Washington DC's Metro Network Evolution
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- Äas pĆidĂĄn 24. 04. 2021
- From its beginning in 1976, Washington DC's metro network has grown to over 91 stations, spanning 117 miles (188 kilometres). This animated video takes you through the timeline of when new stations were opened, forming the WMATA metro network that we know today.
đ§ Full timeline: bit.ly/WashingtonDCMetro
Credit: Rodney Chan. Twitter: @_ChanFace ( / _chanface )
đŠ Ask us questions on Twitter: / vanishingunder
âïž Video Criteria:
- Population given is the sum of all counties and independent cities with stations in them.
- Future extensions are shown only if a construction tender has been awarded for their completion, at the time of video publication. If a construction tender has been issued for a project not included in the video, feel free to leave a comment, and we'll add it to our list to update.
- If you find an error, feel free to let us know in the comments. Please include links to any sources that will help us correct the error. Note: comments with links might take up to 24 hours to appear due to CZcams anti-spam policies.
đž Image Credits:
- Asahiko - Own work, CC BY 3.0, commons.wikimedia.org/w/index...
- Niagara - Own work, CC BY 3.0, commons.wikimedia.org/w/index...
- Jeremy Segrott from Cardiff, Wales, UK - Metro Center station, Washington DC, CC BY 2.0, commons.wikimedia.org/w/index...
- dbking - originally posted to Flickr as _MG_3531, CC BY 2.0, commons.wikimedia.org/w/index...
- Vaidyanathan Krishnan - originally posted to Flickr as Foggy Bottom, CC BY 2.0, commons.wikimedia.org/w/index...
- airbus777 from Washington, DC, USA - Under construction Dulles Airport Metro station, CC BY 2.0, commons.wikimedia.org/w/index...
đŒ Thumbnail designed by jacobestrella.comâ/
đ #WMATA
Washington DC Red Line metro
Washington DC Blue Line metro
Washington DC Orange Line metro
Washington DC Yellow Line metro
Washington DC Green Line metro
Washington DC Silver Line metro
Washington DC Metroway BRT
Virginia Metroway BRT
Maryland Purple Line light rail
Washington DC Purple Line light rail
Full timeline of station openings, courtesy of Rodney Chan: bit.ly/WashingtonDCMetro
CORRECTION: Grosvenor station was renamed to Grosvenor-Strathmore in March 2000, not 2005 as stated in the video.
There is a minor error in timeline of station openings. The Silver line branches from the Orange line between East Falls Church and West Falls Church not from the end of the Orange line at Vienna.
Thanks for catching that! The link has been updated with a corrected version.
It happens to the best of us. You will be forgiven.
Also I heard something about a Yellow/Blue Line extension where the yellow serves todayâs blue line to Franconia and Huntington, and the Blue goes Southwest. I donât know if it is true or not, or if it will happen. If it does though, Pentagon will be upgraded to 4 platforms instead of 2
@@DMVRailfan The original plan was to have the Blue line terminate at Huntington and the Yellow line terminate at Franconia*. At the time the C route from National Airport to Huntington was ready to open WMATA only had the 300 1000 series cars and the first batch of 2000 series cars had not completed acceptance testing. WMATA ran the number and concluded by redeploying the fleet they could open the line to Huntington as the Yellow line. For simplicity when WMATA opened the J route from King Street to Van Dorn Street they chose not to switch the line colors back to what was originally planed.
As to the Pentagon station, provisions for the Columbia pike route would not require the adding of more platforms as the junction provision on the south end of the station is a mirror image of the junction on the north end of the station.
*At the time the C route to Huntington was under construction the Yellow line was planed to split west of Van Dorn Street with one branch continuing west to a terminal station where the VRE Backlick Road station is today and the other branch to a terminal station at Franconia Road. The plan was change to what we have today and is why Van Dorn Street and Franconia - Springfield stations did not open at the same time.
The blue and orange line in the early 80s must have been the most confusing thing ever.
@@SandBoxJohn I was going to ask if you had seen this video, John. Apparently the answer is yes.
While the Rohrs had strip maps at that time, none of them showed a route from New Carrollton to National Airport or Ballston to Addison Road. That said, I don't think it was nearly as confusing as it might seem from this video. As Ron Deiter notes in The Story of Metro, people were quite used to identifying trains by the "wrong" color in the early days of Metro.
And in the 90 you could interchange between the green line and the green line at Chinatown.
Metro has no more Blue Line.
@@kennethcarroll2041 The Blue line has been temporally suspended to accommodate the reconstruction of the Arlington Cemetery station platforms.
Essentially the Blue, Orange and Silver line are the East-West Line , with the Orange being the Northeast Branch, Blue southwest branch and the Silver the Northwest branch with all of then sharing the same tracks through the core.
Ah, the DC Metro. Seemingly both ahead of its time, and behind its time, all at the same time.
Mostly behind its time. They don't run ATC anymore.
@@mrrobot5963 ATC is still in use, ATO is not. ATC controls speed commands/limits whereas ATO was the actual automation that ran the trains.
@@mrrobot5963 wait... It used to be automated but it's no longer?????
@@AnthonyBrusca Correct
@@AnthonyBrusca yup! the ato caused a train crash
They really had no idea how a line was supposed to work in the 80s lol
I would have called the Blue, Orange and Silver Lines simply the Blue Line. It works for New York City and Boston!
