Franconia–Springfield station

Template:WMATA infobox header
Metro platfrom
General information
Location	6880 Frontier Drive Springfield, Virginia United States
Coordinates	38°45′58″N 77°10′07″W
Owned by	WMATA
Line(s)
Platforms	1 island platform (Metro) 2 side platforms (VRE)
Tracks	4 (2 for each service)
Bus stands	8
Connections	Fairfax Connector: 171, 231, 232, 301, 303, 304, 305, 310, 321, 322, 331, 332, 380, 401 Metrobus: S80, S91 PRTC OmniRide: Prince William Metro Direct Greyhound BestBus
Construction
Parking	5,069 spaces
Bicycle facilities	36 racks, 20 lockers
Accessible	Yes
Other information
Station code	J03 (WMATA)
Fare zone	Zone 3 (VREX)
History
Opened	June 29, 1997 (1997-06-29)
Passengers
2016	6,970 daily   10.31% (WMATA)
Services
Preceding station   WMATA   Following station Terminus Ashburn Loudoun Gateway Dulles Yard Dulles International Airport Innovation Center Herndon Reston Town Center Wiehle–Reston East Shady Grove Yard Spring Hill Shady Grove Greensboro Rockville Twinbrook Tysons McLean North Bethesda Vienna Grosvenor–Strathmore Dunn Loring Glenmont Yard Medical Center Glenmont Falls Church Yard Greenbelt Yard West Falls Church Greenbelt East Falls Church Wheaton Ballston–MU College Park Bethesda Forest Glen Virginia Square–GMU Hyattsville Crossing Friendship Heights Silver Spring Tenleytown–AU West Hyattsville Clarendon Takoma Van Ness–UDC Fort Totten Court House Georgia Avenue–Petworth Cleveland Park Columbia Heights Woodley Park Brookland–CUA Dupont Circle Rhode Island Avenue Rosslyn Brentwood Yard Foggy Bottom–GWU NoMa–Gallaudet U Farragut North Union Station Farragut West U Street Shaw–Howard University Arlington Cemetery Mount Vernon Square McPherson Square Judiciary Square Metro Center Gallery Place Federal Triangle Smithsonian Archives L'Enfant Plaza Federal Center SW Waterfront Capitol South Navy Yard–Ballpark Eastern Market Anacostia Potomac Avenue Congress Heights Stadium–Armory Pentagon Pentagon City Minnesota Avenue Crystal City Benning Road Southern Avenue Deanwood National Airport Cheverly Naylor Road Capitol Heights Suitland Addison Road Branch Avenue Landover Branch Avenue Yard New Carrollton Potomac Yard Morgan Boulevard Braddock Road New Carrollton Yard King Street–Old Town Downtown Largo Alexandria Yard Van Dorn Street Eisenhower Avenue Franconia–Springfield Huntington Key Red Line Green Line Orange Line Yellow Line Blue Line Silver Line Multiple services Non-revenue tracks All stations are accessible Template:WMATA stations toward Template:WMATA stations   Out-of-system interchange   VREX Template:VREX stations toward Template:VREX stations Template:VREX lines Template:VREX stations toward Template:VREX stations   Former services   Amtrak Template:Amtrak stations toward Template:Amtrak stations Template:Amtrak lines Template:Amtrak stations toward Template:Amtrak stations

Franconia–Springfield is an island platformed Washington Metro station in Springfield, Virginia, United States. The station was opened on June 29, 1997, and is operated by the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA). Providing service for the Blue Line, it is the southwestern terminus of the Blue Line, and is located at the junction of Franconia-Springfield Parkway and Frontier Drive. The station serves a suburban area and is mostly used for commuters, with 5,069 spaces – Metro's largest parking garage. It is a major transit hub, providing not only Metro service, but also Virginia Railway Express, Metrobus, and local and intercity bus service, including Greyhound buses. It also served as an Amtrak station for the Northeast Regional line between 2003 and 2010. Amtrak's code for the station was "FRS."

With 6,970 daily riders by a 2016 count, Franconia–Springfield station is the 8th-most used WMATA Metro station in Virginia.

History

A VRE train pulling in to Franconia–Springfield VRE station

The station's mezzanine.

Prior to construction by WMATA, Franconia–Springfield station was the site of Franconia Station, a standard railroad station built by the Richmond, Fredericksburg and Potomac Railroad. It was built in 1870 and torn down in 1952. Original Metro plans called for 2 separate stations for Franconia and Springfield, but by the time Metro got to building the station, plans had been changed to combine the 2 stations due to the expense and complications of running 2 separate branch lines to the two towns, as it would have required adding an entirely new "color service".

In 1981, WMATA held a series of public hearings to discuss issues related to the expansion of the then Yellow Line to Springfield by 1986, although the project was unfunded at that time. By 1987, the Northern Virginia Transportation Commission began to evaluate whether or not state funding would be necessary to complete the station as federal funding was not guaranteed at that time. By 1991, funding for the expansion was secured and plans for the station, parking garage, and other commuter facilities were approved by the Metro board.

The VRE platform opened in 1995, the second infill station on the system. The Metrorail station opened on June 29, 1997; its opening coincided with the completion of 3.3 miles (5.3 km) of rail west of the Van Dorn Street station. The final cost for both the station and rail expansion was $175 million.

In 2003, due to increases in ridership on both the Metro and VRE lines, WMATA opened an additional parking garage on the premises for park-and-ride users, offering an additional 1,000 parking spaces, and bringing the total to 5,100 spaces.

On June 25, 2017, Yellow Line trains stopped serving the station due to the elimination of Rush+, which is part of major changes to the Metrorail system.

Station layout

P Platform level	Northbound	→ toward Largo Town Center (Van Dorn Street) →
	Island platform, doors will open on the left or right
	Northbound	→ toward Largo Town Center (Van Dorn Street) →
M	Mezzanine	One-way faregates, ticket machines, station agent
G	Street Level	Exit/Entrance, VRE platform

External links

• VRE: Franconia/Springfield Station
• WMATA: Franconia–Springfield Station
• StationMasters Online: Franconia–Springfield Station
• The Schumin Web Transit Center: Franconia–Springfield Station
• USA Rail Guide: Franconia–Springfield Station