to McKay, the Fairfax County Police Department “is in touch with D.C. police and has increased their presence in key areas of the county.”

Airbnb is blocking all new reservations in the D.C. metro area and canceling existing reservations. 

Metro is closing 11 stations on Jan. 15 and two more on Jan. 16 inside the security perimeter. They will remain closed through Thursday, January 21. During this time trains will pass through the closed stations without stopping. 

Beginning on Jan. 15 and continuing for six days, all trains will operate on Saturday schedules – every 12 minutes on the Red Line and every 15 minutes on all other lines.

In addition, 26 Metrobus routes will be detoured around the expanded security perimeter beginning Friday. Metrobus will operate normal service on weekdays and weekends to accommodate customers making trips outside the zone, with the exception of Jan. 20, when buses will operate on a Saturday schedule.

Additional station closures and bus detours may be necessary on a temporary basis during this period for security reasons.