Had more to do with the way signage worked in the trains (they couldn't easily change the station colors that appeared on the roll signs) and then also a train car shortage. The Blue line originally was supposed to go to Huntington but got shifted to Franconia due this rolling stick shortage as well.
@@cythrosi Yes, the roll signs had limits to how many signs they could handle. I always wondered why the Blue Line switched from Huntington to Franc. Springfield, I didn't know it was caused by a rolling stock shortage!
@@azan-183 None of 2k car had cleared acceptance testing when the Yellow line opened to Huntington. The segment from National Airport to Huntington was original planed to open 1 1/2 years earlier. WMATA figured out they could open it as the Yellow line and squeak by using the 1k cars.
They still don't, even to this day. MWATA (agency that runs the Metro), has been a joke for years, which is why it's always ranked as the worst Metro system of a major city in the US and Canada, every year.
Washington Metro: Keeping sign makers gainfully employed since 1976.
I agree. We need more uniform signs and shorter station names.
and escalator repairmen
As a fan of computer technology, I like the electronic destination and route signs better than the scroll signs. The electronic signs are more versatile and outlast the scroll signs. I believe that the electronic signs can be made colorful and attractive.
@@kelleybrown1666 I am in favor of shorter station names.
Woohoo job security!
Having grown up in the Washington DC, i really enjoyed seeing this all summarized. Thank you.
Ditto.
50% of the video: Station renamings
I really liked that they did this. It drew the appropriate attention to how comical this is.
@@j.s.7335 generally so long as the jurisdictions requesting the change pay for the costs of making the updates, WMATA doesn't push back. They put it to public comment and the public never seems to object, so they go through. Just recently for instance, DC paid to add National Mall to Smithsonian station and Kennedy Center to Foggy Bottom.
@@cythrosi That is very interesting.
And thank goodness. Who on earth wants to say "To get to my apartment, just take the Green or Yellow Line to U Street/African-American Civil War Memorial/Cardozo Station?"
The extension of the silver line to Ashburn is now complete and fully open. A few more renames have happened such as Largo Town Center to Downtown Largo, and White Flint to North Bethesda. A new Infill station is nearing completion at Potomac Yard on the Blue and Yellow south of National Airport.
That's a very complex metro system for a city as small as Washington. I like how it also goes into Maryland and Virginia's suburbs.
While the internal city of DC has an approx population of 700,000, the actual DC/MD/VA metro area includes over 5,000,000 million people. If you include the total population of the actual Baltimore-Washington commuter rail/metro regions it's over 9,000,000, making such an extensive rail network make much more sense in context considering the amount of people that move in and out of the city every day.
@@iax64 I meant that it's small, land-wise.
Given that DC is an expensive city many people live in suburbs.
@@davidnissim589 Right I get it, but what I'm saying is that "DC" for all intents and purposes as a functional city is actually composed of the district itself and the numerous other surrounding cities like Silver Spring, Arlington, Tysons, Bethesda, Chevy Chase, Bowie, Rockville, etc. (and to some extent Baltimore via MARC) Due to height restrictions within the district, most of the metro region population of DC actually resides in the numerous midsize surrounding highrise cities and dense suburbs all that are all interconnected via the Metro. It's why the WMATA is funded as a joint entity by DC, MD and VA.
@@davidnissim589 I wouldn't consider a service area of over 2,000 square miles to be "small, land-wise". Straight line distance between Greenbelt and Franconia - Springfield is 22 miles, 24.5 miles between Shady Grove and Branch Avenue, 26 miles between Largo Town Center and Weihle - Reston East, 35.5 when Ashburn opens
I grew up in PG County, MD (DC Metro) and moved to Baltimore in my 30s. Access to a widespread and reliable public transit is one of the single most important factors in decreasing poverty and income inequality. Baltimore used to be a much bigger city in terms of its population than DC. But the cities have switched positions and unfortunately Baltimore continues to decline in population. Makes me wonder if this could have been avoided had Bmore built a transit system like that of WMATA.
Yeah you can thank E. Cummings & all the other democratic swamp monsters over the past couple of decades for that.
Baltimore decline can mostly attributed to the closing down of manufacturing that use to the predominant employer
Thanks to that, poverty has drastically increased within the Baltimore area, and that poverty has led to the city getting the reputation for being the murder capital of the US.
@@stevemeyers1263 I donât think any republicans are that interested in building good public transit⊠at least where Iâm from
isnt baltimores metro system really overbuilt?
I was born in â89. Born and raised in Northern Virginia and this is so interesting to watch. I had no idea how far metro has come since 1976.
This one of the reasons why I miss my hometown of Washington, DC
I am in New York, but the Washington Metrorail is my favorite attraction. I have been waiting to see your video about the Washington Metrorail. Thank you for this one.
The New York subway is impressively comprehensive, but the DC area one feels more like a proper underground rail network. It's cleaner, faster and more reliable. I hope the NY MTA gets a chunko' change in the infrastructure bill, because it's desperately needed some love for decades, and I'd like to see it restored to its former glory.
@@nomadMik The New York City Subway is a large rapid transit system of 27 lines and 231 miles of track. It is a complex railroad of different subway cars, elevated, surface and subway lines and stations, with some that were built as trestles by private owners in the 1800s. Restoring much of the older "subway" system up-to-date is a major under tasking, and can cost more than in improving the infrastructure. It also requires some advanced technology to do renovation work on the trestles and their stations, and the subway tunnels, since they are built close to the street surface. I am also a railfan, and a subway buff.
