The National Cherry Blossom Festival begins Friday, and while the millions of tourists converge on the Tidal Basin to take in the sight of Washington’s crop of Yoshino cherry trees, the best part of the festivities for locals will, as always, take place underground. Metro has almost no track work scheduled over the next four weekends as cherry-blossom season runs its course.
Metro usually scraps all its track work this time of year to accommodate the hordes who descend on the Mall and its surrounding neighborhoods to look at trees, struggle with the buttons on Capital Bikeshare stations, and ask you where 14th Street is. (Spoiler: It’s the one with the signs that read “14.”) An estimated 1.5 million visitors are expected to come through DC over the next month, and they’ll need public transit to get around.
The difference this year is that for the first two weekends of the festival, there will crews replacing rails between Reagan National Airport and Braddock Road, causing Blue, Orange, and Silver line trains to run every 18 minutes, instead of the normal weekend clip of every 12 to 15 minutes. Yellow Line trains will also only go every 18 minutes, though the Red and Green lines will run on their typical weekend schedules. All six lines will operate on their normal weekend timetables on April 4-5 and April 11-12.
Peak bloom doesn’t hit until April 11, the final weekend of the festival, but that won’t stop the hordes from getting here ahead of the petals. Metro’s ridership, which has been declining, usually gets a 15 percent bump during the season, with most of those extra bodies getting on and off at the Smithsonian station.
Benjamin Freed joined Washingtonian in August 2013 and covers politics, business, and media. He was previously the editor of DCist and has also written for Washington City Paper, the New York Times, the New Republic, Slate, and BuzzFeed. He lives in Adams Morgan.
Cherry Blossom Festival Means Almost No Scheduled Track Work on Metro for a Month
It's the best part of the annual celebration, for locals.
The National Cherry Blossom Festival begins Friday, and while the millions of tourists converge on the Tidal Basin to take in the sight of Washington’s crop of Yoshino cherry trees, the best part of the festivities for locals will, as always, take place underground. Metro has almost no track work scheduled over the next four weekends as cherry-blossom season runs its course.
Metro usually scraps all its track work this time of year to accommodate the hordes who descend on the Mall and its surrounding neighborhoods to look at trees, struggle with the buttons on Capital Bikeshare stations, and ask you where 14th Street is. (Spoiler: It’s the one with the signs that read “14.”) An estimated 1.5 million visitors are expected to come through DC over the next month, and they’ll need public transit to get around.
The difference this year is that for the first two weekends of the festival, there will crews replacing rails between Reagan National Airport and Braddock Road, causing Blue, Orange, and Silver line trains to run every 18 minutes, instead of the normal weekend clip of every 12 to 15 minutes. Yellow Line trains will also only go every 18 minutes, though the Red and Green lines will run on their typical weekend schedules. All six lines will operate on their normal weekend timetables on April 4-5 and April 11-12.
Peak bloom doesn’t hit until April 11, the final weekend of the festival, but that won’t stop the hordes from getting here ahead of the petals. Metro’s ridership, which has been declining, usually gets a 15 percent bump during the season, with most of those extra bodies getting on and off at the Smithsonian station.
Follow @brfreed
Benjamin Freed joined Washingtonian in August 2013 and covers politics, business, and media. He was previously the editor of DCist and has also written for Washington City Paper, the New York Times, the New Republic, Slate, and BuzzFeed. He lives in Adams Morgan.
Most Popular in News & Politics
Every Bus Line in DC Is Changing This Weekend. Here’s What to Know.
Yet Another Anti-Trump Statue Has Shown Up on the National Mall
8 Takeaways From Usha Vance’s Interview With Meghan McCain
Bans on Underage Vaping, Swastika Graffiti, Synthetic Dyes: New Virginia Laws Go Into Effect in July
Another Mysterious Anti-Trump Statue Has Appeared on the National Mall
Washingtonian Magazine
July Issue: The "Best Of" Issue
View IssueSubscribe
Follow Us on Social
Follow Us on Social
Related
How Would a New DC Stadium Compare to the Last One?
The Culture of Lacrosse Is More Complex Than People Think
Did Television Begin in Dupont Circle?
Kings Dominion’s Wild New Coaster Takes Flight in Virginia
More from News & Politics
The “World’s Largest Outdoor Museum” Is Coming to DC. Here’s a Preview.
A Cult Classic of Cannabis Brands Is Making Its DC Debut
The Commanders Wine and Dine DC Council Members; GOP Senator Suggests Tax Language Was “Airdropped” Into Spending Bill; and Trump Wants DOGE to Investigate Musk
100 Reasons to Love DC Right Now
How DC’s Attorney General Got So Good at Double Dutch
DC Council Ponders New Way to Expel Trayon White, the GOP’s Budget Bill Advances, and We Found You Some Tacos With Ethiopian Flair
For DNC Chair Ken Martin, the Big Beautiful Bill Is Personal
Every Bus Line in DC Is Changing This Weekend. Here’s What to Know.