Red Line (Washington Metro)

Planning for Metro began with the Mass Transportation Survey in 1955, which attempted to forecast freeway and mass transit systems sufficient to meet the needs of 1980.[2] In 1959, the study's final report recommended two rapid transit lines which anticipated subways in downtown Washington.[3] 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.[4] 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 and Ohio Railroad right-of-way between Silver Spring and Rockville instead of a direct route between Bethesda and Rockville.[5]

With the formation of WMATA in October 1966,[6][7] planning of the system shifted from federal hands to a regional body with representatives of the District, Maryland, and Virginia. Congressional route approval was no longer a key consideration.[8] Instead, routes had to serve each suburban jurisdiction to assure that they would approve bond referendums to finance the system.[9] Because the least expensive way to build into the suburbs was to use 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 and Ohio Railroad right-of-way.[10]

By 1969, WMATA had decided on the current routing and stations, except for the extension beyond Rockville to Shady Grove.[11] Montgomery County officials opposed ending the Red Line in downtown Rockville, saying it would cause congestion in the area and use scarce vacant land for a storage yard.[12] Metro decided to propose to extend the red line one more station to Shady Grove and the U.S. Department of Transportation conditionally approved funding for the extension on July 26, 1975.[12]

Construction on the Red Line began with a groundbreaking ceremony at Judiciary Square on December 9, 1969.[13] 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.[14] 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, then WMATA finally won the right to build the tunnel there.[15]

Service on the Red Line (and the Metro as a whole) began on March 27, 1976, with operation between Farragut North and Rhode Island Avenue.[16][17] Gallery Place's opening was delayed due to a court order regarding lack of accessibility for all, but it opened in the middle of the line on December 15, 1976.[17] 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.[17] The eastern end was extended one station from Rhode Island Avenue-Brentwood to Brookland-CUA on February 3, 1978. The eastern end was extended three 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.[17]

The only time the Red Line shared tracks with another line was from January 27, 1997, to September 17, 1999, when the Green Line Commuter Shortcut used Red Line tracks from Brookland–CUA to Farragut North. 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.[18]

The NoMa–Gallaudet University station (formerly New York Ave–Florida Ave–Gallaudet University), located between Union Station and Rhode Island Avenue–Brentwood, opened on November 20, 2004. It was the system's first infill station (i.e., a new station built between existing stations).[19]

In November 2010, the WMATA authorized $37 million in capital improvements on the Red Line, a part of $212 million of work on the Red Line scheduled for 2010 to 2014.[20]

In April 2012, a 1,200-car parking garage opened at the Glenmont station, joining the existing 1,700-car garage. Construction on the project, funded by the state of Maryland, began in December 2009.[21][22]

From March 26, 2020, until June 28, 2020, trains were bypassing Grosvenor–Strathmore, Cleveland Park, and Judiciary Square stations due to the 2020 coronavirus pandemic.[23][24] All stations were reopened beginning on June 28, 2020.[25]

From September 11, 2021, to January 16, 2022, the Rockville Metro station was closed due to the Rockville Canopy Replacement Project.

On February 25, 2022, WMATA opened a new entrance, on the east side of Rockville Pike and a new elevator and staircase to platform at the Medical Center station, eliminating the need for thousands of daily riders who emerge from the station on the west side of the Pike to cross the busy six-lane road to reach the Walter Reed National Military Medical Center.[26] In September 2009, Montgomery County applied for a $20 million federal grant, seeking to begin construction in 2011,[27] but the project was not approved until 2013.[28] Construction began in December 2017. The $68 million project, mostly funded by from the Department of Defense, also includes new deep elevators, better surface bicycle, and pedestrian facilities, a pedestrian tunnel under Rockville Pike, and an extension of the left-turn lane on southbound MD 355 that opened in late 2021.

