Crystal City | |||||||||||||||
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General information | |||||||||||||||
Location | 1503 South Crystal Drive, Arlington County, Virginia U.S. | ||||||||||||||
Coordinates | 38°51′34″N77°02′54″W / 38.85944°N 77.04833°W | ||||||||||||||
Line(s) | CSX RF&P Subdivision | ||||||||||||||
Platforms | 1 side platform | ||||||||||||||
Tracks | 3 | ||||||||||||||
Connections | Washington Metro: (at Crystal City) Arlington Transit: 43 Fairfax Connector: 598, 599 Metrobus: 16M, 23A, 23B Metroway (at ‹See TfM› 18th & Crystal) PRTC OmniRide | ||||||||||||||
Construction | |||||||||||||||
Accessible | Yes | ||||||||||||||
Other information | |||||||||||||||
Station code | CCV | ||||||||||||||
Fare zone | 2 | ||||||||||||||
History | |||||||||||||||
Opened | June 22, 1992 [1] | ||||||||||||||
Services | |||||||||||||||
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Crystal City station is a commuter rail station in the Crystal City section of Arlington County, Virginia, located near the George Washington Memorial Parkway and Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport. It is served by the Fredericksburg Line and Manassas Line of the Virginia Railway Express (VRE) system. VRE plans to rebuild the station nearby to accommodate longer trains and increased service.
Crystal City station represents an "operational bottleneck" for VRE: the single 400-foot (120 m)-long platform is shorter than 700-foot (210 m) trains and forces all trains to use one track. [2] [3]
VRE plans to expand the station into a full-length center platform serving two tracks, with grade-separated access to the platform. An alternatives analysis released in November 2017 analyzed three possible sites. All three sites would allow for a future pedestrian bridge or tunnel to Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport to give direct airport access from the station and Crystal City. The preferred location was slightly south of the current station, with the platform stretching from 18th Street to south of 20th Street. [2]
Preliminary engineering for the station began in late 2019. [4] As of January 2021 [update] , final design was expected to last from January 2021 to August 2022, with construction from November 2022 to October 2024. [3] In May 2022, Amtrak and the Virginia Passenger Rail Authority reached an agreement to add a separate Amtrak platform at the station. [5] The station will be constructed with a single 850-foot (260 m)-long island platform with a low-level section for VRE and a high-level section for Amtrak. [6]
The project was awarded $18.8 million in state funding in June 2023, completing the $50 million in funds needed for the station. [7] An environmental assessment for the airport connection was released in July 2023. The preferred alternative was a footbridge connecting to the south entrance of the VRE station. [8] [9]
The station has a single side platform located on the west side of the three tracks of the RF&P Subdivision. [2]
Crystal City station was used by 18% of VRE riders in 2017. [4] [3]
Virginia Railway Express (VRE) is a commuter rail service that connects outlying small cities of Northern Virginia to Washington Union Station in Washington, D.C. It operates two lines which run during weekday rush hour only: the Fredericksburg Line from Spotsylvania, Virginia, and the Manassas Line from Broad Run station in Bristow, Virginia. In 2023, the system had a ridership of 1,537,000, or about 6,300 per weekday as of the third quarter of 2024.
Washington Union Station, known locally as Union Station, is a major train station, transportation hub, and leisure destination in Washington, D.C. Designed by Daniel Burnham and opened in 1907, it is Amtrak's headquarters, the railroad's second-busiest station, and North America's 10th-busiest railroad station. The station is the southern terminus of the Northeast Corridor, an electrified rail line extending north through major cities including Baltimore, Philadelphia, New York City, and Boston, and the busiest passenger rail line in the nation. In 2015, it served just under five million passengers.
The Yellow Line is a rapid transit line of the Washington Metro system that runs between Huntington in Virginia and Mount Vernon Square in Washington, D.C. It consists of 13 stations in Fairfax County, the city of Alexandria, and Arlington County in Virginia, and Washington, D.C. It is the shortest line in the system, and since its truncation to Mount Vernon Square, it is the only line that does not enter Maryland.
Franconia–Springfield station is a Washington Metro rapid transit station and Virginia Railway Express commuter rail station located in Springfield, Virginia, United States. The station is the southwestern terminus of the Metro Blue Line and an intermediate station on the VRE Fredericksburg Line. It is also a major bus terminal for Fairfax Connector buses, plus other local and intercity bus routes. The station has one island-platform serving the two Metro tracks, plus two side platforms serving the RF&P Subdivision on which the Fredericksburg Line runs.
