L'Enfant Plaza station

L'Enfant Plaza
L'Enfant Plaza
	Intersecting vaults above the Yellow Line and Green Line platforms looking south with intersecting vaults and Blue/Orange/Silver line platform interchange in the distance .
General information
Location	600 Maryland Avenue SW; Washington, D.C.
Coordinates	38°53′05″N77°01′19″W / 38.884775°N 77.021964°W
Owned by	Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority
Line(s)	RF&P Subdivision (VRE station)
Platforms	2 side platforms (upper level); 1 island platform (lower level); 1 side platform (VRE)
Tracks	Metro: 4 (2 upper level, 2 lower level); RF&P Subdivision: 3
Connections	Metrobus: 33, 52, 70, 74, A6, A8, S2 ; DC Circulator: Eastern Market–L'Enfant Plaza; MTA Maryland Commuter Bus ; Loudoun County Transit ; OmniRide Commuter ; Ride Smart Northern Shenandoah Valley;
Construction
Platform levels	2
Bicycle facilities	Capital Bikeshare
Accessible	Yes
Other information
Station code	F03 (Metro upper level); D03 (Metro lower level)
Fare zone	Zone 1 (VRE)
History
Opened	July 1, 1977 (Metro); June 22, 1992 (VRE)
Services
Location

Last updated April 07, 2024

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.

The Metro station, which opened on July 1, 1977, is one of four major interchange stations on the Metro system. It is the only station to serve five of the six Metro lines: the Green and Yellow lines with two side platforms on the upper level, and the Blue, Orange, and Silver lines with one island platform on the lower level. It was the seventh-busiest Metro stop in 2023, with an average of 7,506 daily passenger entries.^[2]

The VRE station, which has a single side platform serving the northernmost of the three tracks of the RF&P Subdivision, is served by the Manassas Line and Fredericksburg Line.

History

Metro station

The lower level of the Metro station opened on July 1, 1977, as part of the opening of 11.8 miles (19.0 km) of the Blue Line between National Airport and Stadium–Armory.^[3] Orange Line service began on November 20, 1978 when the extension to New Carrollton opened.^[3] The upper level opened with the opening of the Yellow Line on April 30, 1983; Green Line service began on May 11, 1991.^[3] Silver Line service on the lower level began on July 26, 2014.^[4]^[3] The Maryland Avenue entrance will be closed for about seven months beginning on May 9, 2022, for escalator replacement.^[5]

L'Enfant Plaza was the setting of a 2007 Pulitzer Prize–winning article by Washington Post reporter Gene Weingarten where world-famous classical violinist Joshua Bell performed outside the station at rush hour disguised as a street musician.^[6] On January 12, 2015, smoke appeared in the station during the afternoon rush hour, causing one death.^[7] A scene from the 2020 film Wonder Woman 1984 was filmed in the station in June 2018.^[8]

VRE station

The VRE station opened with the Manassas Line on June 22, 1992. The Fredericksburg Line began service on July 20, 1992.^[1] L'Enfant is the northern terminus of 40% of trips on VRE.^[9] A 2010 city report analyzed options to expand the station, including the potential extension of MARC service from Union Station to L'Enfant or Alexandria.^[9] VRE began planning for an expansion of the station in 2021. The existing side platform will be replaced with an island platform to allow for increased service, with a fourth track added.^[10]

Station layout

The station complex is located in the Southwest Federal Center area of Southwest, Washington, DC, centered around the intersection of 7th Street SW and D Street SW. The Metro station has three levels: a fare mezzanine, the Yellow/Green Line upper level with two side platforms, and the Orange/Blue/Silver Line lower level with one island platform. The north-south upper level stretches from C Street to E Street; the east-west lower level stretches from 9th Street to 6th Street. Metro entrances are located at the L'Enfant Plaza shopping mall concourse at 9th and D Streets, on D Street between 6th and 7th Streets, and at Maryland Avenue and 7th Street.^[9] Additional head houses may be eventually added.^[9]

The VRE platform is located on the north side of the three-track RF&P Subdivision, which is elevated above Virginia Avenue SW between 6th Street and 7th Street. Stairs lead to the station from 6th Street and 7th Street; a ramp leads to the station from C Street west of 7th Street.^[9] Most Amtrak intercity trains do not stop at L'Enfant, though several Northeast Regional trains stop for VRE passengers only as part of a ticket cross-honoring agreement.^[11]

