Metro says they will be ready for the 25,000 plus additional riders they expect when during Pope Benedict XVI’s visit to Washington this week. In addition to the usual “additional station managers on hand”, Metro will run trains at rush hour levels on Wednesday and Thursday between 5 a.m. and 7 p.m. The renovated Navy Yard exit nearest to Nationals Park will also be converted to exit only before the papal mass on Thursday, and entrance only afterwards, the same way it is during Nationals games.

Even if you won’t be attending mass, your travels might be more difficult. Here’s what Metro General Manager John Catoe said to expect in a statement:

Parking lots [will] fill earlier than usual on Thursday, heavy crowds at the end-of-the-line stations in the early morning, riders who are unfamiliar with traveling on Metro and generally very crowded conditions.

Up to 16 Metrobuses will be detoured along the popemobile’s route on Wednesday, and bikes will be banned on the system until after 7 p.m. both Wednesday and Thursday. Metrobus routes 32, 34, 35, 36, 38 and 80 will be affected before and after the Pope’s Wednesday White House visit. Metrobus routes 80, H1, H2, H3 and H4 will also be affected when his motorcade enters and leaves the CUA campus on Thursday. Bus routes near Nationals Parkm including the A9, P17, P18, P19, W13 and W14, will also be affected by his arrival and departure on Thursday morning.

Expect large crowds on Orange/Blue line stations like Foggy Bottom, Farragut West, and McPherson Square, the Green line’s Navy Yard station and the Red line’s Farragut North and Brookland-CUA stations during the times the Pope is expected.

And don’t forget about Metro’s special one-day $9 Mass Pass, good for unlimited rides all day on Thursday, including rush hour. Metro has a special website to help riders get to Nationals Park for the mass, but their bobblehead video remains retracted.

Photo by sally henny penny