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Five new stations along Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority’s Green Line may open two months earlier than expected, company officials announced Sept. 6.

The stations being built between Anacostia and Branch Avenue were projected to open March 17, 2001, but construction is ahead of schedule. Also, Metro expects to receive 26 of the 192 subway cars it ordered from Madrid-based CAF by December. If current progress continues and the cars complete the testing phase without delay, WMATA may open the stations Jan. 13 — a week before the presidential inauguration. The Green Line is a connecting point for people who want to travel into the city.

During President Clinton’s 1993 inauguration, WMATA trains carried a record 811,000 passengers.

WMATA’s board plans to address the Jan. 13 launch date at its Sept. 21 meeting. If the board decides not to pursue the earlier date, the stations will open in March as scheduled.