Metro to close 13 stations for a week amid threats of inauguration violence

Metro will shut down more than a dozen stations near the U.S. Capitol and Mall for days around the presidential inauguration because of the possibility of violent protests.

Starting Friday, the transit agency will begin closing 13 stations through the following Thursday, the day after President-elect Joe Biden is inaugurated on the steps of the Capitol. Metrobus service and routes also will be adjusted around a security perimeter guarded by fences and an expected 20,000 members of the National Guard.

The transit precautions were made through coordination with the Secret Service, which is directing safety of the event after last week’s attempted insurrection and riot at the U.S. Capitol that left five dead and wounded several others.

The closures will start Friday at 11 Metro stations near the Capitol and Mall. Two more will close Saturday, and all will remain closed until Jan. 21, Metro said in a statement.

Wait times of 12 minutes on the Red Line and 15 minutes on all other lines can be expected starting Friday. Trains will bypass and run through closed Metro stations without stopping, Metro said.

Metro plans to detour 26 bus routes around the Capitol’s expanded security perimeter beginning Friday through Jan. 21, the following Thursday. Metrobus will operate with a normal service to accommodate customers making trips outside the zone, with the exception of Jan. 20, when buses will operate on a Saturday schedule on the day of the inauguration, Metro said.