Three Metrorail Red Line stations to close 2 months for summer construction

No Red Line trains will run between the North Bethesda and Friendship Heights Metrorail stations for two months this summer due to construction work.

From July 6 through Sept. 6, the Bethesda, Grosvenor-Strathmore and Medical Center stations on the Red Line will be closed.

Trains will run from Shady Grove to North Bethesda and from Friendship Heights to Glenmont every six minutes on weekdays and every eight minutes on weekends, the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority said.

During the closure period, crews will be building a second mezzanine at the Bethesda station to make room for the Maryland Transit Administration’s Purple Line light rail system. The Maryland Department of Transportation expects the Purple Line to open in the winter of 2027.

In addition, the raised railway across Maryland Route 355 between Grosvenor-Strathmore and Medical Center will be replaced, and the platform at Grosvenor-Strathmore will be improved with new lighting, drainage and slab edges and tiles, Metro said.

For people looking to go to places around the closed stations, Metro is offering an express and a local shuttle bus every five to eight minutes during Metrorail operating hours. The express bus will travel between North Bethesda and Friendship Heights without stopping, with an expected travel time of 26 minutes.

The shuttle bus will travel to and between the North Bethesda, Grosvenor-Strathmore, Medical Center, Bethesda and Friendship Heights stations, with an expected travel time of 48 minutes, Metro said.