2F	Side platform
	Track 1	← Manassas Line toward Broad Run (Crystal City) ← Fredericksburg Line toward Spotsylvania (Crystal City) → Manassas and Fredericksburg lines toward Union Station (Terminus) → ← Amtrak and Manassas Line (select trains) do not stop →
	Track 2	← Amtrak and Manassas Line (select trains) do not stop →
	Track 3	← Amtrak and Manassas Line (select trains) do not stop →
G	Street level	Exit/entrance, buses
B1	Metro mezzanine	Fare control, ticket machines, station agent
B2	Side platform
	Southbound	← toward Branch Avenue (Waterfront) ← toward Huntington (Pentagon)
	Northbound	→ toward Greenbelt (Archives) → → toward Mount Vernon Square (Archives) →
	Side platform
B3	Westbound	← toward Franconia–Springfield (Smithsonian) ← toward Vienna (Smithsonian) ← toward Ashburn (Smithsonian)
	Island platform
	Eastbound	→ toward Downtown Largo (Federal Center SW) → → toward New Carrollton (Federal Center SW) →

Related Research Articles

Foggy Bottom–GWU station is an Washington Metro station in the Foggy Bottom neighborhood of Washington, D.C., United States. The island-platformed station was opened on July 1, 1977, and is operated by the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA). Providing service for the Blue, Orange, and Silver Lines, the station is located on I Street on the George Washington University (GWU) campus. It is the last westbound station in the District of Columbia on these lines before they dive under the Potomac River to Virginia.

The Orange Line is a rapid transit line of the Washington Metro system, consisting of 26 stations in Fairfax County and Arlington, Virginia; the District of Columbia; and Prince George's County, Maryland, United States. The Orange Line runs from Vienna in Virginia to New Carrollton in Maryland. Half of the line's stations are shared with the Blue Line and over two thirds are shared with the Silver Line. Orange Line service began on November 20, 1978.

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, as well as 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.

Bethesda station is a rapid transit station on the Red Line of the Washington Metro system in Bethesda, Maryland. It is one of the busiest suburban Metro stations, serving on average 9,142 passengers each weekday in 2017. The Purple Line, a light rail system currently under construction, will terminate at Bethesda, providing rail service to other inner Maryland suburbs such as Silver Spring and College Park, each of which has additional north-south connections by Washington Metro, and New Carrollton, which has Amtrak and MARC connections to both Washington, D.C., and Baltimore.

Gallery Place station is a Washington Metro station in Washington, D.C., United States, on the Green, Yellow and Red Lines. It is one of the 4 major transfer points, a transfer station between the Red Line on the upper level and the Green/Yellow Lines on the lower level.

Fort Totten station is a Washington Metro station in northeastern Washington, D.C. It is one of the four major transfer points on the Metrorail system. It acts as a transfer point between the Green and Red Lines. It is the last station on the Green Line in the District of Columbia before heading into Maryland and the second to last for the Red Line. It is one of two stations with three levels, and is doubly unique in being the only multi-level transfer station built above ground and being the only such station to have island platforms on both levels, as opposed to just the lower level. The station's name comes from a Civil War-era fortification which itself was named after General Joseph Gilbert Totten, the Chief Engineer of the antebellum US Army.

Court House station is an island platformed Washington Metro station in the Courthouse neighborhood of Arlington, Virginia, United States. The station was opened on December 1, 1979, and is operated by the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA). Weekday ridership is approximately 7,000 passengers per day. The station serves the Orange and Silver Lines.

Rosslyn station is the westernmost station on the shared segment of the Blue, Orange, and Silver lines of the Washington Metro. It is located in the Rosslyn neighborhood of Arlington, Virginia, United States. Rosslyn is the first station in Virginia heading westward from the District on the Orange and Silver Lines and southward on the Blue Line. It is one of four interchange points on the Metrorail system west of the Potomac River and located in a growing business district.

Farragut West station is a Washington Metro station in downtown Washington, D.C., United States. The side-platformed station was opened on July 1, 1977, and is operated by the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA). Providing service for the Blue, Silver, and Orange Lines, the station is located just west of Farragut Square with two entrances on I Street at 17th and 18th Streets NW.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">McPherson Square station</span> Washington Metro station

McPherson Square station is a Washington Metro station in Downtown, Washington, D.C., United States. The side-platformed station is operated by the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA). Providing service for the Blue, Orange, and Silver Lines, the station is located between McPherson Square and Franklin Square, with two entrances on I Street at Vermont Avenue and 14th Street NW. This is the main station to access the White House, and the Vermont Avenue exit is directly underneath the Department of Veterans Affairs building.

Federal Triangle station is a Washington Metro station in Washington, D.C., United States. The island-platformed station was opened on July 1, 1977, and is operated by the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA). Providing service for the Blue, Orange, and Silver Lines, the station's entrance is beneath the William Jefferson Clinton Federal Building.

Smithsonian station is a Washington Metro station at the National Mall in Washington, D.C., United States. The side platformed station was opened on July 1, 1977, and is operated by the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA). It is a stop on the Blue, Orange and Silver Lines. The station's south entrance is at the southwest corner of Independence Avenue and 12th Street, Southwest, the street elevator is at the northwest corner of the same intersection, and the north entrance is on the south side of the Mall near Jefferson Drive, Southwest.