King Street–Old Town station is a Washington Metro station in Alexandria, Virginia, United States. The station opened on December 17, 1983, and is operated by the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA). Providing service for both the Blue and Yellow Lines, this is the southernmost transfer station for the Blue and Yellow lines, as the two lines diverge just south of the station. During inclement weather, Crystal City is commonly used as an unofficial transfer point, being the southernmost underground station common to both lines. King Street was originally served only by the Yellow Line, until the Blue Line was extended from National Airport to Van Dorn Street in 1991.
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L'Enfant Plaza station is an intermodal transit station complex located at L'Enfant Plaza in the Southwest Federal Center neighborhood of Washington, D.C. It consists of an underground Washington Metro rapid transit station and an elevated Virginia Railway Express commuter rail station.
Newark Penn Station is an intermodal passenger station in Newark, New Jersey. One of the New York metropolitan area's major transportation hubs, Newark Penn Station is served by multiple rail and bus carriers, making it the seventh busiest rail station in the United States, and the fourth busiest in the New York City metropolitan area.
Alexandria Union Station is a historic railroad station in Alexandria, Virginia, south of Washington, D.C. To avoid confusion with nearby Washington Union Station, the station is often referred to as simply Alexandria. Its Amtrak code is ALX.
The Southeast Corridor (SEC) is a proposed passenger rail transportation project in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern United States to extend high-speed passenger rail services from the current southern terminus of the Northeast Corridor in Washington, D.C. Routes would extend south via Richmond and Petersburg, Virginia, with a spur to Norfolk in Virginia's Hampton Roads region; the mainline would continue south to Raleigh, Durham, Greensboro, and Charlotte, North Carolina. Since the corridor was first established in 1992, the U.S. Department of Transportation (USDOT) has extended it further to Atlanta and Macon, Georgia; Greenville and Columbia, South Carolina; Jacksonville, Florida; and Birmingham, Alabama.
Washington, D.C. has a number of different modes of transportation available for use. Commuters have a major influence on travel patterns, with only 28% of people employed in Washington, D.C. commuting from within the city, whereas 33.5% commute from the nearby Maryland suburbs, 22.7% from Northern Virginia, and the rest from Washington, D.C.'s outlying suburbs.
Woodbridge station is a train station in Woodbridge, Virginia. It serves Amtrak's Northeast Regional serviceand Virginia Railway Express's Fredericksburg Line.
Fredericksburg station is a passenger rail station in Fredericksburg, Virginia. It is served by Amtrak's Carolinian, Northeast Regional, and Silver Meteor trains, and the Virginia Railway Express's Fredericksburg Line. The station has two side platforms serving the two elevated tracks of the RF&P Subdivision. It is located on Lafayette Boulevard at the south end of the downtown area.
Rolling Road station is a Virginia Railway Express station in Burke, Virginia. The station is served by the Virginia Railway Express Manassas Line. Amtrak Cardinal and Crescent trains; also use the line but do not stop at Rolling Road.
The Manassas Line is a Virginia Railway Express commuter rail service that extends from Washington, D.C. to Bristow, Virginia. The first of VRE's two lines, with service beginning on June 22, 1992, the line operates on tracks owned by CSX Transportation and Norfolk Southern Railway.
Charlotte Gateway Station is a future intermodal transit station in Charlotte, North Carolina, United States. Currently operating as a streetcar stop for the CityLynx Gold Line, with an adjoining bus station for Greyhound Lines intercity buses, it is the centerpiece of the overall 19-acre (7.7 ha) Station District, and it will serve Charlotte Area Transit System (CATS) bus lines, the Lynx Silver Line light rail, and Amtrak intercity trains. The district will also include parking facilities, mixed-use development and an elevated greenway. Estimated at a cost of $800.1 million for full implementation of all public and private components, the project will be built in three phases, with Amtrak service tentatively scheduled to start in 2026–2027.
The RF&P Subdivision is a railroad line operated by CSX Transportation and jointly owned by CSX and Virginia. It runs from Washington, D.C., to Richmond, Virginia, over lines previously owned by the Pennsylvania Railroad and the Richmond, Fredericksburg and Potomac Railroad. The line's name pays homage to that railroad, which was a predecessor to the CSX.
The Northern Virginia region is served by numerous mediums of transit. Transportation in the region is overseen by the Northern Virginia Transportation Commission and the Northern Virginia Transportation Authority.
Amtrak Virginia is the collective name for Virginia's state-supported Amtrak train service, all of which falls under the Northeast Regional brand. Amtrak Virginia trains run between Washington, D.C., and one of four southern termini: Richmond, Newport News, Norfolk, or Roanoke. Trains generally continue north from D.C. along the Northeast Corridor, providing one-seat rides from Virginia to Baltimore, Philadelphia, New York City, and Boston.
Media related to Crystal City station (VRE) at Wikimedia Commons