Photo by opticalbloom.

WMATA announced this afternoon that they will expand the number of eight-car trains in service to help handle the massive onrush of tourists who descend upon Washington during the annual Cherry Blossom Festival. The good news for us permanent residents? Those additional eight-car trains will be sticking around, after the festival is over.

“We will add 10 rail cars or 640 more seats to our weekday morning and afternoon peak service starting on March 21, increasing the number of rail cars available for customers from 850 to 860 rail cars,” said Metro General Manager and Chief Executive Officer Richard Sarles in a statement released late this morning. “The cars will remain in service after the festival.” WTOP’s Adam Tuss reports that the Red and Orange Line riders will be the beneficiaries of the longer, post-festival trains. Sarles also added that the agency was prepared to use more eight-car trains to handle the Cherry Blossom crowds during weekends.

Anyone who has passed through the Smithsonian and Federal Triangle stations during the peak blossom period (which runs between March 29 and April 3 this year) knows that the additional Metro capacity will be a godsend. Metro says that it recorded three of its top five busiest weekdays and its fourth-highest one-day Saturday ridership during last year’s Cherry Blossom Festival.

Sarles also said that all weekend track maintenance during the weekends of March 26- 27 and April 2-3 and 9-10 would be curtailed. Escalator modernization around the system will continue as planned, though. More details on all things Metro during the Cherry Blossom Festival can be found at WMATA’s website.