@@nomadMik The difference is in the history of the systems! The DC metro was built under one transit authority with a pretty much single plan envisioned. The earliest components of the NYC subway were built in the mid-1800s (the remaining elevated sections) and the subway itself was built by 3 separate companies (2 private, one public). It is why NYC the subway looks differ from stations and lines. It is one of the oldest systems in the world and built with various standards depending on the company. It's also why some services can not run on certain lines, the track gauge is different. It's a massive and complex system but here in NYC we could not live without it
I went to both the Washington Metro and the New York Subway during the same summer in 2019. The New York metro is like entering an underground swamp with some very dated trains. The DC metro while having less options for stations is far easier to understand and comparatively clean and yes i went during two big events were happening those days (D.C pride parade for Washington and the womens world cup parade for New York).
@@Marylandbrony Your comment is written which means that the Washington Metrorail system is smaller than the New York City subway system. New York City's train stations were built sophisticatedly, with some areas that are difficult to navigate, except for the stations built after the 1960s. Washington's Metrorail stations are quite easy to reach during transfers of trains.
Yessss!!!
đ đ Doors opening! Step back to allow customers to exit. When boarding, please move to the center of the car!!
"This is a 7000-series train" is still one that I don't forget even with it being discontinued.
the whole sequence "This is a 7000 series train. Doors opening. Step back to allow customers to exit. When boarding, please move to the centre of the car. This is a Red Line train to Shady Grove. The next stop is Bethesda"
and
"This is Gallery Place - Chinatown. Transfer is available to the Green and Yellow lines on the lower level." or "This is Union Station. Connection is available to Amtrak, MARC Commuter Rail, Virginia Railway Express, Greyhound, BoltBus, Megabus, and Greyhound" (yes it said Greyhound twice)
This is like, by far my favorite line from Randi Miller! I'm huge fan of her, and WMATA Metro! đŽđ đĄđąđ”âȘ
Omg I heard it in my head and was only in DC 10 weeks and only used it a few weekends.
@@AnthonyBrusca LOL it just stick!
When I was a kid, we would ride the orange line from New Carrolton, and transfer to the blue line to go to Crystal City, to play video games in the underground arcade. Back then, round trips on the metro were $1 flat rate, no matter where you went. So- $1 for the metro ride, $1.50 for slice of pizza and a coke, with $2.50 left for the arcade.
Youâre now living the dream again! Just recently WMATA just started bringing back flat fares only on weekends. $2 to be exact. Lucky for me, since I got a reduced fare SmarTrip card, I get a $1 flat rate. Which means I get two dollars round-trip just like you if I was a kid in the 80âs. I work on the weekends so typically itâs one dollar to get to work from the New Carrollton to the McPherson Square station and one dollar to get back home from McPherson Square. So Iâd be spending $4 all weekend round trip. For you it would be $8 all weekend round trip. So it seems like I took your $2 round trip treatment. đ
Glad to hear they're bringing it back. Maybe they'll get increased ridership and we'll have less traffic on the streets!
I was lucky enough to ride part of the line before moving away in 1977. 10 years later I would return to visit my sister and in 2009 became a regular rider. I was on the first silver line train out of DC the day it opened and look forward to riding the new segment next year.
Yup. And Metro is still as awful now as it has been since the 80s, with virtually no reliability, trains killing riders due to maintenance corner cutting, any rail work being done during the day to force single line operations instead of doing what most metros globally (including elsewhere in the US) with doing the work overnight when the trains aren't running. Even the silver line with the first section, and now the new section by Dulles being delayed because of the wrong speaker wire gauge (you'd think they'd have made sure the contractor would use the correct type for phase 2 before it got to this point, but no). So now all the new stations have to be gutted and rewired for the speakers, at added costs to riders like yourself, because the agency doesn't have any oversight of itself by an outside entity.
@@dragontoothless4351 WMATA isn't overseeing the building of the Silver Line, the MWAA is. The poor oversight of things like the speaker guage are due to them poorly managing it, not WMATA. In fact, WMATA has repeatedly pushed back on taking on the extension until these issues are fixed so they and the riders don't have to be the ones paying to resolve the issues.
@@dragontoothless4351 I really don't get how people trashtalk WMATA. Honestly, Metro is about the only good Metro System in the US, and while MTA offers 24/7 service, and is quite huge, its plagued with Signal Delays, slow Trains, people getting pushed off platforms, and has some of the most disgusting Stations of any Metro System in the world! Not to mention, Metro has improved significantly in the past year. I'm happy Metro is taking action to fix, and remodernize its Outdoor Stations, and wherea Signal Tracking, and Track Fires were the norm, you barely hear about those anymore. I bet you're here from unsuckdcmetro, Metro isn't even overseeing Silver Line Phase Two at the moment, MWAA is. And, if you don't like riding Metro, you're free to BUY an actual car.
@@dreamyyx_3762 I agree with you from New York. Doing major work and improvements on a large-scale railroad requires more extensive jobs than a road for streetcars. It is labor-intensive and the heavy-duty equipment can be dangerous to install and work with.
