The Red Line of the Washington Metro is a rail rapid transit service operating between 27 stations in Montgomery County, Maryland and the District of Columbia, United States. It is a primary line through downtown Washington, and the oldest and busiest line in the system. It forms a long, narrow "U" capped by its terminal stations at Shady Grove and Glenmont.
It is the only line which does not share its track with any other line, except from January 27, 1997 to September 17, 1999, when the Green Line Commuter Shortcut used Red Line tracks from Brookland–CUA to Farragut North. Unique among the Washington Metro train lines, some peak service Red Line trains operate on an abbreviated route, between Grosvenor–Strathmore and Silver Spring. On April 20, 2006, the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA), Montgomery County, and the state of Maryland announced an agreement to end the off-peak terminations at Grosvenor, having those trains operate instead between Shady Grove and Silver Spring. It provides service at 6 minute intervals during the day and 12 minute intervals in the evening. The Red Line is undergoing a $212 million improvement program.
Contents |
Planning for Metro began with the Mass Transportation Survey in 1955 which attempted to forecast both freeway and mass transit systems sufficient to meet the needs of 1980.[1] In 1959, the study's final report included two rapid transit lines which anticipated subways in downtown Washington.[2] 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.[3] 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 & Ohio Railroad right-of-way between Silver Spring and Rockville instead of a direct route between Bethesda and Rockville.[4] The route continued in rapid transit plans until the formation of WMATA.
With the formation of WMATA in October 1966, planning of the system shifted from federal hands to a regional body with representatives of the District, Maryland and Virginia. Corngressional route approval was no longer a key consideration.[5] Instead, routes had to serve each local suburban jurisdiction to assure that they would approve bond referenda to finance the system.[6] Because the least expensive way to build into the suburbs was to rely upon 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 & Ohio Railroad right-of-way.[7]
By 1969, WMATA had decided on the current routing and stations, except for the extension beyond Rockville to Shady Grove.[8] Funding for the extension to Shady Grove was conditionally approved in July 1975.[9] Construction on the Red Line began with a groundbreaking ceremony on December 9, 1969.[10] 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.[11] 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, although WMATA finally won the right to build the tunnel there.[12]
Service on the Red Line (and the Metro as a whole) began on March 29, 1976, with operations between Farragut North and Rhode Island Avenue – Brentwood.[13] Gallery Place's opening was delayed due to a court order regarding lack of handicapped access, but it opened in the middle of the line on December 15, 1976. 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. The eastern end was extended four 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.[14]
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.[15]
The NoMa – Gallaudet University station, located between Union Station and Rhode Island Avenue – Brentwood, opened on November 20, 2004. It was the system's first in-fill station (i.e., a new station built between existing stations).[16]
On November 3, 2004, an out-of-service Red Line train rolled backwards into the Woodley Park – Zoo / Adams Morgan station and hit an in-service train stopped at the platform. No one was killed, but 20 people were injured.[17] A 14-month investigation concluded that the train operator was most likely not alert as the train rolled backwards into the station. Safety officials estimated that had the train been full, at least 79 would have died. The train operator was dismissed and Metro officials agreed to add rollback protection to more than 300 rail cars.[18]
On the afternoon of June 22, 2009, at 5:03 p.m. EDT, two trains on the Red Line collided. A stationary train was struck from behind by a second six-car train, resulting in the telescoping of the moving train onto the rear of the stationary train. Nine people were killed in the collision (eight passengers and the train operator), and at least 70 people were injured. It is the deadliest accident in the history of the Washington Metro.[19] The NTSB report on the accident was released on July 27, 2010, and blamed a faulty track circuit, part of the automatic train control system, for causing the crash.[20][21] WMATA made a press release detailing changes on July 26 in anticipation of the release.[22]
Below is a chronological list of dates on which specific portions of the Red Line opened for service.[23]
| Date[14] | Event | Total number of stations | Total line length (mi) | Total line length (km) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| March 29, 1976 | Line opens between Farragut North and Rhode Island Avenue – Brentwood | 5 | 4.6 | 7.4 |
| December 15, 1976 | Gallery Place opens between existing stations | 6 | 4.6 | 7.4 |
| January 1, 1977 | Extension to Dupont Circle opens | 7 | 5.7 | 9.2 |
| February 6, 1978 | Extension to Silver Spring opens | 11 | 11.4 | 18.3 |
| December 5, 1981 | Extension to Van Ness – UDC opens | 14 | 13.5 | 21.7 |
| August 25, 1984 | Extension to Grosvenor–Strathmore opens | 19 | 20.3 | 32.7 |
| December 15, 1984 | Extension to Shady Grove opens | 23 | 27.3 | 43.9 |
| September 22, 1990 | Extension to Wheaton opens | 25 | 30.5 | 49.1 |
| January 25, 1998 | Extension to Glenmont opens | 26 | 31.9 | 51.3 |
| November 20, 2004 | NoMa – Gallaudet University (then New York Avenue–Florida Avenue–Gallaudet University) opens between existing stations | 27 | 31.9 | 51.3 |
The Red Line begins above ground at Shady Grove, and parallels CSX Transportation's Metropolitan Subdivision (served by MARC Brunswick Line trains) to south of Twinbrook. The Red Line then enters a tunnel and curves west to run under Rockville Pike at White Flint. Until Tenleytown, the Red Line follows the route of Rockville Pike and Wisconsin Avenue, in a tunnel except for a bridge over the Washington Beltway (I-495). The tunnel curves east at Tenleytown into Yuma Street to reach the Van Ness-UDC station, curving south there under Connecticut Avenue to south of Farragut Square. A curve under Lafayette Park takes the tunnel east under G Street Northwest through the Metro Center station and the Gallery Place – Chinatown station.[24]
System maps
From Gallery Place – Chinatown through Judiciary Square, the line runs southeast, turning east again at D Street to reach Union Station. There it turns north and surfaces adjacent 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 District-Maryland line, through Takoma and past Silver Spring. It reenters a tunnel at 16th Street Northwest and heads north under Georgia Avenue to the end at Glenmont.[24] There is a maintenance yard between the Florida Avenue and Rhode Island Avenue stops.[25]
The following stations are along the line, from northwest to northeast.[26]
Internally, the Red Line is known as the Shady Grove Route (A) and the Glenmont Route (B), which meet at Metro Center.[27]
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[28][29] Trains leave at 6 minute intervals during the mid-day[30] and 12 minute intervals during the evenings.[31]
In November 2010, WMATA authorized $37 million in capital improvements on the Red Line. This is a part of $212 million of work on the Red Line scheduled over 2010-2014.[32] In December 2009, WMATA began construction of a new 1,200-car parking garage to supplement the existing 1,700-car parking garage at the Glenmont station. The new garage is expected to open in 2011 and was funded by the State of Maryland.[33]
Montgomery County has submitted a federal $20 million grant application to build a pedestrian tunnel under Wisconsin Avenue to improve access to the Medical Center stop. If funded, construction would occur in 2011.[34]
Schrag, Zachary (2006). The Great Society Subway: A History of the Washington Metro. Baltimore, MD: Johns Hopkins University Press. ISBN 080188246X.
|
|||||||||||||||||||
|
|||||||||||||||||