Portal:Trains/Selected article/Week 39, 2011

The Red Line of the Washington Metro is a rail rapid transit service operating between 27 stations in Montgomery County, Maryland, and the District of Columbia, United States. It is a primary line through downtown Washington, and the oldest and busiest line in the system. It forms a long, narrow "U" capped by its terminal stations at Shady Grove and Glenmont. It is the only line which does not share its track with any other line, except from January 27, 1997, to September 17, 1999, when the Green Line Commuter Shortcut used Red Line tracks from Brookland–CUA to Farragut North. Unique among the Washington Metro train lines, some peak service Red Line trains operate on an abbreviated route, between Grosvenor–Strathmore and Silver Spring. On April 20, 2006, the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA), Montgomery County, and the state of Maryland announced an agreement to end the off-peak terminations at Grosvenor, having those trains operate instead between Shady Grove and Silver Spring. It provides service at 6 minute intervals during the day and 12 minute intervals in the evening. The Red Line is undergoing a $212 million improvement program.