Washington Metro
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Not to be confused with Washington Metropolitan Area or Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority.
 | |||
| Overview | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Locale | Washington, D.C. | ||
| Transit type | Rapid transit | ||
| Number of lines | 6 | ||
| Line number |  Red Line Blue Line Orange Line Yellow Line Green Line Silver Line | ||
| Number of stations | 91 | ||
| Daily ridership | 712,843 (May 2015, weekday)[1] | ||
| Annual ridership | 204 million (2014, approx.)[2] | ||
| Chief executive | Paul Wiedefeld[3] | ||
| Headquarters | 600 5th St NW Washington, D.C. 20001 | ||
| Website | www.wmata.com | ||
| Operation | |||
| Began operation | March 27, 1976 | ||
| Operator(s) | Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA) | ||
| Character | At-grade, elevated, and underground | ||
| Number of vehicles | 1,126 railcars | ||
| Train length | 6 or 8 cars | ||
| Headway | 6 mins peak; 12–20 mins offpeak | ||
| Technical | |||
| System length | 117 mi (188 km) | ||
| No. of tracks | 2 | ||
| Track gauge |
4 ft 8¼ in (1429 mm)
[4] | ||
| Electrification | Third rail 750 V DC | ||
| |||
The Washington Metro, commonly called Metro and branded Metrorail,[5] is the rapid transit system serving the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area in the United States. It is administered by the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA), which also operates Metrobus service under the Metro name.[6] Besides the District, Metro serves several jurisdictions in Maryland and Virginia. In Maryland, Metro provides service to Montgomery and Prince George's counties; in Virginia, to Arlington and Fairfax counties and the independent city of Alexandria. The system is currently being expanded into Loudoun County, Virginia. The Metro service area is largely coextensive with the inner ring of the Washington metropolitan area. It operates mostly as a subway in the District itself, while most of the suburban tracks are at surface level or elevated.
Opened in 1976, the network now includes six lines, 91 stations, and 117 miles (188 km) of route.[7][8]
Metro is the second-busiest rapid transit system in the United States in number of passenger trips, after the New York City Subway.[9] There were 215.3 million trips, or 712,843 trips per weekday, on Metro in fiscal year 2015.[1] In June 2008, Metro set a monthly ridership record with 19,729,641 trips, or 798,456 per weekday.[10] 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.
Contents
[hide]History[edit]
During the 1960s, plans were laid for a massive freeway system in Washington. 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.[11] But the plan met fierce opposition, and was altered to include a Capital Beltway system plus rail line radials. The Beltway received full funding; funding for the ambitious Inner Loop Freeway system was partially reallocated toward construction of the Metro system.[12]
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,[13] with planning power for the system being transferred to it from the NCTA.[14]
WMATA approved plans for a 98-mile (158 km) regional system in 1968.[14] 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.[15] 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 the District of Columbia.[16]Arlington County, Virginia was linked to the system on July 1, 1977;[17] Montgomery County, Maryland, on February 6, 1978;[18] Prince George's County, Maryland, on November 20, 1978;[19] and Fairfax County, Virginia, and Alexandria, Virginia, on December 17, 1983.[13][20] Underground stations were built with cathedral-like arches of concrete, highlighted by soft, indirect lighting.[21] The name Metro was suggested by Massimo Vignelli, who designed the subway maps for the New York City Subway.[22]
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. This did not mean the end of the growth of the system: a 3.22-mile (5.18 km) extension of the Blue Line to Largo Town Center and Morgan Boulevard opened on December 18, 2004. The first in-fill station, NoMa – Gallaudet University (at the time called the New York Ave–Florida Ave–Gallaudet University station) on the Red Line between Union Station and Rhode Island Ave-Brentwood, opened November 20, 2004. Construction began in March 2009 for an extension to Dulles Airport to be built in two phases and opening in 2014 and 2018.[23] The first phase, five stations connecting East Falls Church to Tysons Corner and Wiehle Avenue in Reston, opened on July 26, 2014.[24]
Metro construction required billions of federal dollars, originally provided by Congress under the authority of the National Capital Transportation Act of 1969 (Public Law 91-143). The cost was paid with 67% federal money and 33% local money. This act was amended on January 3, 1980 by Public Law 96-184, "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, Public Law 101-551, "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.[25]