â@@dragontoothless4351hey grumpy đ€
I know that the Purple Line is being branded under the WMATA color scheme, but I believe the service is actually being designed, built and will be operated by the Maryland Transit Administration. This was originally planned in 2009, but a lot of legal hurdles delayed the project into the 2020s. They're just now resuming construction after the original contractor quit in 2020.
They are in no way connected to metro other than intersecting with a few stations. The purple line almost didnât happen then almost stopped entirely. I might ride it once from end to end but donât see a use for it myself.
Oh they restarted? I thought the project was dead.
Personally, I think it should have been the Silver Line, and the line to Dulles should have been the Purple Line...
@@jayo1212 Montgomery County County Executive, Charles Gilchrist (1978 to 1986) coined Purple as the color for the light rail line during his tenure as County Executive. The Dulles route was coined Silver by a Fairfax County politician who's name I don't recall. It was officially identified as the Silver line in the Final Environmental Impact Statement in 2004.
That's a shame. I've had nothing but problems relying on MTA's light rail service on visits to Baltimore.
I rode on the network during my visit to DC in 2010, even heading to Arlington for a couple hours to see the town and visit the military cemetery. I remember being confused by the paper-card fare system initially, but got the hang of it after a few rides. The jingle that played after each stop was announced was also notable.
My first exposure to this system, however, was through playing Fallout 3, part of which took place in a post-apocalyptic DC. Dupont Circle and a couple other stations along the red line were even playable locations. Dupont Circle was also one of the first stations that helped get me around the city.
all tap cards now
It's always amazed me that only one line serves Union Station, the 3rd busiest train station in the country!
DC Union Station is the 2nd busiest Amtrak station after NYC Penn, and it's the 9th busiest by total passengers. It is also the busiest DC Metro station (pre-Covid of course). There is a proposal to move the Blue line to a new route serving Georgetown and adding another line at Union Station.
@@corbinvickers9993 it is strange how the East Coast does things, King Cross and Gare du Nord in Europe have tons of metro/tube lines at their major rail stations.
Remember that at the time the system was designed, Union Station was on a downslide, and was in the process of being redeveloped as the National Visitor Center. So it wasn't the world class transit hub that it is now at that time, and was not expected to be.
Lol Toronto also has one. And Union is the biggest in Canada.
@@SchuminWeb true, and OMG the infamous Visitor Centre LOL!
Fantastic video! I would like to point out, the originally planned system was complete in 2001, with NoMa and the Largo extension happening as the further expansion of the system. Its seen in the station designs, as all of these new stations took a break from Brutalism and instead used lighter materials.
In general, Metroway isn't considered part of the Metro system, like the streetcar. EDIT: The 2022 extension to Dulles Airport and the 2022 Potomac Yard Station will bring the system to 98 stations. Also, the Purple line's first segment is delayed and no one knows what is going on with the timeline, probably opening in some capacity in 2024. The Purple line is light rail operated by the MTA so it will likely not be on the Metro map.
If the Purple line is shown on future Metro Map it will be at least shown as transfer points like Amtrak, MARC and VRE.
@@SandBoxJohn yes, I agree that it will be shown, at the minimum, as a connection.
Keep in mind the Purple Line isnât part of Wmata, plus the street card is also expected to expand sometime in 2024 which is also not part of Wmata. Iâll be in my 40s by the time anything has expanded sadly.
It isnât part of Wmata because it isnât in Dc at all itâs in prince Georgeâs county and Montgomery county. If you wanna get from Pg county to Moco via metro rail you have go into downtown Dc to do a transition which Is a waste of time.
@@eriksonlainez2715 itâs not part of Wmata because Wmata didnât come up with it. Lol
There is no Purple Line on Metro đ
@@kennethcarroll2041 I said that.
The purple line is a private venture in PG County and Moco. You will have to exit Metro property to get to the purple line.
We got some complicated station names here in the district
Thank goodness they shortened them.
@@azan-183 for real
The two stations with the longest names are: New York Avenue, Florida Avenue, Galludet University; and U Street, African Civil War Memorial, Cardozo stations. Several Metrorail stations have extended names.
This could be Atlanta, but apparently some people are allergic to progress đȘ
Or Baltimore, that city was originally planed to have a 71 mile 63 station system.
You've got to remember. Almost every train system in the world runs in the red. There's no profitable way to transport people by train. Japan does it, but that's because the government gave them the last to put the train on and they lease the land above to pay for the train. So it's not REALLY profitable, it's just using the income from land lease to fund the train. Not every market can afford a rail system like this.
@@surveysays8335 - DC can "afford" it because... well... government. ;)
@@surveysays8335 true, but some infrastructural projects simply need to be unprofitable. tons of government programs don't run a profit because they're public services that need to be paid for. not everything needs to be run like a company and i wish people would realize its okay to have mass transit that's funded on taxes and doesn't make us money.
@@benw3864 Nobody is arguing that... In fact everyone in transportation knows this. Every Railroad, and bus system in the country has needed government to fund them with tax dollars. However, there's obviously a ROI calculation at play. You won't add another BUS route for 400 riders a year... Obviously, It would be cheaper to buy them all cars and fuel for the year.
Excellent video. I'm a native of the Washington area, unaware that the Wheaton Station had the longest escalator in the Western Hemisphere. (I thought it was Rosslyn.)
