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3/28/2022
The Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority's (WMATA) board late last week approved a $4.5 billion fiscal-year 2023 budget that includes a number of fare adjustments and capital projects.
To take effect July 1, when the new fiscal year starts, the budget calls for reducing late-night and weekend fares, improving service — such as operating more frequent trains — and allocating funds for the Silver Line’s second-phase service, Potomac Yard Station and capital program.
In addition, fare discounts implemented in 2021 that proved popular with riders will become permanent, WMATA officials said in a press release.
The FY23 capital program totals more than $2 billion — one of the largest spending plans in the U.S. transit industry, WMATA officials said. The program includes an ongoing multiyear platform reconstruction effort at 20 outdoor rail stations, and major rehabilitation projects on the Yellow Line to address decades of water infiltration and the erosion of the Potomac River bridge’s steel-lined tunnels.
"It is critical that we continue to invest in infrastructure improvements and rehabilitation of [our] aging tracks, tunnels and aerial structures," said WMATA General Manager Paul Wiedefeld. "This work continues to renew and make safer the regional assets in our nation’s capital."