Board Approves Plan to Eliminate Train Turnbacks, Double Trains to Shady Grove
Metrorail’s rush-hour service to Rockville will double under a plan Metro’s Board of Directors approved July 12 to eliminate the so-called turnback at the Grosvenor-Strathmore station.
Beginning in December, all Red Line trains will continue to Shady Grove, doubling the number of trains arriving at the Shady Grove, Rockville, Twinbrook and White Flint stations.
A public outreach survey conducted last spring found that 70 percent of Red Line riders supported the service increase. At a public hearing earlier this year, Mayor Bridget Donnell Newton, on behalf of the Mayor and Council, testified in support of eliminating the turnbacks.
Currently during rush hour, half of all Red Line trains start and turn around at Grosvenor-Strathmore, forcing longer wait times on Rockville riders. Red Line trains arrive every eight minutes between Shady Grove and Glenmont. Additional service operates between Grosvenor and Silver Spring, with trains arriving every four minutes between those stations.
For more information about the coming change, visit www.wmata.com and search “Approval for Additional Red Line Service,” to find a link to Action Item IX-A from the July 12 board meeting. Or, visit www.youtube.com/cityofrockville and search “Eliminating Grosvenor Metro Turnback.”