A train pulls into Federal Triangle. Some of the busiest stations on the Blue, Orange, and Silver lines between Rosslyn and Stadium-Armory will see a train every 3.5 minutes.

WAMU/DCist / Jordan Pascale

Metro will improve train arrival times in February, but only on certain lines during the busiest times and days.

Starting Feb. 7, trains will pull into Blue and Orange Line stations every 12 minutes during the new peak rush hours — Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays from 6-9 a.m. and 3-6 p.m. In the heart of the system, between Rosslyn and Stadium-Armory, a train will arrive every 3.5 minutes during those days and times. Trains are running every 15 minutes on those lines currently.

All Orange Line trains will be 8-car, 7000-series trains to provide more capacity. Other lines will get more 7000-series trains slowly over time.

Then on Feb 21, the Red Line will see a slight improvement to trains every 8 minutes during those peak times. Currently, Red Line trains arrive every 10 minutes.

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“That is where the ridership demand is and that is where we’re first putting those trains,” Metro General Manager Randy Clarke said during a Thursday Metro board meeting. Metro has noted crowding on those lines at peak hours.

He says that would be the best frequency “for the foreseeable future” for a number of reasons.

“It’s a combination of trains, availability, and staff, and we are working both fronts with a really high sense of urgency and a commitment to deliver a safe frequent service,” Clarke said. “The job is not done. We are 100% committed to getting back to full-budgeted service and running this network the way it was designed and the way the community expects.”

He says they’ve hired and trained more operators, and are working to get more 7000-series trains back on the tracks. Metro had 1,900 vacancies last summer, but that number is down to 1,400.

Metro hopes to return to full-budgeted service in May when the Yellow Line returns after bridge work that closed the entire line for months.

The transit agency broke away from its last plan to increase service on the Red, Blue, Orange, and Silver lines at the end of December, because of restrictions from the Washington Metrorail Safety Commission after issues with operator training.

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