Arlington Cemetery station is a side platformed Washington Metro station in Arlington, Virginia, United States. The station was opened on July 1, 1977, and is operated by the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA). The station provides service for only the Blue Line, and is located at the entrance to Arlington National Cemetery, underneath Memorial Drive. There is no public parking near the station except at the cemetery, which is reserved for cemetery visitors. It is the only station that closes earlier than the rest of the system, closing at 7 PM from October to March, and 10 PM from April to September.

Mount Vernon Square station is a Washington Metro station in Washington, D.C., on the Green and Yellow Lines. It is the northeastern terminus of the Yellow Line.

Federal Center SW station is a Washington Metro station in an area known as the Southwest Federal Center in Washington, D.C., United States. The island-platformed station was opened on July 1, 1977, and is operated by the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA) and is located on the Orange, Silver, and Blue Lines. The station is located at 3rd and D Streets.

Capitol South station is a Washington Metro station in the Capitol Hill neighborhood of Washington, D.C., United States. The island-platformed station was opened on July 1, 1977, and is operated by the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA). The station currently provides service for the Blue, Orange, and Silver Lines.

Potomac Avenue station is an island-platformed Washington Metro station in the Capitol Hill neighborhood of Washington, D.C., United States. The station was opened on July 1, 1977, and is operated by the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA). The station currently provides service for the Blue, Orange, and Silver Lines. The station serves a dense residential area of Southeast Washington around Potomac Avenue and is located at 14th and G Streets.

College Park–University of Maryland station is a Washington Metro station in Prince George's County, Maryland, on the Green Line. It also serves MARC's Camden Line, though only select trains stop at the station.

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.

The Anacostia–Eckington Line, designated Route P6, is a daily bus route operated by the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority between Rhode Island Avenue–Brentwood station of the Red Line of the Washington Metro and Anacostia station of the Green Line of the Washington Metro With late night and early morning trips shortened to operate between Anacostia station of the Green Line of the Washington Metro and L'Enfant Plaza station of the Blue, Orange, Silver, Green and Yellow Lines of the Washington Metro. The line operates every 15–20 minutes during the weekday peak hours, 24 minutes during the weekday midday, and 30–35 minutes during the late nights and weekends. Route P6 trips are roughly 65 minutes long.

References

1 2 Taube, Richard K. (August 11, 2008). "Chronology of the Virginia Railway Express: 1964 to Present" (PDF). Virginia Railway Express. Archived (PDF) from the original on November 17, 2015.
↑ "Metrorail Ridership Summary". Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority. Retrieved January 10, 2024.
1 2 3 4 "Sequence of Metrorail openings" (PDF). Metro Facts 2017. Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority. 2017. p. 3. Archived from the original (PDF) on July 2, 2018.
↑ Halsey, Ashley III; Aratani, Lori; Duggan, Paul (July 26, 2014). "All aboard! Metro's new Silver Line rolls down the tracks for the first time". The Washington Post .
↑ "L'Enfant Plaza Escalator Replacement". Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority. April 2022.
↑ Weingarten, Gene (April 8, 2007). "Pearls Before Breakfast: Can one of the nation's great musicians cut through the fog of a D.C. rush hour? Let's find out". Washington Post.
↑ Zauzmer, Julie; Duggan, Paul; Hermann, Peter (January 12, 2015). "One dead after smoke fills Metro station, forcing evacuation". The Washington Post. Washington, DC. Retrieved January 13, 2015.
↑ Roussey, Tom (December 28, 2020). "While small details appear wrong, WW84 gets credit for filming at actual DC Metro station". WJLA. Retrieved January 7, 2021.
1 2 3 4 5 "Maryland Avenue Southwest Plan" (PDF). District of Columbia Office of Planning. April 2012. pp. 2–6, 2–8.
↑ "VRE Advancing L'Enfant Station and Fourth Track Expansion, Contributing to Virginia Rail Vision" (Press release). Vanasse Hangen Brustlin. June 1, 2021.
↑ "Amtrak Fact Sheet, Fiscal Year 2017: District of Columbia" (PDF). Amtrak. November 2017.

External links

WMATA L'Enfant Plaza station page

VRE: L'Enfant
Metro entrances on Google Maps Street View: D Street between 6th and 7th, Maryland Avenue and 7th Street, D Street and 9th Street
VRE entrances on Google Maps Street View: 6th Street, 7th Street, C Street

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.

[chronology-1] 1 2 Taube, Richard K. (August 11, 2008). "Chronology of the Virginia Railway Express: 1964 to Present" (PDF). Virginia Railway Express. Archived (PDF) from the original on November 17, 2015.

