No Metro trains or buses will be in service Saturday or Sunday in the D.C. region, the transit authority announced Thursday ahead of an impending snow storm.
Metro trains will stop service at 11 p.m. Friday and bus service will come to a halt at 5 p.m. Friday with service not expected to resume until Monday morning, General Manager Paul Wiedefeld said.
The National Weather Service has predicted the District and surrounding areas could receive up to 2 feet of snow during the storm, which is expected to arrive in the area Friday afternoon.
When heavy snowfall has blanketed the region in the past, Metro has typically kept trains running in the underground stations that serve the District’s core. But worried about a potential loss of power to those stations due to high winds that will accompany the storm, officials opted to cancel service altogether.
“We cannot risk putting our customers out there and then leaving then stranded,” Mr. Wiedefeld said.
Shutting down the underground service will also give Metro the ability to shelter trains inside those stations so that it will be easier to put the trains back in service Monday, Mr. Wiedefeld said.
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• Andrea Noble can be reached at anoble@washingtontimes.com.
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