The regional transit authority board voted Thursday morning not to expand Metrorail’s operating hours for the upcoming fiscal year, averting a showdown over the potential loss of some federal funding for other rail projects like the Purple Line and the county’s Ride On buses.
In a 7-1 vote, the board of the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority decided against a proposal from the District of Columbia to keep the system open longer on weekends.
Maintaining the same hours allows the transit system to continue its nighttime maintenance work that it has performed since 2016.
Metrorail system will continue to close at 1 a.m. on Friday and Saturday nights, and at 11:30 p.m. on most weeknights.
The decision also ensures that Metro will be able to implement a number of service upgrades, including running more eight-car trains, increasing rush-hour service, implementing a flat weekend fare and ending the turnback of northbound trains at Silver Spring on the Red Line, allowing them to continue to the Glenmont station.
The vote came following concern expressed by member Mike Goldman, who represents Montgomery County, that the District of Columbia’s two members might exercise their veto in order to bring back 3 a.m. closings. That might have required $45 million, he said, and prevented the other service improvements from being implemented. It also could have threatened federal funding for other regional transit services, he said.
“[The Federal Transit Administration] threat to Purple Line funding and Ride On subsidies from [the] state no longer of concern,” he wrote in an email following the board’s vote.
Goldman had also received a letter earlier this week from County Executive Marc Elrich, urging him to vote against a proposed compromise that would have shifted weeknight closing times to midnight and 2 a.m. on weekends.
Elrich said the proposal could have meant a later opening time for Metrorail stations in Montgomery County which could hurt early morning commuters.
County Council member Evan Glass, D-At Large, said Thursday that he hopes late night service can eventually be restored, but not at the expense of preventative maintenance.
“We need to find a way to increase service and have a safe Metro system,” he said.
Dan Schere can be reached at Daniel.schere@moco360.media
