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A 7000-series train at Farragut West in April 2018.

(Tdorante10, CC BY-SA 4.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0>, via Wikimedia Commons)

 

Washington Metro

The Washington Metro, often abbreviated as the Metro and formally the Metrorail, is a rapid transit system serving the Washington metropolitan area of the United States. It is administered by the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA), which also operates the Metrobus service under the Metro name. Opened in 1976, the network now includes six lines, 98 stations, and 129 miles (208 km) of route.

Metro serves Washington, D.C. and the states of Maryland and Virginia. In Maryland, Metro provides service to Montgomery and Prince George's counties; in Virginia, to Arlington, Fairfax and Loudoun counties, and to the independent city of Alexandria. The system's most recent expansion, which is the construction of a new station (and altering the line), serving Potomac Yard, opened on May 19, 2023. It operates mostly as a deep-level subway in more densely populated parts of the D.C. metropolitan area (including most of the District itself), while most of the suburban tracks are at surface level or elevated. The longest single-tier escalator in the Western Hemisphere, spanning 230 feet (70 m), is located at Metro's deep-level Wheaton station.

In 2023, the system had a ridership of 136,303,200, or about 450,600 per weekday as of the third quarter of 2024, making it the second-busiest heavy rail rapid transit system in the United States, in number of passenger trips, after the New York City Subway, and the sixth-busiest in North America. In June 2008, Metro set a monthly ridership record with 19,729,641 trips, or 798,456 per weekday. Fares vary based on the distance traveled, the time of day, and the type of card used by the passenger. Riders enter and exit the system using a proximity card called SmarTrip.

 

History

The Washington Metro being constructed on Connecticut Avenue in March 1973

Aerial view of the Metro being constructed along Pennsylvania Avenue SE in 1973

Metro under construction at the Washington Navy Yard in 1989
Passengers sit in fixed two-seat units. There are metal poles and bars for standees to hold.
Interior of a rehabilitated Breda car in 2007
During the 1950s, plans were laid for a massive freeway system in Washington, D.C. Harland Bartholomew, who chaired the National Capital Planning Commission, thought that a rail transit system would never be self-sufficient because of low-density land uses and general transit ridership decline. But the plan met fierce opposition, and was altered to include a Capital Beltway system plus rail line radials. The Beltway received full funding along with additional funding from the Inner Loop Freeway system project that was partially reallocated toward construction of the Metro system.

In 1960, the federal government created the National Capital Transportation Agency to develop a rapid rail system. In 1966, a bill creating WMATA was passed by the federal government, the District of Columbia, Virginia, and Maryland, with planning power for the system being transferred to it from the NCTA. An early proposal map from 1967 was more extensive than what was ultimately approved, with the Red Line's western terminus being in Germantown instead of Shady Grove.

WMATA approved plans for a 97.2-mile (156.4 km) regional system on March 1, 1968. The plan consisted of a core regional system, which included the original five Metro lines, as well as several future extensions, many of which were not constructed. The first experimental Metro station was built above ground in May 1968 for a cost of $69,000. It was 64 by 30 by 17 feet (19.5 m × 9.1 m × 5.2 m) and meant to test construction techniques, lighting, and acoustics before full-scale construction efforts.

Construction began after a groundbreaking ceremony on December 9, 1969, when Secretary of Transportation John A. Volpe, District Mayor Walter Washington, and Maryland Governor Marvin Mandel tossed the first spade of dirt at Judiciary Square.

The first portion of the system opened March 27, 1976, with 4.6 miles (7.4 km) available on the Red Line with five stations from Rhode Island Avenue to Farragut North, all in Washington, D.C. All rides were free that day, with the first train departing the Rhode Island Avenue stop with Metro officials and special guests, and the second with members of the general public. Arlington County, Virginia was linked to the system on July 1, 1977; Montgomery County, Maryland, on February 6, 1978; Prince George's County, Maryland, on November 17, 1978; and Fairfax County, Virginia, and Alexandria, Virginia, on December 17, 1983. Metro reached Loudoun County on November 15, 2022. Underground stations were built with cathedral-like arches of concrete, highlighted by soft, indirect lighting. The name Metro was suggested by Massimo Vignelli, who designed the signage for the system as well as for the New York City Subway.