Thanks for including the Purple Line. I grew up in Silver Spring; we can't wait for the Purple Line to arrive.
Having spent some time in Rosslyn, I also thought it was Rosslyn. And Iâm used to the escalators on the London Underground and some of the deeper lines on the Paris Metro! Those escalators are definitely long though
Was it the so-called 'Western Hemisphere', or just the US? I thought the longest in the Americas was in Columbia. (I still can't wrap my head around 'western hemisphere'-it's not like the world has a west pole, so it seems rather arbitrary. And it would include half the London tube network anyhow.)
@@nomadMik đ
The escalators at Bethesda were the longest in the world for a time...
@@nomadMik the only longer escalators are in Russia, Georgia (the country), and China
Bane of WMATA's existence: Elevators & Escalators!
...yet every station is disabled-accessible. Not every subway system can say that, especially all the older ones.
@@ArefDajani Most systems of its era like BART and MARTA rely less on them. The Metro ones are always breaking down.
@@ArefDajani Accessible depends on reliable elevators. This used to be a typical announcement during my morning commute: Good morning. This is Red Line train to Glenmont. Elevator is out of service at Farragut North, shuttle from Du Pont Circle. Elevator is out of service at Gallery Place-Chinatown and Judiciary Square, shuttle from Metro Center. Elevator is out of service at Wheaton, shuttle from Glenmont.
With the pandemic going on and ridership falling off a cliff, I doubt WMATA has any money left for maintenance. I'm expecting the poor reliabilities of elevators and escalators to continue even when workers return.
Itâs a dream of mine to visit every metro in north
America. DC IS AT THE TOP OF MY LIST. Itâs something to gush over.. look at that map.. they nvr stopped improving the system.
i hate it
Warning, you'll be very, VERY quickly disappointed when you discover how badly it's run. Different fare rates for different times of the day (including a peak of the peak rush hour price (which the boards listing prices don't say when that is in effect, but you'll randomly find out when you buy a rush hour fare to your destination, only to discover when you arrive that the gate won't open for you and you have to fork over more money to the employee while commuters give you a cold judgemental stare), trains getting delayed, trains full due to MWATA not planning for major events (so you can be waiting upwards of an hour for a train that isn't already full when it enters the station (such as before and after a Nats game)), single track operations due to maintenance (because their rail maintenance for some unknown reasonis done during the day and not at night when the trains don't run (unlike the rest of the world)).
They've been repeatedly in the last decade been cited for cutting corners on maintenance (resulting in riders being killed) and lax enforcement of the no texting by train operators while on duty policy, and the Silver Line has been plagued with the same problem in both the Phase 1 and now Phase 2 station openings, with the wrong speaker wire gauge was used which means rewiring those stations before they can open. You'd think that after that delay to the Phase 1, MWATA (the agency that runs Metro) would have ensured that for Phase 2 (which construction didn't start until a couple of years after Phase 1 opened), they would have had the correct speaker wire in the first place to avoid this new delay.
@@dragontoothless4351 One of the first regional tragedies I was old enough to remember was the 2009 derailing that killed 7 people
@@dragontoothless4351 5 years ago I'd agree that it was pretty crappy and unreliable but they've improved the system a lot since then with safetrack. The fare system is kind of confusing but once you load the card with enough money, you're good to go. I've ridden it about 30 times in the past year and haven't gotten delayed once.
@@dragontoothless4351 its definitely underfunded by far...but the US does not prioritize public transportation at all because god forbid we pay for public services that don't turn a profit. also DC has a unique set of circumstances because the system has stations in 2 different states and a federal district and all three jurisdictions have different ways of running things. Systems like the NYC subway are fully in one state with the NYC subway being entirely within New York City's jurisdiction, and with DC not being a jurisdiction with the same rights as US states, it can't manage its own transportation budget.
I Grew up in DC for most of my Life still live in the DC Region but I always loved riding DC Metro and seeing My Cityâs Metro System evolve. And till this day more train stations are being made in Virginia and Maryland is Creating a Train Line connecting to DC Metro. Awesome đ Video man!!
Yay Iâve been waiting for this one
Love seeing the history visualized like this. Nice job.
Hey, didn't expect to see you here.
You got some of your dates wrong on the renamings. For one thing, Grosvenor was already Grosvenor-Strathmore by 2003, as I have photos from that time showing it under that name.
Whoops thanks for catching that! It seems that station was renamed in March 2000.
Your research is amazing! Great vid
Very informative. Iâm 26 and live here. Wmata was so fascinating to me as a kid, as an adult the metro has so many problems itâs actually sad
Like what?
@@Simon-tc1mc itâs always dirty. the trains are old! theyâre always having track issues due to lack of maintenance. & because of the pandemic trains run every 20 minutes, pre pandemic it was every 6-8 mins
@@kyanamorsell5891 I really doubt it's as old and dirty as other metros around the US. The DC metro is one of the newest ones, and it looks relatively clean. It all just depends on what your standards are I guess.
20 minute headways are pretty bad though. Do you think they're going to lower that soon to make it more frequent?
@@Simon-tc1mc I have no idea. hopefully they will soon
â@@kyanamorsell5891you're right, you have no idea what you were babbling about.
Excellent and comprehensive history. Thanks!
Thanks for taking my suggestion.đ
One thing I'd note is that the Purple Line won't be operated by Metro/WMATA, but is part of a public/private partnership with Maryland's transit authority and a private contractor.
