'Simulated Service' on Silver Line to Start Sunday

On Sunday, Metro will begin six days of "simulated service" on the Silver Line to familiarize employees and finalize train schedules under real-world conditions, according to a news release from WMATA. 

Here is an overview from WMATA, of how the "simulation trains" will operate:

• Simulation trains will run between Wiehle-Reston East and Largo Town Center stations at all hours that the Metrorail system is open.  
• Simulation trains will run every 6 minutes during rush hour and every 12 to 20 minutes during off-peak times, consistent with the schedule for Silver Line trains once the line opens.
• Simulation trains trains will not carry passengers to or from the five new Silver Line stations. However, passengers will be able to board these trains for travel between East Falls Church and Largo Town Center, in either direction, including all stops along the Orange and Blue lines in Downtown DC.
• Between Sunday and noon July 26, simulation trains will be labeled as Orange Line trains showing a destination of either East Falls Church or Largo Town Center.
• Westbound trains will offload any remaining passengers at East Falls Church and then continue to Wiehle-Reston East without passengers aboard.

Silver Line stations will open at noon on Saturday, July 26.

FACTS ABOUT SILVER LINE SERVICE CHANGES

• The introduction of the Silver Line represents a significant service increase for Metro.  Once the line opens, Metro will run more trains and rail cars than at any point in its history.
• About 37 percent of existing Metrorail riders, accounting for 260,000 Metrorail trips, will benefit from shorter wait times.  These include rush-hour riders traveling to or from stations north of L'Enfant Plaza on the Green/Yellow lines, those traveling to or from stations east of Stadium-Armory on the Blue Line, and those along the Orange Line in Arlington County.
• Silver Line will result in more frequent midday and evening service at 23 stations, from East Falls Church to Largo Town Center, and will result in more frequent weekend service for 40 percent of riders.
• In addition to the 37 percent of Metrorail riders who will have a shorter wait time for a train, 53 percent will see no change in wait time, and only 10 percent will see longer wait times.
• Of those riders who see a longer wait time, half are Blue Line riders -- representing five percent of trips -- who may encounter an average wait time increase of about two minutes longer.  Today, Blue Line trains run an average of every 8.5 minutes during rush hour, resulting in an average wait time of about four minutes.  Starting July 21, Blue Line trains will run every 12 minutes, resulting in a six-minute average wait time.
• The only station along the traditional Blue Line that will see a net decrease in rush-hour trains is Arlington Cemetery.  At all other stations, the number of trains will either increase or remain the same.  At stations in Virginia from Pentagon to Franconia-Springfield, the share of Yellow Line trains will increase slightly (2 trains/direction/hour) to replace existing Blue Line trains.
• Riders at outlying stations on the Orange Line account for the remaining five percent.  The average trip time for these riders will increase less than a minute -- from 1.8 minutes today to 2.7 minutes starting July 21.