The 103-mile (166 km), 83-station system was completed with the opening of the Green Line segment to Branch Avenue on January 13, 2001. However, this did not mean the end of the system's growth. A 3.22-mile (5.18 km) extension of the Blue Line to Morgan Boulevard and Downtown Largo opened on December 18, 2004. The first infill station, New York Ave–Florida Ave–Gallaudet University (now NoMa–Gallaudet U) on the Red Line between Union Station and Rhode Island Avenue, opened on November 20, 2004. Construction began in March 2009 for an extension to Dulles Airport to be built in two phases. The first phase, five stations connecting East Falls Church to Tysons Corner and Wiehle Avenue in Reston, opened on July 26, 2014. The second phase to Ashburn opened November 15, 2022, after many delays. The second infill station, Potomac Yard on the Blue and Yellow Lines between Braddock Road and National Airport, opened on May 19, 2023.

Metro construction required billions of federal dollars, originally provided by Congress under the authority of the National Capital Transportation Act of 1969. The cost was paid with 67% federal money and 33% local money. This act was amended on January 3, 1980, by the National Capital Transportation Amendment of 1979 (also known as the Stark-Harris Act), which authorized additional funding of $1.7 billion to permit the completion of 89.5 miles (144.0 km) of the system as provided under the terms of a full funding grant agreement executed with WMATA in July 1986, which required 20% to be paid from local funds. On November 15, 1990, the National Capital Transportation Amendments of 1990 authorized an additional $1.3 billion in federal funds for construction of the remaining 13.5 miles (21.7 km) of the 103-mile (166 km) system, completed via the execution of full funding grant agreements, with a 63% federal/37% local matching ratio.

In February 2006, Metro officials chose Randi Miller, a car dealership employee from Woodbridge, Virginia, to record new "doors opening", "doors closing", and "please stand clear of the doors, thank you" announcements after winning an open contest to replace the messages recorded by Sandy Carroll in 1996. The "Doors Closing" contest attracted 1,259 contestants from across the country.

Over the years, a lack of investment in Metro caused it to break down, and there have been several fatal incidents on the Washington Metro due to mismanagement and broken-down infrastructure. By 2016, according to The Washington Post, on-time rates had dropped to 84%, and Metro service was frequently disrupted during rush hours because of a combination of equipment, rolling stock, track, and signal malfunctions. WMATA did not receive dedicated funding from the three jurisdictions it served, Maryland, Virginia, and D.C., until 2018.

Seeking to address negative perceptions of its performance, in 2016, WMATA announced an initiative called "Back2Good," focusing on addressing a wide array of rider concerns, from improving safety to adding Internet access to stations and train tunnels.

In May 2018, Metro announced an extensive renovation of platforms at 20 stations across the system, spanning all lines except the Silver Line. The Blue and Yellow Lines south of National Airport were closed from May 25 to September 9, 2019, in what would be the longest line closure in Metro's history. Additional stations would be repaired between 2020 and 2022, but the corresponding lines would not be closed completely. The project would cost $300 to $400 million and would be Metro's first major project since its construction.

In March 2022, Metro announced that beginning on September 10, 2022, it would suspend all service on the Yellow Line for seven to eight months to complete repairs and rebuilding work on its bridge over the Potomac River and its tunnel leading into the station at L'Enfant Plaza. Metro stated that this was the first significant work that the tunnel and bridge had undergone since they were first constructed over forty years prior. Service on the Yellow Line resumed on May 7, 2023, but with its northeastern terminus truncated from Greenbelt to Mount Vernon Square.

 

Opening dates

The following is a list of opening dates for track segments and infill stations on the Washington Metro. The entries in the "from" and "to" columns correspond to the boundaries of the extension or station that opened on the specified date, not to the lines' terminals. The entries in the "stations" column exclude new platforms creating interchanges with existing stations on other lines.

 

 