Also you didn't include the DC Streetcar that runs from Union Station to Oklahoma Ave :P (though not sure it really counts tbh).
The streetcar sucks lmfao.. itâs no need đđ€Šđżââïž
@@CurtYT202 it's free and always nice when it's cold or the weather is gross. Just wish they'd extend it East and actually connect it to something.
Practically, the Purple Line a part of the Metro network of the area even though it isn't run by WMATA and probably won't appear on the map. It's even mentioned on their website, the other two things are the Dulles Metro/Silver Line and Potomac Yard Station. The DC Streetcar doesn't qualify as rapid, it's basically an upgraded bus and most people say it doesn't deserve to be on the map like BRT's (i.e Metroway).
A streetcar extension to Georgetown would be much more useful for most people than East.
VU, this video is incredible! I love the clear play-by-play! Job well done! Would love to know how you animated the line extensions and station appearances!
A complicated story, well told and graphically-conveyed!
I was looking for this one! I know it would be hard and complex to do but pleased NYC! Itâs my system and it has such a long and incredible history!
If I do NYC, itâs going to be the last US city I do. The channel MetroLiner did a good evolution of that network in the mean time though.
@@VanishingUnderground I can't wait for Boston!
@@VanishingUnderground Can you do a London or a Paris as well?
@@VanishingUnderground I loved their video but I LOVE your commentary and explanation! I know it would be hard and very time-consuming! Love your vids!
@@VanishingUnderground Anyway, recording a history about New York City Transit alone would take lots of time and effort to complete. The time is not as short as recording the Chicago Transit Authority (CTA). New York City's subway is on a large scale. The other rapid transit system in the United States are on smaller scales, since New York is a large state on the Northeast. In order to record the history about the New York City Subway, several videos will be needed.
What program do you use to design these amazing maps?! I am in awe of how you do it! Love this channel!
Awesome video!! Learned a lot :)
Hi, I love this! You even gave me inspiration to do my own series! Can you do the CTA Next?
This is a very impressive video (and series). However, as Ben Schumin points out, it is possible that a few of the renaming dates are a bit off. I know a few were off from what I remember, but I'd have to watch again to catch all of them.
Some other things to note:
1. There are a number of services you included in your animation that were never shown on printed maps, as follows:
A. When the Stadium-Armory to New Carrollton segment of the Orange Line opened, while the National Airport-New Carrollton service was operated as a single line, the map showed the Orange Line running from Rosslyn to New Carrollton and the Blue Line running from National Airport to Stadium-Armory. From a signage perspective on the trains, all eastbound trains were Orange Line trains and all westbound trains were Blue Line trains.
B. There were maps showing the Blue/Orange round robin service due to the fact that the colors on the roll signs wouldn't entirely match the service actually being operated.
C. When the Mount Vernon Square to U Street segment opened, the map showed the Green Line running from U Street to L'Enfant Plaza and the Yellow Line running from Mount Vernon Square to Huntington. However, all trains were designated as Yellow Line trains and ran from U Street to Huntington. The first time Green Line trains ran and were signed as such is when the extension to Anacostia opened.
D. The Green Line Commuter Shortcut (which was the Greenbelt to Farragut North rush hour service in the late 1990s) was never shown on maps. Rather, a small sticker was affixed to the corner of the map to explain the service. Also, your video didn't really make this clear but there was no Green Line service at Fort Totten during rush hours when the commuter shortcut was in service.
E. The extension of the Yellow Line from Mount Vernon Square to Huntington took effect on December 31, 2006, so it is up to you whether you really want that to be a 2006 or 2007 change (it was really a 2007 change for hearing purposes). Although the extension was shown as a solid line on the map, all Yellow Line trains terminated at Mount Vernon Square during rush hours.
2. When "Rush Plus" was launched in 2012, the Yellow Line ran two distinct patterns during rush hour with no overlap between them. Trains either ran from Huntington to Mount Vernon Square or Franconia-Springfield to Greenbelt. The rush hour only service dashed line was only used between Fort Totten and Greenbelt and the U Street to Fort Totten segment finally had the Yellow Line during rush hour, but there was no one seat ride between Georgia Avenue and Huntington (for example).
3. Metroway is not considered to be a part of the Metrorail system.
4. It is unknown at this time if WMATA's maps will include the Purple Line, which is an MDOT MTA line.
5. The escalators at Bethesda were at one time the longest in the entire world.
Great video! đđœđđœ
Iâve been waiting for this
Great info!
I grew up in the D.C. area. I was OBSESSED with the D.C. metro from ages of 8 to like 13. I remember everything that happened from 1991 to 1996 or so. Then I lost interest. What I totally bypassed was the crazy renaming of these stations. I've lived in NYC for 11 years now, and not a single subway station out of the 150+ stations here have been renamed. "U Street-Cardozo" on the green line changed to "U Street/African-American Civil War Memorial/Cardozo." That is truly ridiculous. "Vienna" is no longer that simple either, having now changed to "Vienna/Fairfax-GMU." The lobbies representing all these universities and ugly memorials--I've been to the Civil War Memorial, and it's not all that--need to have their influence curtailed big time. Otherwise "U Street/African-American Civil War Memorial/Ben's Chili Bowl/H Street/My Favorite Club Is Here/Cardozo" is going to be what we'll end up with.
