Photo by OR_MarLO.

Photo by OR_MarLo.

Update: Energy company Exelon will pay for extended Metro service this evening to accommodate Nationals fans and visitors to the now-opened The Wharf.

After Metro’s regular weekday closing time of 11:30 p.m., four stations will remain open an additional hour for “entry only”: Navy Yard-Ballpark, Waterfront, L’Enfant Plaza, and Capitol South. Riders can still exit through all of the other stations.

Now, the last Green Line train will leave Navy Yard for Greenbelt at 12:22 a.m., and the final train to Branch Ave leaves at 12:48 a.m.

Metro will provide updates on this schedule in the case of a rain delay through announcements at Nats Park, on Twitter, and via MetroAlerts.

According to Exelon, which purchased Pepco in a controversial merger, the mayor’s office contacted the company to request it help out. “As the hometown energy provider, we work closely with the city on a regular basis and when the Mayor reached out, we were happy to support this effort that will make it easier for our neighbors to get home tonight,” Exelon said in a statement.

The mayor’s office confirms that they reached out to Exelon. Spokesperson Susana Castilo says that Exelon was”the first and the only one” that they spoke to about fronting the costs for extending service.

In addition to MetroRail, the Circulator bus is also keeping extended hours on its

Run by the D.C. Department of Transportation rather than Metro, the Circulator was already promising free rides on its Union Station-Navy Yard route if the Nats win (if they lose, prepare to pay $1).

Now, the Circulator says it is further extending its service through 1 a.m.

If the Nats win tonight (Go Nats!), expect this question of late-night service to come up again soon.

Original: After last night’s victory, The Nationals are still in the damn thing.

The first pitch in the decisive fifth game of the Nats/Cubs playoff series is scheduled for 8:08 p.m. in Nationals Park.

It’s the first postseason home game on a weeknight since Metro’s hours have been reduced, meaning the last train out of Navy Yard-Ballpark station leaves for Branch Ave at 11:48 p.m. and Greenbelt at 11:22 p.m. Those times could mean that riders have to head out well before the game ends.

We’ve seen this play out before. Last year, during the year-long maintenance program, WMATA declined to extend its hours during the playoffs. The stadium was filled with boos for Metro during Game 5, as announcers told crowds the final train was leaving in the middle of the seventh inning.

There’s a big difference this time around, though: Metro is willing to stay open later.

Under a policy implemented at the conclusion of SafeTrack, the transportation system will stay open as long as the event organizer puts down a deposit of $100,000 per extra hour of service. Then, Metro will reimburse them for any part of the fee made back in ticket fares.

“Keeping the system open is not just a matter of running a few extra trains through Navy Yard,” a Metro spokesperson explained to DCist in 2012. “You have to keep all 86 stations open and keep trains running on all five lines—serving every station. That’s an employee count in the hundreds.”

The team doesn’t seem to be biting, though. An advisory encourages fans to look at the Metro schedule and “consider alternate forms of travel to and from the ballpark.”

The Lerners, who own the Nats, did not pay to keep the system running in previous years when it was an option for $29,500 an hour. In 2012, Ward 2 Councilmember Jack Evans (now the Metro board chair) said the Nats didn’t pony up because Major League Baseball was “quite concerned about a precedent being set in this city.”

There was an extension of service for the playoffs in 2014, but the Lerners didn’t bankroll it. Instead, it came courtesy of a funding partnership with American University.

Some have pointed out the irony in a team that plays in a city-funded stadium refusing to help prevent fans from getting stranded.

Fans may well blame Metro, as Washingtonians are wont to do, but this time, the decision is squarely on the Nats.

WMATA says it could still keep the system open later if the Lerners change their mind. “Metro remains ready and able to extend service if a request is made under the policy,” spokesperson Dan Stessel says.

Previously:
Six Things To Know As The Nats Postseason Begins
Will The Nats Shell Out For Late-Night Metro Service During The Postseason?

Filed Under: exelon, metro, nationals, playoffs,