Date Line at time of opening Current lines From To Stations Miles
March 27, 1976 Red (service created) Red Farragut North Rhode Island Avenue 5 4.6
December 15, 1976 Red Intermediate station (Gallery Place) 1 -
January 17, 1977 Farragut North Dupont Circle 1 1.1
July 1, 1977 Blue (service created) Blue, parts of Yellow, Orange, and Silver National Airport Stadium–Armory 17 11.8
February 4, 1978 Red Rhode Island Avenue–Brentwood Silver Spring 4 5.7
November 17, 1978[47] Orange (service created) Orange, part of Silver Stadium–Armory New Carrollton 5 7.4
December 1, 1979 Orange Orange and Silver Rosslyn Ballston–MU 4 3.0
November 22, 1980 Blue Blue and Silver Stadium–Armory Addison Road 3 3.6
December 5, 1981 Red Dupont Circle Van Ness–UDC 3 2.1
April 30, 1983 Yellow (service created) Yellow, part of Green Gallery Place Pentagon 1 3.3
December 17, 1983 Yellow Yellow, part of Blue National Airport Huntington 4 4.2
August 25, 1984 Red Van Ness–UDC Grosvenor–Strathmore 5 6.8
December 15, 1984 Grosvenor–Strathmore Shady Grove 4 7.0
June 7, 1986 Orange Ballston–MU Vienna 4 9.0
September 22, 1990 Red Silver Spring Wheaton 2 3.2
May 11, 1991 Yellow Yellow and Green Gallery Place U Street 3 1.7
June 15, 1991 Blue King Street–Old Town Van Dorn Street 1 3.9
December 28, 1991 Green (service created) Green L'Enfant Plaza Anacostia 3 2.9
December 11, 1993 Green (separate segment) Fort Totten Greenbelt 4 7.0
June 29, 1997 Blue Van Dorn Street Franconia–Springfield 1 3.3
July 25, 1998 Red Wheaton Glenmont 1 1.4
September 18, 1999 Green (connecting segments) Green U Street Fort Totten 2 2.9
January 13, 2001 Green Anacostia Branch Avenue 5 6.5
November 20, 2004 Red Infill station (NoMa–Gallaudet U) 1 -
December 18, 2004 Blue Blue and Silver Addison Road Downtown Largo 2 3.2
July 26, 2014 Silver (service created) Silver East Falls Church Wiehle–Reston East 5 11.6
November 15, 2022 Silver Wiehle–Reston East Ashburn 6 11.4
May 19, 2023 Blue and Yellow Infill station (Potomac Yard) 1 -

Rush+ and late-night service patterns

 

Multi-level transfer at the Gallery Place station in February 2023Crowds pack the platform at the Federal Triangle station during rush hour in August 2005.

On December 31, 2006, an 18-month pilot program began to extend service on the Yellow Line to Fort Totten over existing Green Line trackage. This extension was later made permanent. Starting June 18, 2012, the Yellow Line was extended again along existing track as part of the Rush+ program, with an extension to Greenbelt on the northern end and with several trains diverted to Franconia–Springfield on the southern end. These Rush+ extensions were discontinued on June 25, 2017.

In addition to expanding the system, Metro expanded the operating hours over the first 40 years. Though it originally opened with weekday-only service from 6 a.m. to 8 p.m, financial paperwork assumed prior to opening that it would eventually operate from 5 a.m. to 1 a.m. seven days a week. It never operated exactly on that schedule but the hours did expand, sometimes beyond that. On September 25, 1978, Metro extended its weekday closing time from 8 p.m. to midnight and 5 days later it started Saturday service from 8 a.m. to Midnight. Metrorail kicked off Sunday service from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. on September 2, 1979, and on June 29, 1986, the Sunday closing time was pushed back to midnight. Metro started opening at 5:30 a.m., a half an hour earlier, on weekdays starting on July 1, 1988. On November 5, 1999, weekend service was extended to 1:00 a.m., and on June 30, 2000, it was expanded to 2:00 a.m. On July 5, 2003, weekend hours were extended again with the system opening an hour earlier, at 7:00 a.m. and closing an hour later at 3:00 a.m. On September 27, 2004, Metro again pushed weekday opening time half an hour earlier, this time to 5 a.m.

In 2016, Metro began temporarily scaling back service hours to allow for more maintenance. On June 3, 2016, they ended late-night weekend service with Metrorail closing at midnight. Hours were adjusted again the following year starting on June 25, 2017, with weeknight service ending a half-hour earlier at 11:30 p.m.; Sunday service trimmed to start an hour later – at 8 a.m. – and end an hour early at 11 p.m.; and late-night service partially restored to 1 a.m. The service schedule was approved until June 2019.

On January 29, 2020, Metro announced that it would be activating its pandemic response plans in preparation for the looming COVID-19 pandemic, which would be declared a pandemic by the World Health Organization on March 11. At that time, Metro announced that it would reduce its service hours from 5:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m. on weekdays and 8:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m. on weekends beginning on March 16 to accommodate for train cleaning and additional track work. As of 2022, pre-COVID service hours have been restored with pre-2016 Sunday service hours.

 

Busiest days


The highest ridership for a single day was on the day of the first inauguration of Barack Obama, January 20, 2009, with 1.12 million riders. It broke the previous record, set the day before, of 866,681 riders.[65] June 2008 set several ridership records: the single-month ridership record of 19,729,641 total riders, the record for highest average weekday ridership with 1,044,400 weekday trips, had five of the ten highest ridership days, and had 12 weekdays in which ridership exceed 800,000 trips.[10] The Sunday record of 616,324 trips was set on January 18, 2009, during Obama's pre-inaugural events, the day the Obamas arrived in Washington and hosted a concert on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial. It broke the record set on the 4th of July, 1999.[66]

On January 21, 2017, the 2017 Women's March, set an all-time record in Saturday ridership with 1,001,616 trips.[67] The previous record was set on October 30, 2010, with 825,437 trips during the Rally to Restore Sanity and/or Fear.[68] Prior to 2010, the record had been set on June 8, 1991, at 786,358 trips during the Desert Storm rally.

