This is Washington DC. Home to 4.2 million people,
this US city is connected by a network of metro lines, which service 91 stations
across four counties and two independent cities. Consisting of six lines and 117 miles of track,
the system connects various suburbs around Washington, with trains running from DC
into two adjacent states. But how did the system grow from its original stations to
the network it is today? My name’s Zach, and this is the Evolution of the Network.
The first section of the Washington Metro opened in March 1976, servicing five initial stations
on the Red Line. Starting from Farragut North station in downtown, the line travelled east,
ending at Rhode Island Avenue. In December of that year, an additional station was opened
on this stretch at Gallery Place. While this station was originally supposed to open with
the rest of the Red line, delays on elevator construction saw the opening date pushed back.
In January 1977, the Red line was extended one stop from Farragut North,
with a new station opening at Dupont Circle. In June of that year, DC’s second metro line
was launched with service beginning on the Blue line. Starting from a new stop at Stadium-Armory,
the line travelled west into Virginia, servicing 17 new stations to National Airport. The blue line
interchanged with the red line at Metro Center, the first such interchange on the network.
The Red line was extended in February 1978, with three new stations opening north to Silver Spring.
In November, Washington’s third metro line began service, with trains beginning on the
Orange line. Service followed the Blue line from National Airport to Stadium-Armory,
before branching off to service five new stops to New Carrollton in Maryland. At the same time,
trains travelling west to National Airport on the Blue line were also extended to start
at New Carrollton, with the blue and orange lines each operating in one direction only.
In August 1979, the red line station at Brookland was renamed to Brookland-CUA,
reflecting the nearby Catholic University of America. In December of that year, the Orange
line was extended west from Rosslyn, with four new stations opening to Ballston. With this change,
Orange line trains no longer travelled south to National Airport, while Blue line trains were
cut back to start at Stadium-Armoury. An eastward extension of the Blue line
opened in November 1980, with three new stations taking the line to Addison Road.
Service on the Blue and Orange lines were revised again in September 1981,
in order to allow longer trains to operate on the busiest branches of the system. Orange line
trains operated eastbound from National Airport to New Carrollton, while westbound Orange line
trains ran from Addison Rd to Ballston. Blue line trains followed the opposite pattern, with
eastbound trains running from Ballston to Addison Road, and westbound trains running from New
Carrollton to National Airport. In December, the Red line was extended north from Dupont Circle,
with three new stations opening to Vann Ness-UDC. A fourth line was added to the system in April
1983, with the Yellow line beginning service. The line serviced a new stop at Archives,
along with interchanging with existing stations on the Blue, Orange and Red lines.
In December, service was revised once again on the Blue and Orange lines, with Blue line trains
now running both ways from National Airport to Addison Road, and Orange Line trains running both
ways from New Carrollton to Ballston. Later that month, the Yellow line was extended
south by an additional four stops, with trains travelling to the present terminus at Huntington.
Red line service was extended further north in August 1984,
with five new stations opening to Grosvenor. In December, four more stations were opened, taking
the line to its present terminus at Shady Grove. On the Orange line, the station at Virginia Square
was renamed in July 1985, now being referred to as Virginia Square-GMU.
In June 1986, an extension was also opened on the west end of the Orange line,
with four new stations opening to the present terminus at Vienna.
In March 1989, two stations on the yellow line were renamed, in order to raise awareness for
nearby landmarks. At the interchange with the red line, Gallery Place was renamed to
Gallery Place-Chinatown, while one stop south, Archives was renamed to Archives-Navy Memorial.
In May, the red line station at Tenleytown was also renamed,
reflecting the nearby presence of the American University.
Red line service was extended north from Silver Spring in September 1990, with two new stations
opening to Wheaton. These two stops are among the deepest on the network, with one being accessible
only by elevator, and the other serviced by the longest escalator in North America.
Three stations were added to the Yellow line in May 1991, with the line being extending north
from Gallery Place-Chinatown to U Street- Cardozo. In June, Blue line service was
also extended further west in Virginia. Trains followed the Yellow line to King Street before
branching off to a new stop at Van Dorn Street. Washington’s fifth metro line began service in
December 1991, with three new stations opening on the Green Line. Starting from a new stop at
Anacostia, the line travelled north, following the Yellow line north to U Street-Cardozo.
At the same time, Yellow line service was cut back to Mount Vernon Square.
A second independent section of the green line opened in December 1993,
with trains travelling east from Fort Totten station on the Red line. Four new stations
were opened east to Greenbelt as part of this expansion. In December 1995, the orange line
station at Ballston was renamed to Ballston-MU, indicating the nearby Marymount University.
A new branch of the Green line launched in 1997, providing a direct route for commuters into the
downtown area. Starting in January, rush hour trains from Greenbelt would continue onto the Red
Line, travelling as far as Farragut North station. These trains bypassed Fort Totten station, eliminating
the need to transfer to the Red line at that stop. In June of that year, a one-stop extension of the
Blue line opened in Virginia, bringing trains to the present terminus at Franconia-Springfield.
