Silver Spring station (Maryland)

Silver Spring Red Line

The platform of Silver Spring station on June 23, 2010.
Location 8400 Colesville Road (Metro)
1170 Bonifant Street (MARC)
Silver Spring MD 20910
Coordinates 38°59′38″N 77°01′53″W / 38.993841°N 77.031321°W / 38.993841; -77.031321Coordinates: 38°59′38″N 77°01′53″W / 38.993841°N 77.031321°W / 38.993841; -77.031321
Owned by WMATA
Line(s)

Metro
Red Line Red Line

  Purple Line (proposed)

MARC:

  Brunswick Line
Platforms 1 island platform (Metro)
2 side platforms (MARC)
Tracks 4 (2 for each service)
Connections Ride On: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 8, 9, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 28
Metrobus: 70, 79, F4, J1, J2, J3, J4, Q1, Q2, Q4, S2, S4, S9, Y2, Y7, Y8, Z2, Z6, Z7, Z8, Z11
MTA Maryland Bus: 915, 929
Shuttle-UM: 111
BestBus
Construction
Structure type elevated
Parking 715 spaces (leased)
Bicycle facilities 26 racks, 30 lockers
Disabled access Yes
Other information
Station code B08
History
Opened February 6, 1978 (February 6, 1978)
Traffic
Passengers (2016) 12,234 daily [1] Decrease 5.95% (Metro)
Services
Preceding station   Washington Metro   Following station
toward Shady Grove
Red Line
toward Glenmont
MARC
Brunswick Line
Terminus
The station (left) with the Transit Center (right), 2016

Silver Spring Station is a Washington Metro station in Montgomery County, Maryland on the Red Line. It is the first station in Maryland on the eastern end of the line, and is the second-busiest Metro station in Maryland after Shady Grove.[2] It is co-located with a MARC commuter rail station.

Station layout

P
Platform level		 Westbound ← Red Line Red Line toward Shady Grove (Takoma)
Island platform, doors will open on the left
Eastbound → Red Line Red Line toward Glenmont (Forest Glen) →
M Mezzanine One-way faregates, ticket machines, station agent
G Street Level Exit/ Entrance

The station serves the suburb of Silver Spring, and is located at Colesville Road (Maryland Route 384) and East-West Highway; trains from Grosvenor–Strathmore terminate here during peak travel times. Service began on February 6, 1978. Prior to the opening of Forest Glen on September 22, 1990, Silver Spring was the terminus for the eastern end of the Red Line.

Like Brookland–CUA station, the platform at Silver Spring is slightly curved, with convex mirrors located on the inbound side of the platform to aid train operators in making sure the area is clear before closing the doors.

Silver Spring is the last station on the Red Line heading outbound towards Glenmont to be at or above ground level. Just north of Silver Spring, the Red Line descends to a portal and transitions into a subway route. The Red Line remains underground for the remainder of its route as it continues out into the suburbs of Montgomery County under Georgia Avenue to the end of the line at Glenmont.

This station is planned to be one of the Metro stations on the Purple Line system, formerly known as the Bi-County Transitway.

Several Metrobuses and Ride On buses serve this station.

MARC station

A MARC station straddles the Metro station, serving trains on the Brunswick Line. The two halves of the MARC station are connected by a pedestrian bridge. The MARC station began service in this location in 2000, replacing the Silver Spring Baltimore and Ohio Railroad Station, located about .25 miles (0.40 km) to the south. In the morning far more people disembark than board at the station, and the reverse is true in the evening. The MARC ridership as of 2013 was 629 passengers.

Paul S. Sarbanes Transit Center

The Montgomery County Government began construction of the Paul S. Sarbanes Transit Center, a multi-modal passenger transportation facility adjacent to the Metro station, in 2007. The facility has 34 bays for Metro, Ride-on Buses, Shuttle-UM, "Kiss and Ride" access, Metrorail, and MARC train service. Its increased capacity is expected to ease the implementation of the Purple Line. The Transit Center will also mark the location for the future northern terminus of the Metropolitan Branch Trail, which heads southbound to Union Station. The transit center is named for former U.S. Senator Paul Sarbanes.[3]

The complex was subject to construction problems and the schedule was extensively delayed.[4]

On March 19, 2013, an engineering firm engaged by Montgomery County to investigate the defects issued a report that indicated "significant and serious design and construction defects, including excessive cracking, missing post-tensioning cables, inadequate reinforcing steel, and concrete of insufficient strength and thickness."[5]

In May 2014, repairs were announced to begin for the summer with the hope of completing them in time to open by early 2015,[6] but after two months they had not resumed.

The facility was transferred from Montgomery County to WMATA in August 2015 after the completion of renovations,[7] and opened on September 20, 2015, five years behind schedule.[8]

Artwork

The Silver Spring station is also home to Penguin Rush Hour, a 100-by-8-foot (30.5 by 2.4 m) mural painted by Sally Callmer, depicting penguins as Metro customers during rush hour.[9] Although originally intended to be a temporary exhibit, the mural placed at the station in the early 1990s has become a symbol of the downtown area of Silver Spring. In 2004, the Silver Spring Regional Center, a county government facility, commissioned the original artist to restore the mural, which was damaged by the elements and missing sections, for approximately $30,000. In 2004-2005, the mural was removed for the restoration, with the promise that it would be returned by the end of 2005.[10] Subsequently, the county decided to postpone re-installation of the mural until completion of the new transit center.[11]

Notable places nearby

See also

References

  1. ↑ "Metrorail Average Weekday Passenger Boardings" (PDF). WMATA. Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority. Retrieved 23 April 2017.
  2. ↑ Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (2012-06). "Metrorail Average Weekday Passenger Boardings.:
  3. ↑ Montgomery County Department of General Services, Rockville, MD (2011-07-12). "Paul S. Sarbanes Silver Spring Transit Center."
  4. ↑ Zapana, Victor (2012-10-11). "Silver Spring Transit Center will open by September, officials say". Washington Post.
  5. ↑ Statement of Montgomery County Executive Isiah Leggett Concerning the Silver Spring Transit Center (2013-03-19).
  6. ↑ Repairs on trouble-plagued Silver Spring transit center scheduled to resume next week
  7. ↑ Lazo, Luz (August 20, 2015). "Metro plans Sept. 20 opening of problem-plagued Silver Spring Transit Center". The Washington Post. Retrieved August 26, 2015.
  8. ↑ Phillips, Susan; Goncalves, Delia (September 20, 2015). "Long delayed Silver Spring Transit Center opens Sunday". WUSA. Retrieved September 28, 2015.
  9. ↑ Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority, Washington, DC. "Silver Spring Station: Penguin Rush Hour, 1989." Community Outreach - MetroArts. Accessed 2011-07-12.
  10. ↑ Levine, Susan (2006-03-05). "Update: In Silver Spring, Metro Penguins Will Rise Again." Washington Post.
  11. ↑ Celebrate Silver Spring Foundation. "Penguin Rush Hour Artist: Sally Callmer." Silver Spring Downtown. Accessed 2011-07-18.
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