Today’s snow storm means Metro’s been limited to their underground service map only.  Given that buses are out of commission, this low level of service is the only real way to get around town.  It also means there’s plenty of time to spend in the stations waiting for trains.

So, while waiting at Potomac Avenue, I couldn’t help but snap a few pictures of the newly cleaned and whitewashed vaults, all part of Metro’s earlier noted station enhancement program.  For Potomac Ave in particular, the mid-way photos already showed a huge improvement over the dirty and grimy concrete vaults.  Given that Potomac Ave was one of the stations Metro painted years ago to improve light levels, the last step was to essentially whitewash the station vaults to complete the cleaning process, and then light those vaults up by replacing all the burnt-out light bulbs.

The difference is stark.  Today:

Whitewashed and illuminated vaults at Potomac Ave

The mid-way progress:

Steam cleaning in progress at Potomac Ave

And the original, dirty station:

Dirty station vaults before cleaning

For a synopsis of the station enhancement process, check out this WaPo article.