ROCKVILLE, MD — On Saturday, Metro will end its "Grosvenor Turnback" service pattern and provide double the rush-hour service to four Montgomery County Metro stations, WMATA said.

The new service pattern will increase the number of Red Line trains running to and from Shady Grove for riders at Rockville, Shady Grove, White Flint, and Twinbrook. Trains will operate every 4 minutes during rush-hour service. In addition to the new service pattern, Metro will be building a new stairway at Shady Grove. The agency explained that the stairs, which is included in WMATA's FY20 capital program, will reduce platform congestion.

"The new stairway is needed to ease platform congestion as trains arrive at Shady Grove, primarily during the evening rush hour," Wiedefeld said. "The new stairs will improve platform egress by creating an additional way for customers to exit the station. Today, all customers arriving at Shady Grove by train must make their way to a single descending escalator or use the adjacent existing staircase. It can take several minutes for all passengers of an arriving train to clear the platform." With 11,517 riders boarding each weekday, Shady Grove is the second busiest station in Montgomery County, according to Metro data. Silver Spring is the busiest station.

The new service pattern and stairway, which were announced in October, are part of Metro's efforts to win back riders amid widespread dissatisfaction over safety and performance issues that have plagued the system.

Image via Emily Leayman/Patch

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