The grant will support the procurement of approximately 100 battery-electric buses that will provide cleaner, more sustainable transit for the National Capital Region. Metro is partnering with Fairfax County on the electrification of the Cinder Bed Road facility, a portion of which is planned to be used by the county to house and charge their all-electric Bus Rapid Transit service running from Fort Belvoir to Huntington Metrorail Station by 2030. Metro’s newest electric bus will be on display and available for tours. 

Featured photo courtesy of WMATA


Metro is marking the first day of school for D.C. public school students with a new effort to help ensure a safe and stress-free trip to and from school. Starting today, students will see ‘Kids Ride Free’ signage directing them to use specific faregates at Metrorail stations most used by school children. Station Managers will be on hand to help students who may have issues with their Kids Ride Free SmarTrip cards. If a student does not have their card, the Station Manager will tap the student through the faregates and take note of the student’s school to give the D.C Public School System data to help ensure cards are distributed.

Students are reminded that their Kids Ride Free card from last school year will work until the end of September to allow time for distribution of this year’s cards. Metro has begun working with the District to make Kids Ride Free cards available in mobile wallets in the future to give give students with smartphones a convenient way to get to school without the risk of losing their physical cards. Stations with Kids Ride Free faregate lanes include:


Issuing bonds is an important part of Metro’s strategy to maintain a predictable revenue stream to plan for long-term capital projects that modernize the system and keep it safe and reliable for generations to come. The Sustainability – Climate Transition Bonds designation is issued by the International Capital Market Association (ICMA).

The $797,800,000 bond sale, which settled August 17, will fund capital projects across Metro’s approved FY24 Capital Improvement Plan, including but not limited to: bus garage rehab and replacements, bus fleet replacement & zero emission bus transition, automatic train control equipment upgrades, traction power upgrades, work on Metro’s existing fleet of trains and its next generation of railcars, and rail station LED lighting improvements.


Update: Another escalator replacement was completed at Silver Spring Station earlier this week. The final escalator replacement at the station is now underway. 

History: On September 6, 2022, Metro began a major capital project replacing the five entrance escalators at Silver Spring Station. All five escalators will be replaced with brand-new ones that are more durable and reliable. Metro’s contractor KONE will install the escalators as part of an ongoing project to replace 130 escalators across the Metrorail system by 2028, helping to ensure the regional infrastructure remains in a state of good repair.


Metro is accelerating the escalator replacement work at Tenleytown-AU Station and will replace the two east entrance escalators with brand-new ones that are more durable and reliable.  Starting Monday, August 28, 2023, the entrance on the east side of Wisconsin Avenue, closest to 40th Street, will close for approximately four months. By closing the east entrance, construction crews can work on both escalators at the same time, increasing project efficiency and reducing the overall project duration by roughly two months.

During the entrance closure, construction crews will also continue to replace the final escalator that runs from the intermediate level to the mezzanine. Metro began construction to replace four entrance escalators and three internal escalators at this station in August 2021. To date, four escalators have been replaced at the station, including the two escalators at the west entrance. All escalator replacement work at Tenleytown-AU will be complete when the east entrance reopens in late December. Customer Impacts:


Metro today released preliminary data showing that new, higher faregates are reducing fare evasion by more than 70 percent at the first stations where they have been installed, including Fort Totten, Pentagon City, Bethesda, Vienna, Mt. Vernon Square, and Addison Road. Metro is now publishing both paid and unpaid ridership data on its online ridership portal to provide transparency on the effectiveness of fare evasion reduction strategies and a more complete picture of total ridership to the public.

New faregate installation was completed today at Congress Heights, and installation at Federal Center SW, Wheaton, and Court House is expected to be completed by early September, followed by the rest of the Metrorail system. Metro will continue to monitor the performance of the new faregates as the rollout is completed.