The highest ridership for a single day was on the day of the inauguration of Barack Obama, January 20, 2009, with 1,120,000 riders. It broke the previous record, set the day before, of 866,681 riders.[26] June 2008 set several ridership records: it set 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]
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.[27]
On October 30, 2010, the crowd at the Rally to Restore Sanity and/or Fear broke a 19-year record in Saturday ridership, with 825,437 trips. The previous record had been set on June 8, 1991 at 786,358 trips during the Desert Storm rally.[28][29]
Opening dates[edit]
| Year | Line | From | To |
|---|---|---|---|
| March 27, 1976 | Red | Farragut North | Rhode Island Avenue |
| December 15, 1976 | Red (opening of Gallery Place) | Farragut North | Rhode Island Avenue |
| January 17, 1977 | Red | Dupont Circle | Rhode Island Avenue |
| July 1, 1977 | Blue | National Airport | Stadium-Armory |
| February 6, 1978 | Red | Dupont Circle | Silver Spring |
| November 20, 1978 | Orange/Blue | National Airport | New Carrollton |
| December 1, 1979 | Orange | Ballston | New Carrollton |
| November 22, 1980 | Blue/Orange | National Airport/Ballston | Addison Road/New Carrolton |
| December 5, 1981 | Red | Van Ness-UDC | Silver Spring |
| April 30, 1983 | Yellow | National Airport | Gallery Place |
| December 17, 1983 | Yellow | Huntington | Gallery Place |
| August 25, 1984 | Red | Grosvenor | Silver Spring |
| December 15, 1984 | Red | Shady Grove | Silver Spring |
| June 7, 1986 | Orange | Vienna | New Carrollton |
| September 22, 1990 | Red | Shady Grove | Wheaton |
| May 11, 1991 | Yellow | Huntington | U Street-Cardozo |
| June 15, 1991 | Blue | Van Dorn Street | Addison Road |
| December 28, 1991 | Green | U Street-Cardozo | Anacostia |
| December 11, 1993 | Green | Fort Totten | Greenbelt |
| June 29, 1997 | Blue | Franconia-Springfield | Addison Road |
| July 25, 1998 | Red | Shady Grove | Glenmont |
| September 18, 1999 | Green (connecting previous two segments) | Greenbelt | Anacostia |
| January 13, 2001 | Green | Greenbelt | Branch Avenue |
| November 20, 2004 | Red (addition of New York Ave Station) | Shady Grove | Glenmont |
| December 18, 2004 | Blue | Franconia-Springfield | Largo Town Center |
| July 26, 2014 | Silver | Wiehle – Reston East | Largo Town Center |
| TBA 2019 or 2020 | Silver | Ashburn | Largo Town Center |
Architecture[edit]
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 for the indirect lighting used throughout the system.[31][32] All of Metro's original Brutalist stations are found in Downtown Washington, D.C. and neighboring urban corridors of Arlington, Virginia, with newer stations incorporating simplified cost-efficient designs.[33]
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.[34]
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System[edit]
System maps
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Since opening in 1976, the Metro network has grown to include six lines, 91 stations, and 118 miles (190 km) of route.[2]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 makes extensive use of interlining – running more than one service on the same track. There are six operating lines.[2][35] The system's iconic official map was designed by noted graphic designer Lance Wyman[36] and Bill Cannan while they were partners in the design firm of Wyman & Cannan in New York City.[37]
About 50 miles (80 km) of Metro's track is underground, as are 47 of the 91 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).[2]
In an effort 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.[38]
| Line Name | Opened | Stations | Distance | Termini | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| mi | km | Western/Southern | Eastern/Northern | |||
| Red Line | 1976 | 27 | 31.9 | 51.3 | Shady Grove | Glenmont |
| Blue Line | 1977 | 27 | 30.3 | 48.8 | Franconia–Springfield | Largo Town Center |
| Orange Line | 1978 | 26 | 26.4 | 42.5 | Vienna | New Carrollton |
| Yellow Line | 1983 | 17 | 15.07 | 24.25 | Huntington Franconia–Springfield(Rush+) | Mount Vernon Square (rush hours) Greenbelt (Rush+) Fort Totten (other times) |
| Green Line | 1991 | 21 | 23.04 | 37.08 | Branch Avenue | Greenbelt |
| Silver Line | 2014 | 28 | 29.6 | 47.6 | Wiehle–Reston East Ashburn (opens 2019) | Largo Town Center |
Financing[edit]
Metro relies extensively on passenger fares and appropriated financing from the Maryland, Virginia, and Washington DC governments, which are represented on Metro's board of directors. The system does not have a dedicated revenue stream as other city's mass transit systems do. Critics allege that this has contributed to Metro's recent history of maintenance and safety problems.[39]
For Fiscal Year 2015, the estimated farebox recovery ratio (fare revenue divided by operating expenses) was 66 percent, based on the WMATA approved budget.[40]
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