More frequent service Yellow Line service starting Sunday

With the Yellow Line bridge and tunnel work complete, Metro is upping service on the line.

Starting Sunday, Yellow Line trains will arrive every eight minutes all day, the transit agency says. That applies to a number of Arlington stations, including National Airport, Crystal City, Pentagon City, and the Pentagon.

More, below, from a Metro press release.

Metro ridership is growing, and service improvements are coming to make Metro an even more convenient option for getting around the region. Beginning Sunday, June 4, trains serving the Yellow Line will arrive every 8 minutes all day, open to close, an improvement on the current late-night and weekend frequency of 12 minutes.

With the service improvements beginning Sunday, Yellow Line customers will enjoy less crowded trains and shorter waits – an average of four minutes where Yellow and Green line trains serve the downtown core between L’Enfant Plaza and Mt. Vernon Sq.

Ridership has rebounded on the Yellow Line, up 20 percent following an 8-month closure for construction to rehabilitate the Yellow Line tunnel and bridge. Since reopening, customers have taken more than a million trips on the Yellow Line, which operates between Huntington and Mt. Vernon Sq. stations, and 600,000 trips have been taken over the Yellow Line bridge. Ridership is increasing every week, and ridership at the newly opened Potomac Yard station has been strong with more than 25,000 trips taken to or from the station since it opened May 19.

Over the Memorial Day holiday weekend, over 50,000 trips were taken to and from National and Dulles airports as customers took advantage of Metro’s convenient and affordable connection to air travel.

The service improvements coupled with ridership gains are driving a major turnaround for Metro. Starting next week, we’ll have 70 percent more trains in service during peak periods compared to last year, and a 54 percent increase in train trips. More than 17.5 million trips were taken on Metrorail and Metrobus in May, including a 20 percent increase on bus and 43 percent increase on rail over May 2022.

Metro is making frequent service improvements as it works to return more 7000-series trains to the tracks and recovers from a pandemic-driven shortage of train operators. The Yellow Line service improvements come one month after Metro boosted service on the Red Line during peak periods on May 8. Since then, ridership has increased while Red Line customers are enjoying a more comfortable ride in trains that are about 20 percent less crowded.

Metro customers will see additional service improvements later this month on the Blue, Orange, and Silver lines.

Another Metro change is happening soon. Starting Monday, the north entrance to the Arlington Cemetery station is set to close for about three months due to canopy installation work.