Red Line train at Metro Center

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 route then enters a tunnel and curves west to run under Rockville Pike at North Bethesda. Until Tenleytown, the line follows the route of Rockville Pike and Wisconsin Avenue in a tunnel, except for a bridge over the Capital Beltway (I-495). The tunnel curves east at Tenleytown into Yuma Street to reach the Van Ness–UDC station, curving south there to travel under Connecticut Avenue through south of Farragut Square. A curve under Lafayette Park takes the tunnel east under G Street Northwest through the Metro Center and Gallery Place stations.[35]^: 178

From Gallery Place through Judiciary Square, the line runs southeast, turning east again at D Street to reach Union Station. There it turns north and surfaces next 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 DC-Maryland line, through Takoma and past Silver Spring. It reenters a tunnel at 16th Street and heads north under Georgia Avenue to the end at Glenmont.[35]^: 188

The Metropolitan Subdivision right-of-way were part of the former Baltimore and Ohio Railroad route to downtown Washington, D.C. The MARC commuter rail system uses this parallel route with stops in Silver Spring and Rockville when traveling between Washington and Martinsburg, West Virginia, while Amtrak uses this parallel route with a stop in Rockville when traveling the Capitol Limited route between Washington, D.C., and the Chicago Union Station.

There is a maintenance yard between the NoMa–Gallaudet and Rhode Island Avenue–Brentwood stops.[36]

Internally, WMATA calls the Red Line the Shady Grove Route (A) and the Glenmont Route (B), which meet at Metro Center.[35]

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.[37] Trains run most frequently during morning and evening rush hours (nominally four to eight minutes apart) and least frequently after 9:30 p.m. (nominally 15 to 18 minutes apart).[1]

The Red Line is one of two lines that do not enter Virginia, the other being the Green Line.

The line serves the following stations, from northwest to northeast:[38]

Station	Code	Opened[17]	Image	Other Metro Line(s)	Notes
Shady Grove	A15	December 15, 1984		N/A	Southern terminus
Rockville	A14			Amtrak: Capitol Limited MARC: Brunswick Line	N/A
Twinbrook	A13			N/A	N/A
North Bethesda	A12			N/A	N/A
Grosvenor–Strathmore	A11	August 25, 1984		N/A	N/A
Medical Center	A10			N/A	N/A
Bethesda	A09			MTA:   Purple Line (planned)	N/A
Friendship Heights	A08			N/A	N/A
Tenleytown–AU	A07			N/A	N/A
Van Ness–UDC	A06	December 5, 1981		N/A	N/A
Cleveland Park	A05			N/A	N/A
Woodley Park	A04			N/A	Second deepest station on the Metrorail network.[39]
Dupont Circle	A03	January 17, 1977		N/A	N/A
Farragut North	A02	March 27, 1976		N/A	N/A
Metro Center	A01				N/A
Gallery Place	B01	December 15, 1976			N/A
Judiciary Square	B02	March 27, 1976		N/A	N/A
Union Station	B03			Amtrak: Acela Express, Cardinal, Carolinian, Capitol Limited, Crescent, Northeast Regional, Palmetto, Silver Meteor, Silver Star, Vermonter MARC: Brunswick Line, Camden Line, Penn Line VRE: Fredericksburg Line, Manassas Line DC Streetcar: H Street/Benning Road Line	N/A
NoMa–Gallaudet U	B35	November 20, 2004		N/A	Infill station, built in 2004 between two existing stations built in the 1970s. The first infill station on the Metrorail network.
Rhode Island Avenue	B04	March 27, 1976		N/A	N/A
Brookland–CUA	B05	February 3, 1978		N/A	N/A
Fort Totten	B06	February 6, 1978			N/A
Takoma	B07			N/A	N/A
Silver Spring	B08			MTA:   Purple Line (planned) MARC: Brunswick Line	N/A
Forest Glen	B09	September 22, 1990		N/A	Deepest station on the Metrorail network. The only station without escalators—elevators being the only way to access the platforms.
Wheaton	B10			N/A	At 230 feet long, this station has the longest escalators in the western hemisphere.
Glenmont	B11	July 25, 1998		N/A	Northern terminus

In November 2010, the WMATA authorized $37 million in capital improvements on the Red Line, a part of $212 million of work on the Red Line scheduled for 2010 to 2014.[40]

In 2011, the WMATA examined the possibility of extending the Red Line past the Shady Grove station to the Metropolitan Grove station by 2040.[41][42][43][44]

In April 2012, a 1,200-car parking garage opened at the Glenmont station, joining the existing 1,700-car garage. Construction on the project, funded by the state of Maryland, began in December 2009.[45][46]

• Schrag, Zachary (2006). The Great Society Subway: A History of the Washington Metro. Baltimore, MD: Johns Hopkins University Press. ISBN 0-8018-8246-X.

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Red Line (Washington Metro).

• Red Line at world.nycsubway.org