Overview
- Metro presented a plan on Tuesday, July 21 to add partial-height glass platform barriers and doors across the Red Line as part of a larger rail modernization effort.
- The platform-doors project is in early engineering and station-survey phases, has no final cost disclosed and is not expected to be completed earlier than 2028.
- To install new doors and replace aging equipment, Metro released a schedule of weekend and extended shutdowns through 2027 that includes the current North Bethesda–Friendship Heights closure running through Labor Day/Sept. 7.
- Metro will also replace the Red Line’s signal system with modern train-control technology to boost reliability, shorten headways and lay groundwork for future automation.
- Riders should expect shuttle service, single-tracking and prolonged station closures during the work; Metro says the upgrades target frequent track intrusions and growing reliability problems on its busiest corridor.