New Carrollton station
New Carrollton is a joint Washington Metro, MARC, and Amtrak station in New Carrollton, Prince George's County, Maryland at the eastern end of the Orange Line and planned Purple Line, and adjacent to the Capital Beltway.
Beneath the Metro station platform, a waiting room serves Amtrak's Northeast Regional and Vermonter trains, as well as MARC's Penn Line trains. The New Carrollton Rail Yard is nearby.
Greyhound, a nationwide intercity bus company, also stops at the station on routes serving Richmond, Washington, Philadelphia, New York City, Pittsburgh, and points beyond.[3]
MARC Ridership
As of 2013, the daily MARC ridership was 982.
History
The New Carrollton station is the third station in the area to serve intercity rail traffic.
The first station, Lanham, 0.75 miles (1.21 km) north of the current station, consisted of a small shelter and an asphalt platform served by a few Penn Central trains.[4]
The second, Capital Beltway, sat just inside the Capital Beltway. Opened on March 16, 1970, it was served by Penn Central (later Amtrak) Metroliners.[4][5]
On November 20, 1978, the Washington Metro opened its New Carrollton station[6][7] — along with the Cheverly, Deanwood, Landover, and Minnesota Avenue stations[6][7] — marking the completion of 7.4 miles (11.9 km) of Metro track northeast from the Stadium–Armory station.[8]
In the early 1980s, the state of Maryland took over commuter rail from Conrail (the successor to the Penn Central). The newly renamed MARC service was moved to Capital Beltway Station and Lanham station was abandoned. In 1983, Amtrak and MARC shifted service to the New Carrollton station, using a new island platform next to the existing Washington Metro platform. In October 2015 Amtrak Palmetto began stopping in New Carrollton.[9]
Station layout
| P Platform level |
Westbound | ←  toward Vienna (Landover)
|
| Island platform, doors will open on the left or right | ||
| Westbound | ← toward Vienna (Landover)
| |
| Track 1 | Amtrak/MARC service (non-stopping track) | |
| Track 3 | ← Amtrak toward Baltimore and points north (BWI Airport) ← MARC Penn Line toward Perryville (Seabrook) | |
| Island platform, doors will open on the left | ||
| Track 2 | Amtrak/MARC toward Washington and points south (Washington) → | |
| M | Mezzanine | One-way faregates, ticket machines, station agent |
| G | Street Level | Exit/ Entrance |
At New Carrollton, the Northeast Corridor consists of three tracks. The westernmost two tracks (Tracks 2 and 3) have an island platform between them, with Track 1 having no platform. To the east of the Amtrak platform is the Metro platform, serving the Orange Line. Bus loops and parking lots are located on both sides of the rail line.
The station has entrances at Harkins Road and Ellin Road, and Garden City Drive near U.S. Route 50, and Exit 19 on Interstate 495. This station is planned to be one of the Metro stations on the Purple Line Light Rail route, formerly known as the Bi-County Transitway.
Long-term plans for the New Carrollton station include adding a second island platform (providing access to Track 1) and adding a fourth track.[10]
References
- ^ "Amtrak Fact Sheet, FY2014, State of Maryland" (PDF). Amtrak Government Affairs. November 2014. Retrieved 26 April 2015.
- ^ "Metrorail Average Weekday Passenger Boardings" (PDF). WMATA. Retrieved 26 April 2015.
- ^ Staff (August 25, 2011). "Greyhound Brings Premium Greyhound Express Service to the Southeast and Announces Expansion with 24 New Routes and Six New Markets". Greyhound Lines, Inc. Retrieved 8 February 2013.
- ^ a b Tom Fuchs. "30th Anniversary of New Carrollton Station" (PDF). p. 5. Retrieved 25 February 2012.
- ^ "More Metro stops added at Capital Beltway stops". The Capital. May 15, 1970. p. 16. Retrieved October 1, 2014 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ a b Feaver, Douglas B. (November 12, 1978), "Orange Line brings Metro to Beltway; Orange Line will bring Metro to P.G.", The Washington Post, p. C1
- ^ a b Eisen, Jack (November 18, 1978), "City-County fanfare opens Orange Line; Ceremonies open new Orange Line", The Washington Post, p. D1
{{citation}}: Unknown parameter|coauthor=ignored (|author=suggested) (help) - ^ Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (July 2009). "Sequence of Metrorail openings" (PDF). Retrieved August 2, 2010.
- ^ Amtrak History & Archives. Accessed March 28, 2013.
- ^ "MARC Growth & Investment Plan" (PDF).
External links
- Amtrak stations in Maryland
- Orange Line (Washington Metro)
- Purple Line (Washington Metro)
- Railway stations opened in 1978
- Stations along Philadelphia, Baltimore and Washington Railroad lines
- Washington Metro stations in Maryland
- MARC Train stations
- Railway stations in Prince George's County, Maryland
- 1978 establishments in Maryland