WMATA to reopen four Red Line stations Sept. 1
The Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA) will be reopening four Red Line stations for customers Sept. 1. The reopening of the Glenmont, Wheaton, Forest Glen and Silver Spring stations marks the end of Red Line rehabilitation work that was completed while the Maryland Transit Administration (MTA) built part of a new Purple Line mezzanine at Silver Spring.
Purple Line mezzanine work will continue on the platform at Silver Spring with scaffolding covering about one-third of the platform but the WMATA station will be open for customers. During the summer, Purple Line crews built columns that will support the walkway from the Purple Line station over the tracks to the WMATA Red Line platform.
Silver Spring will still be an active construction site for the Purple Line and the scaffolding will remain on site until 2027.
Additional work included replacing automatic train control systems, installing traction power cables, replacing drain pumping stations, replacing the tunnel standpipe and maintaining the elevators and escalators.
The agency has also rebuilt an interlocking switch area between Fort Totten and Takoma before that stretch of track reopened in late June. Crews were able to complete the equivalent of eight months of weekend closures and disruptions into the summer construction period.
Later this year, WMATA will install new digital passenger information displays on platforms and station entrance digital screens at all five stations. Supply chain issues held up installation during the construction window.
In Summer 2026, Medical Center and Bethesda stations will close to connect the Purple Line to the Bethesda Metrorail Station. The MTA's Purple Line is currently scheduled to begin operations in December 2027.
