Orange Line

News

Clarendon, Courthouse Stations to Close Over Weekend

By ARLnow.com

The Orange Line will be split into two segments from 10:00 p.m. on Friday to system closing on Monday. Trains will run between Vienna and Virginia Square, and from Rosslyn to New Carrollton. Trains will run at normal weekend service levels. Shuttle buses will run between Rosslyn, Courthouse, Clarendon and Virginia Square.

Metro advises riders to expect an additional 20-30 minutes of travel time when traveling through the Rosslyn-Ballston corridor. The agency says the extended closure will allow it to perform an NTSB-recommended switch replacement near Clarendon.

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News

Reminder: Major Track Work to Snarl Metro Travel

By Katie Pyzyk

The closures will be in place starting at 10:00 tonight and continuing until the system closes on Sunday. WMATA says workers will renew rail fasteners, replace insulators and remove sludge from the tunnel beneath the Potomac River.

Orange Line trains will be split into two segments. One set of trains will run between Vienna and Court House every 20 minutes, and another between Foggy Bottom and New Carrollton at normal weekend service levels.

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Morning Poll: ‘Nightmare’ Orange Line Commute ‘Handled Well?’

By ARLnow.com

As rescuers worked to free the man from underneath the train, power was shut off to the third rail and trains were stopped around the station. With almost nowhere else to go, Orange Line trains started offloading passengers at Rosslyn. Soon, the Rosslyn station started filling up with people — so many people that the escalators were shut down so they wouldn’t become overloaded.

Shortly after that, police were called in to help with crowd control. Via police radio, officers expressed concern that the crowds were so heavy on the platforms that people might start falling onto the tracks. Later, a mass casualty medical response was dispatched to the station as people started getting ill while trying to walk up the long escalators.

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News

Blue Line Changes Will Relieve ‘Orange Crush’

By ARLnow.com

Starting mid-2012, six additional Orange Line trains will be put in service each peak hour, three in each direction. Those trains will run from West Falls Church to Largo Town Center, which is normally a Blue Line station. To allow that to happen — the Orange Line tunnel between Rosslyn and Foggy Bottom operates at capacity during peak hours — six Blue Line trains will be diverted over the Yellow Line Bridge.

Those “former Blue Line trains” will operate between Franconia-Springfield and Greenbelt, a Green Line station. The trains — three in each direction during peak hours — will be identified as Yellow Line trains.

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News

Metro Plans Major Track Work This Weekend

By ARLnow.com

Trains will not run between East Falls Church and West Falls Church while crews work on the Dulles rail extension project. Passengers will be able to use free shuttle buses between the two stations. Buses will run from tonight at 8 p.m. through closing on Monday.

The last train from Vienna will also depart 20 minutes earlier than usual–at 2:08 a.m. tonight and tomorrow night, and 11:08 p.m. on Sunday.

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News

Small Fire Reported on Metro Tracks

By ARLnow.com

Update at 10:25 a.m. — “A couple of trains were delayed but continued to move through the area,” says Metro spokesman Ron Holzer.

Update at 9:30 a.m. — The fire is reported to be out. Expect some traffic issues on westbound I-66 due to parked fire equipment. Initial reports suggest that trains may have been halted in the area. Metro is said to be checking whether the fire may have damaged the third rail.

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News

Morning Notes

By ARLnow.com

Wright Gate Reopening — Fort Myer’s Wright Gate, used by local bicyclists and pedestrians, will reopen on Monday. The gate, located at N. Meade Street and Marshall Drive, closed for repairs in March. Starting Monday, it will be open from 5:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m. daily. Henry Gate, at Arlington Blvd and Pershing Drive, will revert to its normal hours: 6:00 to 8:00 a.m. and 4:00 to 6:00 p.m.

State Senate Race Could Get Interesting — Could a well-funded Republican candidate defeat a Democrat this fall in the race for Arlington’s newly-redrawn 31st state Senate district? Sun Gazette Editor Scott McCaffrey thinks so. [Sun Gazette]

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Morning Notes

By ARLnow.com

Views at Clarendon Could Be Model for Other Churches — Could more cash-strapped urban churches follow the Views at Clarendon model, selling land rights and allowing mixed-use development on church grounds? One of the architects of the affordable housing project says he’s getting calls from interested parishes around the country. A neighbor’s lawsuit challenging the project is currently on appeal. More from the Washington Examiner.

Marine Rape Trial Goes to Jury — The jury in the rape and abduction trial of 21-year-old Henderson Hall Marine Jorge “George” Torrez will resume deliberations at 9:00 this morning. Torrez faces 17 charges stemming from two separate attacks in Arlington in February. More from ABC7.

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