Three Metro lines now have more cell service underground

Metro riders who have the most popular cell phone plans can now connect with the rest of the world from several additional miles of rail tunnel in D.C.

In a news release, the regional transit authority says AT&T, Sprint, T-Mobile, and Verizon Wireless customers can use their phones in two previously unserved stretches of tunnel: on the Red Line between the Union Station and Dupont Circle stations, and on the Green and Yellow lines between the Gallery Place and Fort Totten stations.

“The Red Line tunnel segments cover approximately 2.2 miles of Metro tunnels in each direction, while the Green/Yellow Line tunnel segments cover approximately 4.6 miles of Metro tunnels in each direction,” Metro explains.

It’s been a year and a half since in-tunnel cell service first came to a mile of Blue, Orange, and Silver line tunnels in December 2016—even though by that point the installation was years behind schedule. Since then, Metro and the major wireless carriers have gradually added cell service to more miles of track on various lines. (Service had already existed in underground Metro stations, just not the tunnels that connected them.)

The transit authority has said its goal is to provide wireless coverage across the entire rail system by 2021. According to Metro, cell service is also currently available in tunnels on the:

Blue and Silver lines between the Benning Road and Largo Town Center stations

Blue, Orange, and Silver lines between the Metro Center and Potomac Ave stations

Red Line between the Glenmont and Silver Spring stations

Blue, Orange and Silver lines between the Potomac Ave and Stadium-Armory stations

• Metro Gets Its First Mile Of Cell Service Inside The Tunnels [DCist]
• Underground cell service comes to 1.1-mile stretch of Metro tunnel system; only 49.4 miles to go [Washington Post]