[Data-2] "Metrorail Ridership Summary". Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority. Retrieved January 10, 2024.

[openings-3] 1 2 3 4 "Sequence of Metrorail openings" (PDF). Metro Facts 2017. Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority. 2017. p. 3. Archived from the original (PDF) on July 2, 2018.

[4] Halsey, Ashley III; Aratani, Lori; Duggan, Paul (July 26, 2014). "All aboard! Metro's new Silver Line rolls down the tracks for the first time". The Washington Post .

[5] "L'Enfant Plaza Escalator Replacement". Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority. April 2022.

[6] Weingarten, Gene (April 8, 2007). "Pearls Before Breakfast: Can one of the nation's great musicians cut through the fog of a D.C. rush hour? Let's find out". Washington Post.

[January_12,_2015-7] Zauzmer, Julie; Duggan, Paul; Hermann, Peter (January 12, 2015). "One dead after smoke fills Metro station, forcing evacuation". The Washington Post. Washington, DC. Retrieved January 13, 2015.

[8] Roussey, Tom (December 28, 2020). "While small details appear wrong, WW84 gets credit for filming at actual DC Metro station". WJLA. Retrieved January 7, 2021.

[plan-9] 1 2 3 4 5 "Maryland Avenue Southwest Plan" (PDF). District of Columbia Office of Planning. April 2012. pp. 2–6, 2–8.

[10] "VRE Advancing L'Enfant Station and Fourth Track Expansion, Contributing to Virginia Rail Vision" (Press release). Vanasse Hangen Brustlin. June 1, 2021.

[11] "Amtrak Fact Sheet, Fiscal Year 2017: District of Columbia" (PDF). Amtrak. November 2017.

[1]

[2]

[3]

[4]

[5]

[6]

[7]

[8]

[9]

[10]

[11]

v t e Washington Metro stations
Red Line	Shady Grove Rockville Twinbrook North Bethesda Grosvenor Medical Center Bethesda Friendship Heights Tenleytown Van Ness Cleveland Park Woodley Park Dupont Circle Farragut North Metro Center Gallery Place Judiciary Square Union Station NoMa Rhode Island Ave Brookland Fort Totten Takoma Silver Spring Forest Glen Wheaton Glenmont
Orange Line	Vienna Dunn Loring West Falls Church East Falls Church Ballston Virginia Square Clarendon Court House Rosslyn Foggy Bottom Farragut West McPherson Sq Metro Center Federal Triangle Smithsonian L'Enfant Plaza Federal Center SW Capitol South Eastern Market Potomac Ave Stadium–Armory Minnesota Ave Deanwood Cheverly Landover New Carrollton
Blue Line	Franconia–Springfield Van Dorn St King St–Old Town Braddock Rd Potomac Yard National Airport Crystal City Pentagon City Pentagon Arlington Cemetery Rosslyn Foggy Bottom Farragut West McPherson Sq Metro Center Federal Triangle Smithsonian L'Enfant Plaza Federal Center SW Capitol South Eastern Market Potomac Ave Stadium–Armory Benning Rd Capitol Heights Addison Rd Morgan Blvd Downtown Largo
Green Line	Branch Ave Suitland Naylor Rd Southern Ave Congress Heights Anacostia Navy Yard Waterfront L'Enfant Plaza Archives Gallery Place Mount Vernon Sq Shaw U St Columbia Heights Georgia Ave Fort Totten West Hyattsville Hyattsville Crossing College Park Greenbelt
Yellow Line	Huntington Eisenhower Ave King St–Old Town Braddock Rd Potomac Yard National Airport Crystal City Pentagon City Pentagon L'Enfant Plaza Archives Gallery Place Mount Vernon Sq
Silver Line	Ashburn Loudoun Gateway Dulles Airport Innovation Center Herndon Reston Town Center Wiehle–Reston East Spring Hill Greensboro Tysons McLean East Falls Church Ballston Virginia Sq Clarendon Court House Rosslyn Foggy Bottom Farragut West McPherson Sq Metro Center Federal Triangle Smithsonian L'Enfant Plaza Federal Center SW Capitol South Eastern Market Potomac Ave Stadium–Armory Benning Rd Capitol Heights Addison Rd Morgan Blvd Downtown Largo
Category Commons

v t e Virginia Railway Express
Manassas	Broad Run Manassas Manassas Park Burke Centre Rolling Road Backlick Road Alexandria Crystal City L'Enfant Plaza Washington, D.C.
Fredericksburg	Spotsylvania Fredericksburg Leeland Road Brooke Quantico Potomac Shores Rippon Woodbridge Lorton Franconia–Springfield Alexandria Crystal City L'Enfant Washington, D.C.
Administered by the Northern Virginia Transportation Commission & Potomac and Rappahannock Transportation Commission and operated by Keolis • Italics indicate future station