Head’s up to Fairfax County travelers: Metro rides into D.C. might take longer than usual this weekend due to planned track work.
Orange Line trains will single track between the Vienna and West Falls Church stations tomorrow (Saturday) and Sunday (July 26), the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority announced earlier this week.
Limiting trains to one set of rails for both directions, the single-tracking will allow workers to replace timber and cross ties and install insulation along that section of the Orange Line, according to WMATA. To accommodate the work, riders will need to change trains at the West Falls Church station.
“To complete your trip inbound toward DC or outbound toward Vienna, you must transfer trains at West Falls Church,” the transit authority said.
Trains will only travel between the Vienna and West Falls Church stations every 24 minutes. Service on the rest of the Orange Line will be standard, with trains every 12 minutes during the day and every 15 minutes after 9:30 p.m.
This weekend, in addition to Red Line summer construction (now through September 6), our team will resume work on the Orange Line, causing trains to single track between Vienna and West Falls Church. 🟠
To complete your trip inbound toward DC or outbound toward Vienna, you must… pic.twitter.com/vBmD0Ygyl7
— Metro Forward (@wmata) July 24, 2026
Even more extensive service impacts will continue on the western end of the Red Line, which has been shut down for various construction and maintenance projects between North Bethesda and Friendship Heights since July 6.
The closure was planned to accommodate construction on a mezzanine at the Bethesda station to integrate Maryland’s upcoming Purple Line, rehabilitation of a platform at Grosvenor-Strathmore, and raised railway maintenance across Rockville Pike.
Metro is providing free shuttles at the stations affected by the summer shutdown, which is expected to continue through Sept. 6.
Service was further disrupted on the Red Line earlier this week by signaling issues after a D.C. water pipe broke and flooded a train control room.
Acknowledging that the resulting delays during a weekday rush hour on top of the planned shutdown created “a really bad situation,” Metro officials told WMATA’s board yesterday (Thursday) that the issues underlined the need for equipment replacements and upgrades. The agency’s full plan for modernizing the Red Line, including by introducing platform screen doors, carries an estimated cost of $1.5 billion, NBC4 reported.
