Rosslyn (WMATA station)

Rosslyn
Station statistics
Address 1850 North Moore Street
Arlington, VA 22209
Lines
  Blue Line
  Orange Line
  Silver Line (planned)
Connections WMATA Metrobus
Arlington Transit
DC Circulator
Loudoun County Commuter
Structure Underground
Levels 2
Platforms 2 split platforms (1 on each level)
Tracks 2 (1 on each level)
Bicycle facilities 20 racks
Other information
Opened July 1, 1977
Accessible
Code C05
Owned by Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority
Traffic
Passengers (2007) 9.020 million[1]  2%
Services
Preceding station   Washington Metro   Following station
Blue Line
toward Vienna
 Orange Line
toward Route 772
 Silver Line (planned)

Rosslyn ( /ˈrɒzlɨn/) is a rapid transit station on the Blue and Orange Lines of the Washington Metro in the Rosslyn neighborhood of Arlington, Virginia. One of three interchange points on the Metrorail system west of the Potomac River and located in a growing business district, Rosslyn is the busiest station outside of the District of Columbia.[2] Upon its expected opening in 2013, the Silver Line will begin calling at Rosslyn, furthering its importance as a rail hub in Northern Virginia. [3]

Contents

Location

The station has entrances on the west side of North Moore Street between Wilson Boulevard and 19th Street North and on the east side of Fort Myer Drive between Wilson Boulevard and 19th Street North. A street elevator to the mezzanine (upper) level of the station is on the east side of North Moore Street, across the street from the Metro station entrance. The station is a stop for several express Metrobus lines, including the 5A to Dulles International Airport and L'Enfant Plaza.

History

The station opened on July 1, 1977.[4] Its opening coincided with the completion of 11.8 miles (19.0 km)[5] of rail between National Airport and RFK Stadium and the opening of the Arlington Cemetery, Capitol South, Crystal City, Eastern Market, Farragut West, Federal Center SW, Federal Triangle, Foggy Bottom–GWU, L'Enfant Plaza, McPherson Square, National Airport, Pentagon, Pentagon City, Potomac Avenue, Smithsonian and Stadium–Armory stations.[6] Orange Line service to the station began upon the line's opening on November 20, 1978.[7]

Station layout

Rosslyn is one of two stations (the other is Pentagon) at which westbound trains serve a platform that is a level below the mezzanine-level platform for eastbound trains. This allows for the separate tracks of the Orange and Blue lines to converge and diverge without requiring an at-grade crossing.[8]

Since the neighborhood is on a bluff over the Potomac River and the shared rail line into Washington passes through a rock-bored tunnel, Rosslyn station is deep—the deepest on the Orange and Blue lines. The upper platform is 97 feet below street level; the lower platform is 20 feet below that. An escalator ride between the street and mezzanine levels takes 2 minutes, 39 seconds.[9]

Notable places nearby

Gallery

References

  1. ^ Metorail annual station ridership Northern Virginia Transportation Coalition Retrieved 2010-10-09
  2. ^ 2009 Metrorail boardings by station WMATA Retrieved 2010-10-09
  3. ^ Dulles Metrorail overview MWAA Retrieved 2010-07-25
  4. ^ Feaver, Douglas B. (July 1, 1977), "Today, Metro could be U.S. model", The Washington Post: A1 
  5. ^ Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (July 2009). "Sequence of Metrorail openings". http://www.wmata.com/about_metro/docs/metrofacts.pdf. Retrieved July 25, 2010. 
  6. ^ Staff Reporters (June 24, 1977), "Metro's newest stations: Where they are, what's nearby", The Washington Post 
  7. ^ Eisen, Jack; John Feinstein (November 18, 1978), "City-County fanfare opens Orange Line; Ceremonies open new Orange Line", The Washington Post: D1 
  8. ^ "Rosslyn Station New Entrance Study". WMATA. March 2007. http://www.wmata.com/pdfs/planning/Station%20Access/Rosslyn_Final_Report%202007.pdf. Retrieved 2009-04-03. 
  9. ^ Rosslyn Magazine: Discover A New Horizon, Vol. 1, Issue 2, Summer 2006, p. 21.

External links