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Revision as of 03:36, 22 March 2004 by Aestes (talk | contribs)(diff) ← Previous revision | Latest revision (diff) | Newer revision → (diff)The Washington Metro is the metro public transportation system of Washington DC. It is owned and operated by the Washington Metropolitan Area Transportation Authority (WMATA), a multijurisdictional agency funded by the District of Columbia, Maryland, and Virginia. It is divided into two different transportation services: Metrorail (commonly called Metro), which consists of subway and rail lines, and Metrobus, which operates bus service both throughout the metropolitan District of Columbia, Maryland and Virginia areas (except for Fairfax County, Virginia).
Metrorail
Bethesda Station
Metro station (Larger version)
Since opening in 1976, the subway has grown to five lines. It was designed with a spoke-hub distribution paradigm, which makes the subway ideal for getting from a suburb to any part of the city, or vice versa, but unattractive for suburb to suburb travel.
The Red Line serves Montgomery County, Maryland, starting at Glenmont Station, and travels below ground along Georgia Avenue to Silver Spring, where it emerges, and travels into Washington, DC. The train descends just before reaching Union Station on the Eastern side of the city. The subway continues westward, stopping at Metro Center, the hub of the system, before continuing northeast along Connecticut Avenue. It then follows Wisconsin Avenue into Bethesda, Maryland, emerging just before Rockville, and terminating at Shady Grove Station.
The Orange Line connects Prince George's County, Maryland with the northern part of Fairfax County, Virginia. It begins in Virginia at the Vienna/Fairfax - George Mason University Station, and travels under the Potomac River through Washington, stopping at Metro Center, and continuing over the Anacostia River into Maryland, where the line stops at New Carrollton Station.
The Blue Line connects Prince George's County, Maryland with the eastern part of Fairfax County. It begins in Virginia at Franconia-Springfield Station, passing through the City of Alexandria, underneath Arlington National Cemetery. and also underneath the Potomac, where it joins the same tracks as the Orange Line. After the Stadium/Armory station, it splits, and crosses the Anacostia, terminating at Addison Road-Seat Pleasant station in Maryland.
The Yellow Line connects Washington with Fairfax County. It begins at the Gallery Place - Chinatown station, and goes south, crossing the Potomac on a bridge, and terminates at Huntington Station.
The Green Line connects the northern part of Prince George's County to the southern part of Prince George's County, by way of downtown Washington. It begins in Greenbelt Station, then crosses southwest into Washington, where it picks up along the Yellow Line at Gallery Place - Chinatown Station. After Archives - Navy Memorial Station, it splits, where it heads southeastward across the Anacostia River, and crosses back into Prince George's County, where it terminates at Branch Avenue Station.
Metrorail connects with state and federal rail systems. Amtrak stations are within close proximity to Metro tracks at Union Station in Washington, at New Carrollton Station in Prince George's County, at Rockville in Montgomery County, and at King Street Station in Alexandria. Virginia Railway Express trains are near the metro tracks at Union Station, L'Enfant Plaza, Crystal City, King Street, and Franconia-Springfield stations. Maryland's MARC trains stop near Union Station, in Washington; New Carrollton, College Park - University of Maryland and Greenbelt stations in Prince George's County; and Silver Spring and Rockville stations in Montgomery County.
Metrorail's Yellow and Blue Lines serve Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport. A shuttle bus is provided to Dulles Airport, and Baltimore-Washington International Airport may be reached either by a shuttle bus from Greenbelt, or by connecting to Amtrak at Union Station or New Carrollton.
History
Construction on the subway began in 1969, with groundbreaking on December 9. The system opened March 27, 1976 with 4.2 miles available on the Red Line with five stations from Rhode Island Ave to Farragut North. The final 103-mile, 83 station system was completed with the opening of the Green Line segment to Branch Ave on January 13, 2001. This does not mean the end of the growth of the system, though, with Largo Town Center and Morgan Boulevard under construction on the Blue Line, New York Ave under construction on the Red Line between Union Station and Rhode Island Ave, and plans for an Orange Line extention to Dulles Airport.
The system began in the District of Columbia, with Arlington, Virginia being linked to the system on July 1, 1976; Montgomery County, Maryland on February 6, 1978; Prince George's County, Maryland on November 20, 1978; and Fairfax County, Virginia and Alexandria, Virginia on December 17, 1983.