Trains run most frequently during morning and evening rush hours (nominally four to eight minutes apart) and least frequently after 9:30p.m. (nominally 15 to 18 minutes apart).[1]
A Shady Grove-bound Red Line train leaving Farragut North in April 2018.
Planning for Metro began with the Mass Transportation Survey in 1955, which attempted to forecast freeway and mass transit systems sufficient to meet the needs of 1980.[2] In 1959, the study's final report recommended two rapid transit lines which anticipated subways in downtown Washington.[3] Because the plan called for extensive freeway construction within the District of Columbia, alarmed residents lobbied for federal legislation creating a moratorium on freeway construction through July 1, 1962.[4] The National Capital Transportation Agency's 1962 Transportation in the National Capital Region report anticipated much of the present Red Line route, with the Red Line following the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad right-of-way between Silver Spring and Rockville instead of a direct route between Bethesda and Rockville.[5]
With the formation of WMATA in October 1966,[6][7] planning of the system shifted from federal hands to a regional body with representatives of the District, Maryland, and Virginia. Congressional route approval was no longer a key consideration.[8] Instead, routes had to serve each suburban jurisdiction to assure that they would approve bond referendums to finance the system.[9] Because the least expensive way to build into the suburbs was to use existing railroad right-of-ways, the Red Line took much of its present form, except that it continued to feature a further link between its two stems along the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad right-of-way.[10] An early proposal from 1967 was more extensive then what was ultimately approved, with the Red Line's western terminus being in Germantown instead of Shady Grove.[11]
By 1969, WMATA had decided on the current routing and stations, except for the extension beyond Rockville to Shady Grove.[12] Montgomery County officials opposed ending the Red Line in downtown Rockville, saying it would cause congestion in the area and use scarce vacant land for a storage yard.[13] Metro decided to propose to extend the Red Line one more station to Shady Grove and the U.S. Department of Transportation conditionally approved funding for the extension on July 26, 1975.[13]
Construction on the Red Line began with a groundbreaking ceremony at Judiciary Square on December 9, 1969.[14] Construction proved difficult because the National Park Service prohibited a bridge across Rock Creek and required that the Red Line tunnel under that valley, the tunnel in turn caused both the Dupont Circle and Woodley Park stations to be built further underground.[15] The Red Line was proposed to tunnel under Yuma Street from Connecticut Avenue to Wisconsin Avenue, but local residents sued and that court case delayed construction of the tunnel for two years, then WMATA finally won the right to build the tunnel there.[16]
Service on the Red Line (and the Metro as a whole) began on March 27, 1976, with operation between Farragut North and Rhode Island Avenue.[17][18]Gallery Place's opening was delayed due to a court order regarding lack of accessibility for all, but it opened in the middle of the line on December 15, 1976.[18] The western end of the line was extended one station to Dupont Circle on January 17, 1977, three stations to Van Ness–UDC on December 5, 1981, five stations to Grosvenor–Strathmore on August 25, 1984, and four stations to Shady Grove on December 15, 1984.[18] The eastern end was extended one station from Rhode Island Avenue-Brentwood to Brookland-CUA on February 3, 1978. The eastern end was extended three stations to Silver Spring on February 6, 1978—which added Maryland to the system for the first time — two stations to Wheaton on September 22, 1990, and one station to Glenmont on July 25, 1998, completing the line.[18]
The only time the Red Line shared tracks with another line was from January 27, 1997, to September 17, 1999, when the Green Line Commuter Shortcut used Red Line tracks from Brookland–CUA to Farragut North. A short time after the Green Line branch north of Fort Totten opened in the early 1990s, the "Green Line Commuter Shortcut" began as a six-month experiment. Passengers could board the Green Line between Greenbelt and West Hyattsville and travel as far as Farragut North without having to transfer; the trains bypassed Fort Totten via a single-track spur between the West Hyattsville and Brookland–CUA stations. Due to its success, the shortcut continued until the mid-city portion of the Green Line was completed in 1999.[19]
In November 2010, the WMATA authorized $37million in capital improvements on the Red Line, a part of $212million of work on the Red Line scheduled for 2010 to 2014.[21]
In April 2012, a 1,200-car parking garage opened at the Glenmont station, joining the existing 1,700-car garage. Construction on the project, funded by the state of Maryland, began in December 2009.[22][23]
From September 11, 2021, to January 16, 2022, the Rockville Metro station was closed due to the Rockville Canopy Replacement Project.
On February 25, 2022, WMATA opened a new entrance, on the east side of Rockville Pike and a new elevator and staircase to platform at the Medical Center station, eliminating the need for thousands of daily riders who emerge from the station on the west side of the Pike to cross the busy six-lane road to reach the Walter Reed National Military Medical Center.[27] In September 2009, Montgomery County applied for a $20million federal grant, seeking to begin construction in 2011,[28] but the project was not approved until 2013.[29] Construction began in December 2017. The $68million project, mostly funded by from the Department of Defense, also includes new deep elevators, better surface bicycle, and pedestrian facilities, a pedestrian tunnel under Rockville Pike, and an extension of the left-turn lane on southbound MD 355 that opened in late 2021.
