Metro riders who use the Red Line should be prepared to wait a bit longer in the cold weather as they try to catch a train due to repair work.

WASHINGTON — Metro riders who use the Red Line should be prepared to wait a bit longer in the cold weather as they try to catch trains due to repair work that is expected to slow down service through the end of the week.

Workers are replacing a communications cable near Silver Spring, Maryland.

“We have detected a condition that, left unaddressed, could affect the integrity of the signal system, and that is something we take very seriously,” said Metro’s Chief Operating Officer Joseph Leader. “Safety demands that the cable be taken out of service and replaced.”

Metro officials said the cable is used to transmit train speeds between control rooms and is about 40 years old, dating back to the original construction of the rail system.

While the equipment is replaced, the number of Red Line trains will be limited between the Takoma and Brookland stations through Friday.

“Only one train at a time is permitted on each track between Brookland and Fort Totten and one train on each track between Fort Totten and Takoma,” officials said in a statement. “These restrictions reduce the capacity of the Red Line, resulting in congestion and delays.”

Then, over the weekend, Metro plans to completely shut down a stretch of the Red Line between Silver Spring and Rhode Island Avenue.

There will be free shuttle buses available to take people around the work.

Riders are also urged to use the Green Line between Fort Totten and Gallery Place as an alternate route.

“If the cable installation this weekend goes as planned, normal Red Line service may be restored as soon as Monday,” officials said.

The work follows an unrelated two-week Red Line shut down that impacted rail service between Silver Spring and Fort Totten.

During that time, Metro replaced a complete interlocking near Takoma where trains cross from one track to another.