List of Washington Metro stations
The Washington Metro (commonly called Metro, and unofficially Metrorail) is the rapid transit system of Washington, D.C., and neighboring communities in Maryland and Virginia, both inside and outside the Capital Beltway. It is the second busiest in the United States, behind the New York City Subway.[1]
The Washington Metro system was conceived as an alternative to the construction of a large freeway system throughout the Washington, D.C. area, and was partially financed with funds originally dedicated to highway construction.[2] Construction began in 1969, and in 1976 the first section of the Metro system opened along the Red Line between the Rhode Island Avenue and Farragut North stations in Washington, D.C. Throughout the 1970s and 1980s, more stations were opened in the city and the suburban communities of Arlington County, the City of Alexandria, and Fairfax County in Virginia as well as Montgomery and Prince George's Counties in Maryland. Eventually, five rail lines were opened: the Red, Blue, Green, Orange, and Yellow Lines. The system as originally planned was completed in 2001 with the extension of the Green Line to Branch Avenue. Since then, three stations have been opened, all in 2004: the extension of the Blue Line to the Largo Town Center and Morgan Boulevard stations and the first in-fill station, New York Ave–Florida Ave–Gallaudet University Metro station (to be renamed NoMa – Gallaudet University with the June 2012 edition of the official Metro map).[3]
As of 2011, there are 86 stations on the five lines in the Metro system. Eleven more are proposed as part of the planned Silver Line, which is projected to open its first section in late 2013, and an infill station, Potomac Yard, is planned to open in 2016 on the Yellow and Blue lines.
Nine Metrorail stations are officially designated transfer stations, although some intermediate stations also allow passengers to transfer between lines. Six stations have separate upper and lower levels to accommodate transfers between perpendicular lines. Ten stations are termini, stations at the end of lines.[4]
As of June 2011, Union Station was the busiest station in the system, with an average of 33,697 passenger boardings per weekday. Eight of the top ten busiest stations are in the District of Columbia. Metro Center, a transfer point for the Blue, Orange, and Red Lines, is the busiest transfer station with 28,983 boardings. Shady Grove in suburban Montgomery County, Maryland was the busiest terminus with 13,856 passenger boardings per weekday.[5]
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Lines [edit]
There are five Washington Metro lines as of 2013[update]. Each is named for a different color.[4] All lines except the Red Line share tracks, mostly through the downtown tunnels. As part of the Rush+ service introduced in June 2012, some rush hour Orange Line trains run to Largo Town Center and some Yellow Line trains to Franconia-Springfield on tracks normally used for the Blue Line.
A sixth line, the Silver Line, is under construction; it will open to Wiehle – Reston East via the Tysons Corner district in 2013 and to Route 772 via Dulles International Airport in 2016. The Silver Line will share tracks with the Orange and Blue lines from East Falls Church to Largo Town Center.[6]
| Line | Ridership (May 2010)[7] | Stations[4] | Termini[4] |
|---|---|---|---|
 Red Line |
277,741 (37%) | 27 | Shady Grove – Glenmont |
 Orange Line |
187,663 (25%) | 26 | Vienna – New Carrollton |
 Blue Line |
120,104 (16%) | 27 | Franconia-Springfield – Largo Town Center |
 Green Line |
105,091 (14%) | 21 | Branch Ave – Greenbelt |
 Yellow Line[a] |
59,781 (8%) | 17 | Huntington – Fort Totten / Mt Vernon Sq |
 Silver Line |
N/A | (34) | Route 772 – Largo Town Center |
Stations [edit]
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| * | Official transfer stations |
 |
Terminals |
| ** | Transfer station and terminal |
Planned stations [edit]
A new line, to be called the Silver Line, is planned for the system; it will create 11 new stations and share 23 stations with the Orange and Blue lines. Current estimates are for the first phase of the project, 5 stations, to be complete by 2013.[6] The second phase does not yet have funding nor an official start date, but completion is estimated for as early as 2016.[9] When finished, the line's termini will be Route 772 (western) and Largo Town Center (eastern); Reston - Wiehle Avenue will be the Phase I western terminus.
Potomac Yard is to be an infill station between Braddock Road and National Airport on the Yellow and Blue lines.[10]
| Lines[11] | Station[11] | State[11] | Projected Opening |
|---|---|---|---|
| Silver Line |
Dulles International Airport | Virginia | 2016[9] |
| Silver Line |
Herndon | Virginia | 2016[9] |
| Blue Line Yellow Line |
Potomac Yard | Virginia | 2016[10] |
| Silver Line |
Reston Town Center | Virginia | 2016[9] |
| Silver Line |
Innovation Center | Virginia | 2016[9] |
| Silver Line |
Route 606 | Virginia | 2016[9] |
| Silver Line |
Route 772 | Virginia | 2016[9] |
| Silver Line |
Greensboro | Virginia | 2013[12] |
| Silver Line |
Tysons Corner | Virginia | 2013[12] |
| Silver Line |
McLean | Virginia | 2013[12] |
| Silver Line |
Spring Hill | Virginia | 2013[12] |
| Silver Line |
Wiehle – Reston East | Virginia | 2013[12] |
Notes [edit]
- a The Yellow Line terminates at Mt Vernon Square during peak hours (5:00 am – 9:30 am and 3:00 pm – 7:00 pm Monday through Friday). Thus, the Columbia Heights, Fort Totten, Georgia Avenue – Petworth, Shaw – Howard University, and U Street stations are not served by the Yellow Line during these times.[13]
- b Stations noted in this list twice with upper and lower levels are considered by Metrorail to be a single station. The levels are noted separately here because they opened on different dates.
- c All ridership data are official WMATA boarding counts from 2011.
- d This station is served by additional trains during rush hour as part of the Rush Plus routing scheme. The secondary line listed does not serve the station during non-rush periods.
References [edit]
- ^ "Heavy Rail Transit Ridership Report" (PDF). American Public Transportation Association. First Quarter 2011. Retrieved July 14, 2011.
- ^ Schrag, Zachary (2006). The Great Society Subway: A History of the Washington Metro. Johns Hopkins University Press. ISBN 0-8018-8246-X.
- ^ "WMATA History" (PDF). Washington Metropolitan area Transit Authority. 2007. Retrieved May 20, 2009.
- ^ a b c d e f "Stations". Metrorail Website. Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority. Retrieved May 20, 2009.
- ^ a b "Average Weekday Passenger Boardings" (PDF). Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority. June 2011. Retrieved November 1, 2011.
- ^ a b "Dulles Metrorail Project Overview". Dulles Corridor Metrorail Project. Retrieved May 20, 2009.
- ^ a b c "Metro Media Guide" (PDF). Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority. 2010. Retrieved July 14, 2011.
- ^ "Metro Facts" (PDF). Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority. 2006. Retrieved May 21, 2009.
- ^ a b c d e f g Hosh, kafia A. (2011). "Fairfax OKs names for new Metrorail stations". Washington Post. Retrieved 14 July 2011.
- ^ a b Goodman, Christy (2010). "Potomac Yard Metro funding approved". Washington Post. Retrieved 2011.
- ^ a b c "Dulles Metrorail Map and Station Information". Dulles Corridor Metrorail Project. Retrieved May 20, 2009.
- ^ a b c d e Dulles Corridor Metrorail Project. "Frequently Asked Questions". Retrieved 2011.
- ^ Weiss, Eric M (December 30, 2006). "Yellow Line Is En Route to Fort Totten". The Washington Post. p. B01.
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