In July 1998, a final one-stop extension of the Red line opened, taking the line from Wheaton to
its present terminus at Glenmont. At the same time, Waterfront station on the Green line was
renamed to Waterfront-SEU, referring to the nearby Southeastern University. In Virginia, the Orange
line station at Dunn Loring was renamed to Dunn Loring-Merrifield, while the neighbouring stop at
West Falls Church now reference the nearby campus of Virginia Tech and the University of Virginia.
Station renamings in Virginia continued into March 1999, with the station at Vienna being expanded
to Vienna/Fairfax-GMU. On the Green line, the name for U Street-Cardozo station was expanded,
referencing the nearby African-American Civil War Memorial. In May, the Red line station at
Woodley Park-Zoo was also expanded, referencing the Adams Morgan neighbourhood near the stop. The
two segments of the green line were finally joined in September, with two new stations opening at
Columbia Heights and Georgia Avenue-Petworth. With this change, rush hour service from Greenbelt to
Farragut North was discontinued, with the regular service now offering a direct route downtown.
In March 2000, two stations on the network were renamed, further clarifying their locations. The
eastern terminus of the Blue line was renamed to Addison Road-Seat Pleasant, while the northern
terminus of the Yellow line was renamed to Mount Vernon Square/7th Street Convention Center.
An extension of the Green line opened in January 2001, with five new stations opening
at the south end to Branch Avenue. In November of that year, the Blue and Yellow line station
at National Airport was renamed after Ronald Reagan, harmonizing its name with the airport.
In November 2004, an infill station was opened on the Red line at New York Avenue-Florida
Avenue-Gallaudet U. In December of that year, a two-stop extension of the Blue line also opened in
Maryland, taking the line to its present terminus at Largo Town Center. At the same time, the Green
and Yellow station at Archives-Navy Memorial was renamed to Archives-Navy Memorial-Penn Quarter.
On the Red line, Rhode Island Avenue station was renamed to Rhode Island Avenue-Brentwood,
reflecting the neighbourhood in which the station is located.
Station renamings on the Red line continued into February 2005, when the Grosvenor station
was renamed to Grosvenor-Strathmore. In December 2006, the Yellow line was extended further north,
following the Green line to Fort Totten. In November 2011, station names across the
network were simplified, in order to improve wayfinding on the system. 11 stations with
longer names were shortened, with nearby landmarks being moved to subtitles on the station signage.
Additionally, the Green line station at Navy Yard now referenced the nearby Nationals Ballpark,
while the Blue and Yellow line station at King Street had Old Town added to the name.
In June 2012, three new rush hour branches were added to the network, in order to reduce crowding
and provide new transfer-free routes. On the Orange line, limited trains were extended from
Stadium-Armory to Largo Town Center, servicing Blue line stations along the stretch. On the
Yellow line, rush hour service followed the Green line from Fort Totten to Greenbelt,
while at the opposite end, some rush hour trains followed the Blue line from
King Street-Old Town to Franconia-Springfield. Washington’s sixth metro line launched in July
2014, with service beginning on the Silver line. Starting from Largo Town Center on the Blue line,
the route travelled through downtown and into Virginia, following the Orange line to East
Falls Church. From there, the route travelled north to Wiehle-Reston East, serving five new
stations. In August of that year, a new bus rapid transit route was also launched in Virginia,
with Metroway buses serving dedicated lanes and four enhanced stations on Richmond Highway.
Metroway was extended in April 2016, with an additional three enhanced stations opening through
Arlington. In June 2017, budget cuts saw the end of rush hour extensions on the Yellow line,
with trains no longer servicing Franconia-Springfield or Greenbelt.
Finally in May 2019, Yellow line trains were extended back to Greenbelt, with trains now
servicing the station at all times. This brings us to the Washington DC Metro Map that we know today.
In the years to come, more extensions are planned for the DC metro network, which will see new lines
and stations open in Virginia and Maryland. In February 2022, a six-station extension
of the Silver line will open, taking the line to Dulles Airport and Ashburn.
At the same time, the Silver line station at Tysons Corner will be renamed to Tysons,
while the Green and Yellow line station at Prince George’s Plaza will become Hyattsville Crossing.
Later that spring, an infill station is expected to open on the Blue and Yellow line at Potomac
Yard, serving new developments in the area. In December, the first stage of the Purple
light rail line will open in Maryland, serving four new stations between New Carrollton and
College Park-University of Maryland. Finally in spring 2023, the remainder
of the Purple line will be completed, with 13 additional stations taking the line to Bethesda.
That was the evolution of Washington DC’s metro network, giving us the six lines that we know
today. If you haven’t already, be sure to watch our video on the evolution of Washington DC’s
commuter rail network, which you can access by clicking the button in the top right corner.
Don’t forget to leave a like if you enjoyed this video, and comment down below to join
in the discussion. My name’s Zach, and I’ll be Vanishing Underground, until the next one.