Forest Glen station

Forest Glen Red Line

Washington Metro rapid transit station
Location 9730 Georgia Avenue
Forest Glen, MD 20910
Coordinates 39°00′55″N 77°02′35″W / 39.0153°N 77.0430°W / 39.0153; -77.0430Coordinates: 39°00′55″N 77°02′35″W / 39.0153°N 77.0430°W / 39.0153; -77.0430
Owned by WMATA
Line(s) Red Line Red Line
Platforms twin tube inter-connected side platforms
Tracks 2
Connections Ride On: 7, 8
 Metrobus: Q1, Q2, Q4, Y2, Y7, Y8
Construction
Structure type Underground (rock tunnel)
Depth 196 feet (60 m)
Parking 592 spaces[1]
Bicycle facilities 42 racks, 16 lockers
Disabled access Yes
Other information
Station code B09
History
Opened September 22, 1990 (1990-09-22)[2]
Traffic
Passengers (2016) 2,181 daily [3] Decrease 8.44%
Services
Preceding station   Washington Metro   Following station
toward Shady Grove
Red Line
toward Glenmont

Forest Glen Station is a side platformed Washington Metro station in Forest Glen, Maryland, United States. The station was opened on September 22, 1990, and is operated by the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA).[1][4] Its opening coincided with the completion of 3.2 miles (5.1 km) of rail north of the Silver Spring station and the opening of the Wheaton station.[1][4][5] Providing service for the Red Line, the station is located at Georgia Avenue (Maryland Route 97) and Forest Glen Road. The station is the deepest in the system at 196 feet (60 m) deep, and high-speed elevators, rather than escalators, are used for access to the surface.[1]

Station layout

G Street Level Exit/ Entrance
M Mezzanine One-way faregates, ticket machines, station agent
T
Train level		 Westbound ← Red Line Red Line toward Shady Grove (Silver Spring)
Side platform, doors will open on the left
Side platform, doors will open on the left
Eastbound →Red Line Red Line toward Glenmont (Wheaton) →
Elevator hall, train level

Due to tracks resting at a depth of 196 feet (60 m), Forest Glen is the only station in the system without direct surface access by way of escalators.[4][6] Instead, there is a bank of six high-speed elevators that travel at a rate of 17 feet per second (5.2 m/s) between the underground station and the surface.[6] In addition, a 20-story staircase exists for emergency use. Because of the lack of escalators, Forest Glen is the only station equipped with smoke doors to protect customers during a train fire and evacuation.[4] Building the tunnels through soft rock close to the surface would have been either very costly or impossible, so engineers decided to dig the tunnels through harder, more solid rock deeper in the ground.[1][7]

Another architectural feature of this station is separate tunnels and platforms for each direction, instead of the large, vaulted common room seen at most other underground stations.[8] This design, shared with Wheaton, was used because it was cheaper than building a larger two-tracked station with a larger base and higher vaulted ceilings.[4][8]

History

The original plan was to build the station above ground, with a parking lot that would have required demolishing about fifteen homes.[9] After community opposition to the above-ground station, Montgomery County approved a modified plan for an underground station.[9]

The originally planned location for the parking lot and bus stops was on the east side of Georgia Avenue, between Sherwood Road and Tilton Drive, near Woodland Drive.[7] Tilden Drive would have been closed between Georgia Avenue and Woodland Drive in order to reduce traffic through the nearby residential neighborhood.[7] Building the parking lot and bus stops there would have required the demolition of one business and several homes.[7]

Response to plans for the underground station were mixed, with some residents and local businesses looking forward to the convenience of a nearby station and other residents concerned about potential increases in traffic in the area.[1][9] Metro contended that deleting the station from the plans altogether would have overloaded both Wheaton and Silver Spring metro stations.[7] The Montgomery County council approved the station in January 1976,[9] three months after it had approved the further-away Wheaton station.[10]

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Fehr, Stephen C. (September 16, 1990). "Wheaton, Forest Glen To Climb Aboard Metro: New Stations to Extend Red Line 3.2 Miles". The Washington Post. p. D1. (Subscription required (help)). Article preview
  2. ↑ Hill, Retha (September 18, 1990). "Metro Station Divides Forest Glen Residents: Impact on Century-Old Community an Issue". The Washington Post. p. D07. (Subscription required (help)).Article Preview
  3. ↑ "Metrorail Average Weekday Passenger Boardings" (PDF). WMATA. Retrieved 2017-04-26.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 Fehr, Stephen C. (September 23, 1990), "Metro Adds 2 Stations To System;Wheaton, Forest Glen Open for Thousands", The Washington Post, p. D4
  5. ↑ Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (July 2009). "Sequence of Metrorail openings" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on January 13, 2010. Retrieved August 1, 2010.
  6. 1 2 Levy, Claudia (November 6, 1989). "New Metro Stop Is Way Down Under: Curious in Md. Take Preview Plunge Into Area's Deepest Station". The Washington Post. p. B03. (Subscription required (help)).Article previewArticle blurb
  7. 1 2 3 4 5 Jack Eisen (April 14, 1975). "Public Hearings Set On Metro Stop Shift In Montgomery County". The Washington Post. p. C3. (Subscription required (help)).
  8. 1 2 Burgess, John (November 4, 1981). "Jumbo Bores Metro Tunnel: Transit Agency Racing Against Reagan Funds Slash". The Washington Post. p. C1. (Subscription required (help)).
  9. 1 2 3 4 "County Approves Forest Glen Stop". The Washington Post. January 14, 1976. p. B2.
  10. ↑ "County Council Decides On Wheaton Metro Site". The Washington Post. October 8, 1975. p. A9.

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