You're slip sliding down an awfully steep slope.
It's a good way to tell locals and longtimers apart from tourists and new residents. I just call it "U St", just like "Archives" or "Navy Yard". You'll find people just use the first name.
I know I suggested this earlier, but the Dallas Area Rapid Transit and it's independent regional rail lines (Trinity Railway Express, TEXRail and Denton County's A-Train) would make a fascinating video, especially with a future cross-county line (DART Silver Line) and a proposed Downtown Dallas light rail subway for the Green and Orange lines. Any chance we might see that by the summer or early fall?
The DC Metro is my absolute favorite.
One day the Silver line will be finished to Dulles.
I hope some time in 2022 LOL. The Dulles station is really sleek and beautiful!
@@azan-183 The Dulles Airport station is shown under construction at 12:19.
@@SandBoxJohn yup! The latest images are just stunning!
@@azan-183 It is finished, however, the same screw up that delayed Phase 1's opening (which opened long before Phase 2 even began construction), is the cause of the current Phase 2 (including Dulles and out to Loudoun County) delay (wrong gauge of speakerwire so all the stations have to be rewired).
@@dragontoothless4351 itâs really strange how phase 2 was a bigger mess than phase 1 which has a tunnel.
Amazing! Next episode Prague Metro please.
Never knew that green line trains ran on the red line periodically! Does that mean that there is a rail connection between the red line and the rest of the system? To my limited knowledge, the red line was completely separated by track from all other lines.
I live in Vienna and I never realized I could go to Washington simply by taking the orange line.
New Carrolton
A U F S T I E G R E C H T S
Excellent video
I watched this whole thing. Quite fascinating as a nerd. In a way, the most important part of this may actually end up being the purple line. The idea of connecting suburb to suburb without having to go through the central core of the city is something more metro regions should adopt
It will be slow as hell though since it's light rail and going on city roads. Maybe the separated section between Silver Spring and Bethesda will function correctly since it uses a separated former rail right-of-way.
@@sandal_thong8631 I'm hoping that in the future we can convince PG and MoCo county officials or MDOT to ban vehicles besides buses along the tracks the Purple Line uses.
THIS IS WHAT IVE BEEN WAITING FOR
I've ridden many subways and metros in my lifetime, but this is the one I've ridden the most ever. I take it in my day trips in DC and the neighboring areas.
Just like the Chicago L, it will serve both airports in the DC area. BWI is still in the proposition stage for the green line, but I have a hunch it'll never happen.
I thought they'd mention how it's a miracle it still has money to operate with how many people just walk through the UNLOCKED swing gates at every single station.
They probably make majority of money from tourist cause every local that I know NEVER pays for metro
They pay now.
Epic video! I remember when the metro opened the orange line. I was attending the University of Maryland, and on a weekend day take a metro bus to Rhode Island Avenue travel the Red line to transfer to the orange line to New Carrollton. Thank you for posting this, all the best.
Man I was in Washington when construction of the Silver Line began, I remember being so hyped cause Iâd never been to Washington before and Iâd never taken the subway before, it was so much fun
I dont know why but this was very satisfying.
Yeah, I don't see the purple line being done anytime soon. Loved the video.
This is an incredible video! One minor correction at 4:50. The escalators at Wheaton station are actually the longest in the Western Hemisphere not just North America.
I'm a big fan of seeing train lines I'm so glad I found this channel
the purple line aged well đ
Also adding the fact they once again cut back the yellow line from Greenbelt BACK to Mt. Vernon last year after the yellow line closure.
Great video! What mapping software do you use?
I use PowerPoint for the graphics and iMovie for the editing. Nothing too fancy
Cool! Regards from Baltimore.
You forgot to mention another BRT line that started in October of last year called the Flash from Mongomery County's Ride On. Unlike Metroway, it has 2 lines, an orange line that runs at all times between Silver Spring and Briggs Chaney and a blue line that runs between Silver Spring and Burtonsville during rush hours only. Two more routes are on the way.
Flash also operates more like the Metro than Montgomery's RideOn busses. Each stop is a mini-station where you pay the fare at kiosks before boarding. Also, don't get the colors mixed up. There's no way to get to Burtonsville if you board an Orange by mistake without backing up several stations and reboarding the Blue.
NOW I finally understand Fallout 3's metro system. Thank you â€ïž
Even though the metro did not exist until the 1970s and Fallout is based on the 50s. If they wanted to be accurate to the 50s aesthetic. Have a 16 lane highway under the national mall.
I have to check out the game!
Honestly, when I first wrote this comment a month ago, I meant it in the most sarcastic way possible and honestly thought it looked like it was obviously sarcastic. I read it back just now and I understand why you've both not realised that's where I was going with it. Mybad.
I don't actually think the Fallout3 metro is ANYTHING like this đđđ
Great Video! Can you do Boston MBTA next?
Fascinating history!
I usually travel on the Red Line, but have never started at Forest Glen before. Today was the first time I have EVER had to use an elevator to reach the track platform. When you walk down the stairs, you can see the sunlight through skylights and windows. Once down there, the tracks are far apart and the trains are pretty empty
I remember being obsessed with Washington Metro
This was super interesting. DC native here!