 

Date Trips Event
January 20, 2009 1,120,000 First inauguration of Barack Obama (Estimate)
January 21, 2017 1,001,613 2017 Women's March
April 2, 2010 891,240 2010 Cherry Blossom Festival/NBA Basketball
April 1, 2010 877,890 2010 Cherry Blossom Festival/NHL Hockey
April 10, 2013 871,432 2013 Cherry Blossom Festival/NBA Basketball/MLB Baseball
April 7, 2010 867,624 2010 Cherry Blossom Festival/MLB Baseball
January 19, 2009 866,681 King Day of Service and Kid's Inaugural
June 8, 2010 856,578 MLB Baseball – Stephen Strasburg debut
July 11, 2008 854,638 MLB Baseball, Women of Faith Conference
April 8, 2010 852,103 2010 Cherry Blossom Festival/MLB Baseball/Stars on Ice

Architecture


Many Metro stations were designed by Chicago architect Harry Weese and are examples of late 20th century modern architecture. With their heavy use of exposed concrete and repetitive design motifs, Metro stations display aspects of Brutalist design. The stations also reflect the influence of Washington's neoclassical architecture in their overarching coffered ceiling vaults. Weese worked with Cambridge, Massachusetts-based lighting designer Bill Lam on the indirect lighting used throughout the system. All of Metro's original Brutalist stations are found in Downtown Washington, D.C., and neighboring urban corridors of Arlington, Virginia, while newer stations incorporate simplified cost-efficient designs.

In 2007, the design of the Metro's vaulted-ceiling stations was voted number 106 on the "America's Favorite Architecture" list compiled by the American Institute of Architects (AIA), and was the only Brutalist design to win a place among the 150 selected by this public survey.

In January 2014, the AIA announced that it would present its Twenty-five Year Award to the Washington Metro system for "an architectural design of enduring significance" that "has stood the test of time by embodying architectural excellence for 25 to 35 years". The announcement cited the key role of Weese, who conceived and implemented a "common design kit-of-parts", which continues to guide the construction of new Metro stations over a quarter-century later, albeit with designs modified slightly for cost reasons.

Beginning in 2003, canopies were added to existing exits of underground stations due to the wear and tear seen on escalators due to exposure to the elements.

 

System

Actual map of the Washington Metro. Map of the network is drawn to scale.
Since opening in 1976, the Metro network has grown to include six lines, 98 stations, and 129 miles (208 km) of route.[78] The rail network is designed according to a spoke–hub distribution paradigm, with rail lines running between downtown Washington and its nearby suburbs. The system extensively uses interlining: running more than one service on the same track. There are six operating lines.[78] The system's official map was designed by noted graphic designer Lance Wyman[79] and Bill Cannan while they were partners in the design firm of Wyman & Cannan in New York City.[80]

About 50 miles (80 km) of Metro's track is underground, as are 47 of the 98 stations. Track runs underground mostly within the District and high-density suburbs. Surface track accounts for about 46 miles (74 km) of the total, and aerial track makes up 9 miles (14 km).[78] The system operates on a track gauge of 4 ft 8+1⁄4 in (1,429 mm), which is 1⁄4 inch (6.4 mm) narrower than 4 ft 8+1⁄2 in (1,435 mm) standard gauge but within the tolerance of standard-gauge railways.[81]

Previously, the least time to travel through 97 stations using only mass transit was 8 hours 54 minutes, a record set by travel blogger Lucas Wall on November 16, 2022, the first full day that Phase 2 of the Silver Line was in passenger operation.[82] This record was broken by a student named Claire Aguayo, who did it in 8 hours and 36 minutes on January 23, 2023.[83] Both of these runs were before the Potomac Yard station opened on May 19, 2023, making them no longer current.

To gain revenues, WMATA has started to allow retail ventures in Metro stations. WMATA has authorized DVD-rental vending machines and ticket booths for the Old Town Trolley Tours and is seeking additional retail tenants.

 

Line Name Service Introduced Stations Distance Termini
mi km Western/Southern Eastern/Northern
 Red Line March 29, 1976 27 31.9
 Orange Line November 20, 1978 26 26.4
 Blue Line July 1, 1977 28 30.3
 Green Line December 28, 1991 21 23.0
 Yellow Line March 30, 1983 13 10.7
 Silver Line July 26, 2014 34 41.1