Bethesda (WMATA station)

Bethesda
Station statistics
Address 7450 Wisconsin Avenue
Bethesda, MD 20814
Lines
  Red Line
Connections WMATA Metrobus
Ride On
Bethesda Circulator
Structure Underground
Platforms 1 island platform
Tracks 2
Bicycle facilities 48 racks, 44 lockers
Other information
Opened August 25, 1984; 27 years ago (August 25, 1984)
Accessible
Code A09
Owned by Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority
Traffic
Passengers (2006) 3.843 million  8%
Services
Preceding station   Washington Metro   Following station
Red Line
toward Glenmont

Bethesda is an island platformed Washington Metro station in Bethesda, Maryland, United States. The station was opened on August 25, 1984, and is operated by the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA). Providing service for the Red Line, the station serves downtown Bethesda and is below the intersection of Wisconsin Avenue (Maryland Route 355) and Montgomery Lane. It is the first station wholly within Montgomery County, after the Red Line leaves Washington, D.C.. This station is planned to be one of the Metro stations on the Purple Line system, formerly known as the Bi-County Transitway.[1] Its escalators empty into a bus depot served by Metrobus, Ride On, and the Bethesda Circulator trolley bus, situated one level below the intersection of Wisconsin, Old Georgetown Road (Maryland Route 187), and East-West Highway (Maryland Route 410).

The station opened on August 25, 1984.[2][3] Its opening coincided with the completion of 6.8 miles (10.9 km) of rail northwest of the Van Ness–UDC station and the opening of the Friendship Heights, Grosvenor, Medical Center and Tenleytown stations.[2][3][4] It is relatively deep; prior to the opening of the Wheaton station, the Bethesda station had the longest escalator (475 feet (145 m)) in the Western Hemisphere.[5] The station's construction has been a major boon to the area, with several office buildings being built on (in the Bethesda Metro Center complex) and around it.

Nearby landmarks

References

  1. ^ "Purple Line Stations". Maryland Transit Administration. http://www.purplelinemd.com/stations. Retrieved August 1, 2010. 
  2. ^ a b Staff Reporters (August 25, 1984), "Red Line adds 6.8 miles; Opening ceremony for new segment set for today at Friendship Heights", The Washington Post: B1 
  3. ^ a b Brisbane, Arthur S. (August 26, 1984), "All aboard; Metro festivities welcome latest Red Line extension", The Washington Post: A1 
  4. ^ Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (July 2009). "Sequence of Metrorail openings". http://www.wmata.com/about_metro/docs/metrofacts.pdf. Retrieved August 1, 2010. 
  5. ^ "The Five Longest Rides". The Washington Post. June 3, 2005. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/custom/2005/06/03/CU2005060301365.html. 

External links

Media related to [//commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Category:Bethesda_(WMATA_station) Bethesda (WMATA station)] at Wikimedia Commons