On November 3, 2004, an out-of-service Red Line train rolled backward into the Woodley Park station and hit an in-service train stopped at the platform. Twenty people were injured.[30] A 14-month investigation concluded that the train operator was most likely not alert. Safety officials estimated that at least 79 would have died had the train been full. The train operator was fired and Metro officials agreed to add rollback protection to more than 300 rail cars.[31]
On June 22, 2009, at 5:03p.m., a six-car train collided with and telescoped onto a stationary train between the Takoma and Fort Totten Metro stations. Eight passengers and a train operator were killed in the collision and at least 70 people were injured. It is the deadliest accident in the history of the Washington Metro.[32] The National Transportation Safety Board's report of July 27, 2010, blamed the crash on a faulty track circuit, part of the automatic train control system.[33][34] WMATA issued a list of planned changes.[35]
Chronology
Dates on which portions of the Red Line opened for service.[18]
From Gallery Place through Judiciary Square, the line runs southeast, turning east again at D Street to reach Union Station. There it turns north and surfaces next to Union Station's platforms, follows the Washington Terminal yard tracks north to Brentwood where the line turns northwestward and again joins CSX Transportation's Metropolitan Subdivision tracks, running in a unique gauntlet arrangement with the freight railroad tracks straddling the Metro tracks. The Red Line continues in this manner northwest across the DC-Maryland line, through Takoma and past Silver Spring. It reenters a tunnel at 16th Street and heads north under Georgia Avenue to the end at Glenmont.[36]:188
There is a maintenance yard between the NoMa–Gallaudet and Rhode Island Avenue–Brentwood stops along with facilities just outside Shady Grove and Glenmont stops as well.[37]
Internally, WMATA calls the Red Line the Shady Grove Route (A) and the Glenmont Route (B), which meet at Metro Center.[36]
The Red Line needs 44 trains (10 eight-car trains and 34 six-car trains, consisting of 284 rail cars) to run at peak capacity.[38] Trains run most frequently during morning and evening rush hours (nominally four to eight minutes apart) and least frequently after 9:30p.m. (nominally 15 to 18 minutes apart).[1]
The Red Line is one of two lines that do not enter Virginia, the other being the Green Line.
Stations
The line serves the following stations, from northwest to northeast:[39]
In November 2010, the WMATA authorized $37million in capital improvements on the Red Line, a part of $212million of work on the Red Line scheduled for 2010 to 2014.[41]
In April 2012, a 1,200-car parking garage opened at the Glenmont station, joining the existing 1,700-car garage. Construction on the project, funded by the state of Maryland, began in December 2009.[46][47]
Related Research Articles
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.
The Blue Line is a rapid transit line of the Washington Metro system, consisting of 28 stations in Fairfax County, Alexandria and Arlington, Virginia; Washington, D.C.; and Prince George's County, Maryland, United States. The Blue Line runs from Franconia–Springfield to Downtown Largo. The line shares track with the Orange Line for 13 stations, the Silver Line for 18, and the Yellow Line for 7. Only 3 stations are exclusive to the Blue Line.
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.
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Friendship Heights station is a Washington Metro station on the Red Line straddling the border of Washington, D.C., and Montgomery County, Maryland, United States. The station was opened on August 25, 1984, and is operated by the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA).
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.
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North Bethesda station is a rapid transit station on the Red Line of the Washington Metro in North Bethesda, Maryland. The North Bethesda station was opened on December 15, 1984, as White Flint and is operated by the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA). Providing service for the Red Line, the station serves residential and commercial areas of North Bethesda and Rockville and is located near the former White Flint Mall and the new Pike & Rose mixed-use development.
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Rockville station is an intermodal train station located in downtown Rockville, Maryland, United States. It is served by the Washington Metro Red Line, MARC Brunswick Line commuter trains, and Amtrak Capitol Limited intercity trains.
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Grosvenor–Strathmore station is a rapid transit station on the Red Line of the Washington Metro in North Bethesda, Maryland. Grosvenor–Strathmore is the last above-ground station for Glenmont-bound Red Line trains until NoMa-Gallaudet U; south of the station, trains cross over the Capital Beltway before descending underground. It is one of a number of stations on the Rockville Pike corridor in Montgomery County.
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During the afternoon rush hour of June 22, 2009, a subway train wreck occurred between two southbound Red Line Washington Metro trains in Northeast, Washington, D.C., United States. A moving train collided with a train stopped ahead of it; the train operator along with eight passengers died, and 80 people were injured, making it the deadliest crash in the history of the Washington Metro.
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The Veirs Mill Road Line, designated Route Q2, Q4, Q6, is a daily bus route operated by the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority between Silver Spring station and Shady Grove station of the Red Line of the Washington Metro. The line operates every 16–30 minutes at all times at a combined frequency of 10 minutes during weekday peak-hours, 15 minutes during the weekday midday and weekends, and 30 minutes during the late nights. All trips roughly take 55–60 minutes. The line operates along the Veirs Mill Road corridor connecting passengers to various Metro stations and communities.
↑ Financing Subway System for National Capital Region: Joint Hearings Before the Committee on the District of Columbia and the Subcommittee No. 4 of the Committee on the District of Columbia. 1969. p.129.
1 2 Eisen, Jack (July 27, 1975). "Rockville and Greenbelt Lines Are Funded by U.S. for Metro". The Washington Post. p.9. ProQuest146254407.
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