Silver Spring station

For the historic Baltimore and Ohio Railroad station, see Silver Spring station (Baltimore and Ohio Railroad).

Template:WMATA infobox header
MARC commuter rail station rapid transit station
The platform of Silver Spring station on June 23, 2010.
General information
Location	8400 Colesville Road (Metro) 1170 Bonifant Street (MARC) Silver Spring MD 20910
Coordinates	38.993841°N 77.031321°W / 38.993841; -77.031321
Owned by	WMATA
Line(s)	Metro MTA:   Brunswick Line
Platforms	1 island platform (Metro) 2 side platforms (MARC)
Tracks	4 (2 for each service)
Connections	Ride On: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 8, 9, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 28 Metrobus: 70, 79, F4, J1, J2, J4, Q1, Q2, Q4, S2, S4, S9, Y2, Y7, Y8, Z2, Z6, Z7, Z8, Z11 MTA Maryland Bus: 915, 929 Shuttle-UM: 111 Peter Pan Bus
Construction
Structure type	Elevated
Parking	715 spaces (leased)
Bicycle facilities	26 racks, 30 lockers
Accessible	Yes
Other information
Station code	B08
History
Opened	February 6, 1978 (February 6, 1978)
Passengers
2017	11,850 daily   3.14% (Metro)
Services
Preceding station   MARC   Following station Template:MARC stations toward Template:MARC stations Template:MARC lines Template:MARC stations toward Template:MARC stations WMATA Template:WMATA stations toward Template:WMATA stations 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   Future services   MTA Maryland Template:MTA Maryland stations toward Template:MTA Maryland stations Template:MTA Maryland lines Template:MTA Maryland stations toward Template:MTA Maryland stations

The station (left) with the Transit Center (right), 2016

Silver Spring is a Washington Metro and MARC Train station in Montgomery County, Maryland on the Red Line. On the Washington Metro, Silver Spring is the first station in Maryland on the eastern end of the Red Line, and is the second-busiest Metro station in Maryland after Shady Grove.

The station serves the suburb of Silver Spring, and is located at Colesville Road (Maryland Route 384) and East-West Highway; trains from Grosvenor–Strathmore terminate here during peak travel times. Service began on February 6, 1978. Prior to the opening of Forest Glen on September 22, 1990, Silver Spring was the terminus for the eastern end of the Red Line.

Silver Spring is the last station on the Red Line heading towards Glenmont to be elevated, at-grade, or open cut. Just north of Silver Spring, the Red Line descends underground once again, therefore entering the subway. The Red Line remains underground for the remainder of its route as it continues out into the suburbs of Montgomery County under Georgia Avenue to the end of the line at Glenmont.

This station is planned to be one of the Metro stations on the Purple Line system, formerly known as the Bi-County Transitway.

Several Metrobuses and Ride On buses also serve this station.

Station layout

Like Brookland–CUA station, the platform at Silver Spring is slightly curved, with convex mirrors located on the inbound side of the platform to aid train operators in making sure the area is clear before closing the doors.

P Metro platforms	Inbound	← toward Grosvenor or Shady Grove (Takoma)
	Island platform, doors will open on the left
	Outbound	→ toward Glenmont (Forest Glen) → → alighting passengers only (select rush hour trains) →
P MARC platforms	Side platform, doors will open on the right
	Outbound	← Brunswick Line toward Martinsburg or Frederick (Kensington) ← Capitol Limited does not stop here
	Inbound	← Capitol Limited does not stop here → ← Brunswick Line toward Union Station (Terminus) →
	Side platform, doors will open on the right
M	Mezzanine	One-way faregates, ticket machines, station agent
G	Street level	Exit/entrance, parking, buses

MARC station

A MARC station straddles the Metro station, serving trains on the Brunswick Line. The two halves of the MARC station are connected by a pedestrian bridge. The MARC station began service in this location in 2000, replacing the Silver Spring Baltimore and Ohio Railroad Station, located about .25 miles (0.40 km) to the south. In the morning far more people disembark than board at the station, and the reverse is true in the evening. The MARC ridership as of 2013 was 629 passengers.

Paul S. Sarbanes Transit Center

The Montgomery County Government began construction of the Paul S. Sarbanes Transit Center, a multi-modal passenger transportation facility adjacent to the Metro station, in 2007. The facility has 34 bays for Metro, Ride-on Buses, Shuttle-UM, "Kiss and Ride" access, Metrorail, and MARC train service. Its increased capacity is expected to ease the implementation of the Purple Line. The Transit Center will also mark the location for the future northern terminus of the Metropolitan Branch Trail, which heads southbound to Union Station. The transit center is named for former U.S. Senator Paul Sarbanes.

The complex was subject to construction problems and the schedule was extensively delayed.

On March 19, 2013, an engineering firm engaged by Montgomery County to investigate the defects issued a report that indicated "significant and serious design and construction defects, including excessive cracking, missing post-tensioning cables, inadequate reinforcing steel, and concrete of insufficient strength and thickness."

In May 2014, repairs were announced to begin for the summer with the hope of completing them in time to open by early 2015, but after two months they had not resumed.

The facility was transferred from Montgomery County to WMATA in August 2015 after the completion of renovations, and opened on September 20, 2015, five years behind schedule.

Artwork

The Silver Spring station is also home to Penguin Rush Hour, a 100-by-8-foot (30.5 by 2.4 m) mural painted by Sally Callmer, depicting penguins as Metro customers during rush hour. Although originally intended to be a temporary exhibit, the mural placed at the station in the early 1990s has become a symbol of the downtown area of Silver Spring. In 2004, the Silver Spring Regional Center, a county government facility, commissioned the original artist to restore the mural, which was damaged by the elements and missing sections, for approximately $30,000. In 2004-2005, the mural was removed for the restoration, with the promise that it would be returned by the end of 2005. Subsequently, the county decided to postpone re-installation of the mural until completion of the new transit center. In March 2017 a digital copy of the mural, printed on aluminum sheets for durability, was installed at the transit center.

Notable places nearby

• Ellsworth Place - shopping mall
• AFI Silver Theater
• National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
  • National Weather Service headquarters
• Discovery Channel headquarters
• Downtown Silver Spring Downtown Silver Spring
• The Fillmore Silver Spring [3]

See also

• Silver Spring Baltimore and Ohio Railroad Station

External links

• WMATA: Silver Spring Station
• StationMasters Online: Silver Spring Station
• Colesville Road entrance from Google Maps Street View
• Photos of construction of the Paul S. Sarbanes Transit Center

Purple Line
Bethesda Connecticut Avenue Rock Creek Lyttonsville 16th Street–Woodside Silver Spring Bonifant Street Silver Spring Library Wayne Avenue Dale Drive Sligo Creek Manchester Place Long Branch MD 193 University Boulevard Piney Branch Road Takoma Langley Montgomery County Prince George's County Riggs Road Northwest Branch Anacostia River Adelphi Road–UMGC–UMD Campus Drive–UMD Campus Drive Baltimore Avenue–UMD College Park–University of Maryland Riverdale Park North–UMD MD 201 Kenilworth Avenue Riverdale Park–Kenilworth Beacon Heights–East Pines Glenridge Maintenance Facility Glenridge Ellin Road New Carrollton All stations are accessible