1:11 DC's metro started installing elevators before the Toronto Subway and the Montreal Metro
The Gallery Place station was built in two phases, the surface entrance elevator and the elevators connecting the upper level Red line to the lower level Green and Yellow lines are in the second phase construction of the station. When the station was opened it did not have elevators. The elevators were put into service some months after the station opened. I will also note, early planning had no elevators in any of the stations. All of the stations on the first segment that opened were retrofitted to accommodate elevators. Farragut North had an incline elevator in the K Street escalator entrance until the completion of the construction of the surface entrance elevators.
Elevators which are almost always out of service.
The Washington Metro was probably built after the Americans with Disabilities Act was passed requiring elevators, ramps, or lifts to allow people with disabilities to access the stations.
In older systems accessibility was not a thing when they were built and finding room to build the elevator today in existing stations is very difficult. Any new stations that are built have elevators because they are built at the same time the stations are built.
@@arthurmillet8023 The design specifications for the Metrorail stations that include elevators for the handicap in every station was established in 1973. the Americans With Aisability Act was signed in to law in 1991. WMATA was way ahead when it came to accommodating handicap. Other features designed into the stations are the platform edge flashing lights to worn the hearing impaired of arriving trains. The rough granite platform edge to aid the sight impaired to where the edge of the platform is. (The ADA specification to define the platform edge is truncated domes.) Another less know feature are the railings on top mezzanine parapets to aid the sight impaired that they and not on a platform.
@@arthurmillet8023 That's incorrect, given the ADA was signed into law by George HW Bush in 1990. Prior to that, it was up to individual cities (states insisted it was a right of cities, not of the state itself to decide) and businesses to decide if they would make any amenities available to those with disabilities, and most of the metro stations were built in the 1960s (began operation in 1967). They're now showing their age with the maroon-tiled floors which are more of a dirt black now from years of heavy foot traffic.
Nice video, and I found the Washington Metro rather good for a US city also first time I have ever heard when the message said âthank you for travelling on the Washington Metro todayâ
It's the second most used metro in the nation (after NY of course), beating out much bigger players like LA and Chicago.
@@scottdrinkall Yeah because LA's metro is tiny as hell for such a huge city.
@@owly6204 exactly. that's the point
As a transplanted New Yorker living in DC, I gotta ask: how long would it take you to do one on the New York subway system or even Metro North commuter rail? Thanks!
I remember my dad always taking me and my sister to the Tysons corner and Ballston MU growing up good timesâŠ
Wow very extensive and continuing to expand. Could you do DFW next?.
I love this DC metro blog
The Herndon station (Dulles airport station) has been under construction since 2016 and the opening date gets pushed back every year. :c It was supposed to open in 2018. Currently projected to open February of 2022.
Maybe they're afraid they'll be out of a job if there isn't another line to work on when they finish?
@@sandal_thong8631 they were waiting for MWAA to turn it over to them (WMATA)
I feel you under represented the DC metro area. Population I thought it was over 6 million in 2021 .
Right.
When we visited Washington we stayed in Crystal City. We used the blue line the most to get around.
great vid i live here metro is big and nice
Looks like a really functional and dense network
It's the second busiest network after New York but only the 20 most populous city
@@arthurmillet8023 Really it's the 6th most populous at around 6.5 million when comparing metro populations--which is especially appropriate given the metro coverage.
Cleanest subway system I've ever seen. I worked in Washington in the mid 1970s before the Metro lines were constructed; I went back for a visit 19 years later, in part, to see the new Metro.
What apps did you use to edit the maps?
Didnât know Wheaton station escalators are the longest in the whole country! I still remember my astonishment the first time I used them! Thanks for the fun fact!
I would love to see you talk about the evolution of the Philadelphia transportation network!
Some recent changes have been made. Such as yellow line now ending service at Mt Vernon square, silver line now going further out passes the airport, new station on the yellow and blue line going south.
I wish they also built an express rail like New York has to skip stops and cut down on travel time when going further out. Especially since some stops are so close together.
DC's metro system is super impressive!
You should do San Francisco/Bay Area Transit next!
Yes! and MARTA (I can't remember if that has been done already or not) All three are sister systems!
@@azan-183 he did do MARTA not too long ago.
@@MrJamieBattle right, I was doubting myself! They all are similar, although BART and DC Metro are reaching their potential and having to do lots of upgrades, while MARTA is not highly utilised.
He's probably still working on it, it's a colossal mess here.
@@trainzguy2472 yea haha
Please do a video over the Bay Area Rapid Transit đ€©
I used to love riding on the subway.
wut map maker do you use
Can you do a video talking about the Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART)?
You should do Philly subway and trolley network next
Cool. Now update it in 2024 with whatever the next major expansion is!
You should do one on Denver's RTD rail system
Going on a WMATA
Transit Fan Trip in a few weeks
Wish the Silver Line Extension and
Purple Line already existed
Gonna have to save up for another fan trip in 2023 or later I guess
If Iâm not mistaken the purple line has been canceled or at least greatly postponed. They havenât done work on the line near me in a long long time
Looked into it and a major project finder has pulled its money from the project and since it isnât WMATA itâs hard to find funding but Maryland is looking into funding it yet isnât sure. Itâs either being scrapped or going to be some years until itâs ready.
I think you should have prefaced the development of WMATA with the trolley routes, trolley subway, and so on. They're partly why the metro was developed so late.