Metro Track Switch Replacement At Federal Center SW (VIDEO)

WASHINGTON -- When Metro shuts down a section of track for rehabilitation work, the riding public usually doesn't get to see what's going on. The technical guts of the rail system, like track switches, are mostly out of view of passengers waiting on station platforms or riding on trains.

But this Metro video gives riders and inside look at its work in the tunnels.

During the three-day Martin Luther King Jr. Day weekend, Metro has closed the tunnel the Orange and Blue lines share between the L'Enfant Plaza and Eastern Market stations to replace a major track switch near the Federal Center SW station.

The work installing a new "Guarded #8" switch is mandated by the National Transportation Safety Board.

Since a full track switch is being replaced, Metro must close the tracks in both directions. In other weekend track work, Red Line trains are also sharing the same track between the Dupont Circle and Van Ness stations and the Forest Glen and Takoma stations.

For Metro's full schedule of track work through the end of the spring, click here.

Watch the video above.