Metro Center, Gallery Place and Union Station — some of the busiest transfer stations in the Metro system — are closing starting tomorrow through Thursday due to inauguration.

The transit agency announced the closures Wednesday night, but Metro General Manager Paul Wiedefeld addressed the complication during a Thursday news conference.

“We’re working very closely with Secret Service and we cannot be providing shuttles at these stations to move people through an area that’s closed,” Wiedefeld said. “So it’s very unfortunate. That’s why we’re trying to get the word out… please don’t travel.”

Metro closes 11 stations in the downtown security perimeter — including Farragut North, Judiciary Square, Union Station, Archives, Arlington Cemetery, Farragut West, McPherson Square, Federal Center SW, Capitol South, Smithsonian, Federal Triangle — starting Friday.

Saturday through Thursday, transfer stations Metro Center and Gallery Place will close and transfers will not be allowed there.

Trains will pass through the closed stations without stopping. Buses will be diverted from the area as well.

All transfers, except those looking for a quick jump from Amtrak, VRE or MARC to Metro, are still technically possible, but most are unwieldy and unrealistic.

Some riders will have to make roundabout trips with multiple transfers to get to where they need to go.

For example, going from Dupont Circle to Eastern Market would usually require one transfer at Metro Center. Now, a rider will have to go all the way to the other side of the city to Fort Totten on the Red Line, transfer to a Green or Yellow Line train to L’Enfant Plaza and then transfer to a Blue, Orange or Silver Line train.

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Wiedefeld said while there are no specific threats against WMATA, Metro is still ramping up its security given the insurrection on January 6 and upcoming inauguration; Wiedefeld didn’t go into more details.

Rail ridership is down considerably due to the pandemic, though Metrorail did have its highest ridership day with 130,000 riders on January 6.

During the pandemic, about 60,000-80,000 trips are happening every weekday — down about 80-90% of pre-pandemic ridership levels.

Many essential workers still need to get around during the inauguration.

“We want to try to provide as much service as we can for those people that still need to travel,” Wiedefeld said. “But we recognize that as far as trains pass through or buses, they cannot pass through that zone.”

You can see the full list of station closures in Metro’s map here: