[ UrbanRail.Net ]     [ Europe ] [ Americas ] [ Asia ] [ Africa ] [ Oceania ]     [ News ] [ Books ] [ Links ]

Washington, D.C., has a population of approx. 600,000, although with some 3.9 million in the metropolitan area, which extends into their neighbouring states of Maryland and Virginia. Compared to older subways, Washington's underground stations feature spacious vaulted roofs. Most outer branches run on the surface, the Orange Line towards Vienna runs in the median strip of an expressway. Apart from the Red Line, all other five lines form an interlaced network with up to three lines sharing tracks and platforms along certain stretches.

In Nov 2022, the system has a total length of 205.5 km (~88 km underground).

27 Mar 1976 - Red Line Farragut North - Rhode Island Ave (6.8 km)
15 Dec 1976 - Red Line Gallery Place station opened
17 Jan 1977 - Red Line to Dupont Circle (0.7 km)
01 Jul 1977 - Blue Line Stadium-Armory - National Airport (19.4 km)
06 Feb 1978 - Red Line Rhode Island Ave - Silver Spring (9.2 km)
20 Nov 1978 - Orange Line Stadium-Armory - New Carollton (10 km)
01 Dec 1979 - Orange Line Rosslyn - Ballston-MU (4.2 km)
22 Nov 1980 - Blue Line Stadium-Armory - Addison Rd (5.6 km)
05 Dec 1980 - Red Line Dupont Circle - Van Ness-UDC (3.3 km)
30 Apr 1983 - Yellow Line Gallery Place/Chinatown - Pentagon (5.3 km)
17 Dec 1983 - Yellow Line (Pentagon -) Nat'l Airport - Huntington (8.4 km)
25 Aug 1984 - Red Line Van Ness-UDC - Grosvenor (11 km)
15 Dec 1984 - Red Line Grosvenor - Shady Grove (11.1 km)
07 Jun 1986 - Orange Line Ballston - Vienna (14.7 km)

22 Sep 1990 - Red Line Silver Spring - Wheaton (5.2 km)
11 May 1991 - Yellow/Green Line Gallery Place-Chinatown - U Street/Cardozo (2.7 km)
15 Jun 1991 - Blue Line King St - Van Dorn St (6.1 km)
28 Dec 1991 - Green Line L'Enfant Plaza - Anacostia (4.7 km)
11 Dec 1993 - Green Line Fort Totten - Greenbelt (12.8 km)

29 Jun 1997 - Blue Line Van Dorn St - Franconia-Springfield (5.3 km)
25 Jul 1998 - Red Line Wheaton - Glenmont (2.3 km)
18 Sep 1999 - Green Line U Street-Cardozo - Fort Totten (4.7 km): central section with two new stations: Georgia Ave/Petworth and Columbia Heights.
13 Jan 2001 - Green Line Anacostia - Branch Ave. (10.4 km) completes 100-miles network (actually 103 miles)
20 Nov 2004 - Red Line New York Ave station (now NoMa - Gallaudet U) added between Union Station and Rhode Island Ave
18 Dec 2004 - Blue Line Addison Rd/Seat Pleasant - Largo Town Center (5 km)

26 July 2014 - Silver Line Wiehle-Reston East - East Falls Church (- Largo Town Center) (18.7 km)

25 May 2019 - Yellow Line extended from Fort Totten to Greenbelt, sharing tracks with Green Line, but in 2023 it was cut back from Greenbelt to Mt Vernon Square

15 Nov 2022 - Silver Line - Wiehle/Reston East – Ashburn (17.9 km) [Project website]

19 May 2023: + Potomac Yard, on the Blue/Yellow Line between Ronald Reagan Washington Intl Airport and Braddock Road stations in Alexandria

Renamings in 2022: White Flint station > North Bethesda, Largo Town Center > Downtown Largo, Tysons Corner > Tysons, Prince George’s Plaza > Hyattsville Crossing

 Projects

Running through Maryland, the Purple Line will be a 25.5 km tangential light rail route through the northeastern areas of the Washington D.C. metropolitan area (2027). See project website!

To complement the Metrorail system, Washington DC is bringing back streetcars in a modern version. The first line eventually opened on 27 Feb 2016, running east along H Street from Union Station to Benning Road (3.3 km).

[Project Website]

Robert Schwandl: SUBWAYS & LIGHT RAIL in the U.S.A. - Vol. 1: East Coast. - Sept. 2010, ISBN 978-3-936573-28-2 (More)

Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority: METRO AT 25. Celebrating the Past. Building the Future. - WMATA, 96 p, A4, largely illustrated, colour, ISBN 0970871902 (More)

WMATA (Official Page)

DC Streetcar (Official Page)

MARC Commuter Services (Maryland Transit Administration)

VRE Commuter Services (Virginia Railway Express)

Purple Line Project

Washington D.C. Metrorail at Wikipedia

Washington D.C. Metrorail at nysubway.org

Jon Bell's Washington D.C. Page

More of Jon Bell's photographs

Building the Washington Metro: An Online Exhibit by Zachary Schrag

SUBWAYS & LIGHT RAIL
in the U.S.A.
Vol.1 - East Coast

Click here for more info!