Metro Board Chair Paul C. Smedberg has been awarded 2023 Outstanding Public Transportation Board Member by the American Public Transportation Association (APTA) for his vision, leadership, and commitment to transit. More below, per WMATA:

Since first joining the Metro Board of Directors in 2016 and being elected Chair in 2019, Smedberg’s leadership has helped Metro return to a state of good repair through an aggressive capital program, guided the transit agency through the pandemic, spearheaded the selection of a new General Manager, and helped Metro recover ridership faster than any other transit agency in the country.


Per WMATA: Metro is kicking off the new school year with our first Back-to-School Celebration and School Supply Giveaway. Families across the DMV are invited to join us at the Fort Totten Station on Saturday, Aug. 19, for music, food, games, and free school supplies.

The Metro Transit Police Department’s Community Services Bureau will host the inaugural back-to-school event. School supplies, collected by Metro employees across the region, will be provided to school kids and teens in the District of Columbia, Maryland, and Virginia. “This is an opportunity for our MTPD officers and employees to support the DMV and create positive relationships with the community,” said MTPD Chief Michael Anzallo. “Metrorail, Metrobus and MTPD help thousands of kids get to and from school throughout the year. In addition to keeping them safe, we want to ensure that every student has the supplies they need to start school.”


Montgomery County Fire and Rescue Services (MCFRS) responded to a report of “someone burning clothes on the top floor” of the Glenmont Metro Parking garage at approximately 11am on Wednesday morning.

According to MCFRS Assistant Chief David Pazos, Metro employees were able to extinguish the burning clothes on the top floor of the garage. There were no injuries and no extension of the fire. “Metro Police has taken over the scene while the fire department units go in-service.” No details currently available on why the fire was started. Featured photo courtesy of Google Maps.


The first buildings at the upcoming Strathmore Square development, designed by Deborah Berke Partners, will deliver early 2024. This project is aimed to develop the Grosvenor-Strathmore Metro station in North Bethesda, adjacent to the renowned Music Center at Strathmore, from a surface parking lot into “a visionary community centered on the arts, culture, a beautiful central open space and bikeways for engaged, healthful living.” The first buildings will consist of a combined total of 220 units across the first two buildings, offering amenities including a pool deck, state-of-the-art gym, sauna, treatment room, and spaces for work, relaxation, and socializing. They will also offer up to 9,000 sf of ground floor retail space. Strathmore Square will ultimately be over 2 million SF of multi-family, office, and neighborhood shops, cafes, and services surrounding a 1.25 acre civic green with ongoing activities, performances, and “serene spaces for connection and enjoyment”, designed by the landscape architect Hargreaves Jones.

Per developers WMATA and FiveSquares Development: The Strathmore Square joint development will create a mixed-use development to transform the Grosvenor-Strathmore Metro Station into a 2.2 million square foot, primarily residential mixed-use development that incorporates open space, public transit, incredible views, and arts and culture.


Metro will begin track work over the weekend, August 12-13, that will require single tracking between Eastern Market and Stadium-Armory stations, reducing service on the Blue and Orange lines to every 24 minutes. Silver Line trains will also turn back at Federal Center SW instead of going to Downtown Largo. On the Red Line trains will single track between Grosvenor and Medical Center with trains operating every 20 minutes only between Friendship Heights and Shady Grove.

During single tracking trains must share one track, taking turns going through the construction zone. Due to the length of the single track, trains will alternate between 2 and 22-minutes between trains from Eastern Market to Stadium-Armory with two trains, one Orange and one Blue, serving the platform in one direction and then two trains, one Orange and one Blue, serving the platform from the opposite direction. Trains will arrive more frequently, on average every 8-12 minutes, between Rosslyn and Federal Center SW, and every 10-12 minutes on average between East Falls Church and Rosslyn where lines overlap.On the Red Line, most stations will still have frequent service. Additional trains will operate between Glenmont and Friendship Heights every 10 minutes, with every other train continuing to Shady Grove. The construction will begin early Saturday and continue through the weekend, wrapping up before the system opens Monday morning. On the Blue and Orange lines work crews will be replacing grout pads, the concrete slabs necessary to support the tracks. The grout pads are located every few feet and anchor the tracks to absorb the weight of the train and provide stability.


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