<P> Since June 2009, when two Red Line trains collided and killed nine people due in part to malfunctions in the ATC system, all Metro trains have been manually operated . The current state of manual operation has led to heavily degraded service, with new manual requirements such as absolute blocks, speed restrictions, and end - of - platform stopping leading to increased headways between trains, increased dwell time, and worse on - time performance . Metro originally planned to have all trains be automated again by 2017, but those plans were shelved in early 2017 in order to focus on more pressing safety and infrastructure issues . </P> <P> The train doors were originally designed to be opened and closed automatically and the doors would re-open if an object blocked them, much as elevator doors do . Almost immediately after the system opened in 1976 Metro realized these features were not conducive to safe or efficient operation and they were disabled . At present the doors may be opened automatically or manually . If a door tries to close and it meets an obstruction, the operator must re-open the door . </P> <P> Metrorail begins service at 5 am Monday through Friday, 7 am on Saturdays, and 8 am Sundays; it ends service at 11: 30 pm Monday through Thursday, 1: 00 am Friday and Saturday, and 11: 00 pm on Sundays, although the last trains leave the end stations inbound about half an hour before these times . Trains run more frequently during rush hours on all lines, with scheduled peak hour headways of 4 minutes on the Red Line and 9 minutes on all other lines . Headways are much longer during midday and evening on weekdays and all weekend . The midday six - minute headways are based on a combination of two Metrorail lines (Orange / Blue and Yellow / Green) as each route can run every 12 minutes; in the case of the Red Line, every other train bound for Glenmont terminates at Silver Spring instead . Night and weekend service varies between 8 and 24 minutes, with trains generally scheduled only every 20 minutes . </P> <P> Other service truncations also occur in the system during rush hour service only . On the Red Line, every other train bound for Shady Grove terminates at Grosvenor - Strathmore, in addition to the alternating terminations at Silver Spring mentioned above . For the Yellow Line, all trains bound for Fort Totten terminate at Mount Vernon Square . These are primarily instituted due to a limited supply of rail cars and the locations of pocket tracks throughout the system . </P>

When does the dc metro start in the morning