WMATA Orange Line

WMATA Orange Line at New Carrollton. Photo by S.L. Peters, September 2005.

Overview

For stations between Stadium-Armory and Rosslyn, please see the WMATA Blue Line section.

Station By Station

New Carrollton Branch

Minnesota Avenue. We'll start this section of the Orange Line at its southern end, with the Minnesota Avenue station. This stop is located at ground level adjacent to the Amtrak tracks, between Minnesota Ave NE and Kenilworth Avenue NE, with the entrance at Grant Street NE. Like other stations of this period, it features an island platform and gull-wing roof design. A small bus island is located near the station entrance, and there is a passenger drop-off area. There is a small commuter parking lot here, with 333 spaces. Minnesota Avenue opened November 20, 1978.

Deanwood. Deanwood station is next, the last stop in the District on the Orange line. It is located at ground level along the north side of Minnesota Avenue NE, between 48th Street NE and Nash Street NE. It is architecturally similar to Minnesota Avenue station, with an island platform and gull-wing roof. The entrance is in the center of the platform. Unlike Minnesota Avenue, however, there is a small commuter parking facility here with 194 spaces. Deanwood station opened November 20, 1978.

Cheverly. Cheverly station, the first in Prince George's County on Metro, is distinctive - it has two side platforms as well as gull-wing platform roofs. This station is also at ground level. There is a crossover housed in a building over both tracks, providing a view of arriving and departing trains from above. The entrance is off of Columbia Park Road, near the Amtrak line and south of John Hanson Highway (US Route 50). There is a sizable parking facility here, and the station is geared toward that aspect, as there isn't much in the way of commercial property in the immediate area. Most of that is a considerable walk from the station entrance. Still, the Cheverly station is very popular with commuters, who manage to fill the 530 parking spaces daily. On either side of the Cheverly station, the Orange Line tracks cross over the Amtrak line on concrete 'flyover' bridges, giving a 'roller-coaster' effect. Cheverly station opened November 20, 1978.

Landover. Landover station is next. This station sits on a low embankment and is also parallel to the Amtrak line. It is located off of Pennsy Drive, near Old Landover Road. It has a modified gull-wing roof, with a round insert between the wings, and an island platform. There is a large commuter parking lot here, with 1,866 parking spaces. This station serves the USAir Arena for special events. Like Cheverly, it is primarily a commuter station. Landover station opened November 20, 1978.

New Carrollton. The last stop on the Maryland leg of the Orange line is New Carrollton. This ground-level station has two entrances - one near Harkins Road and Ellin Road, the other near John Hanson Highway (US 50) and Garden City Drive. There is a MARC station which also serves Amtrak, immediately adjacent. Like the Landover station, New Carrollton features a modified gull-wing roof and an island platform. There is, however a larger-than-normal mezzanine area, due to the fact that this is a terminal station. A footbridge to the Harkins Road entrance spans the Amtrak/MARC tracks. There is also a large parking facility, with 1,980 spaces plus 400 additional monthly spaces in a nearby garage. New Carrollton station opened November 20, 1978.

Vienna Branch

Court House. We'll start this section of the Orange Line at the Court House station. This Arlington, VA station is located beneath Clarendon Boulevard, between North Adams and North Veitch Streets, in eastern Arlington . with an entrance at the southwest corner of Wilson Boulevard and Uhle Street. It features an island platform and waffle architecture, with a slightly higher-than-normal ceiling vault. The entrance pod is near the station's east end. The neighborhood is a mixture of small stores, restaurants, offices and homes. The station gets its name from the Arlington court house, located about a block away. Court House station opened December 1, 1979.

Clarendon. Clarendon station comes next. This station features two side platforms and waffle architecture. Like Farragut West, there are no pylons on the platform - the strip maps are on wall plaques. The single entrance is at Wilson Boulevard and N.Highland Street, in the center of what used to be Arlington's shopping district. The station itself is located just south of Wilson Boulevard and just west of N. Highland Street. It is a mix of commercial and residential now, with some new buildings replacing the old. The entrance pod is just to the east of the station center. Clarendon station opened December 1, 1979.

Virginia Square-GMU. The next stop is Virginia Square-GMU. The 'GMU' stands for George Mason University, whose campus is right nearby. The station entrance is at Fairfax Drive and North Monroe Street, right in a cluster of office buildings. The station itself runs from North Lincoln to North Nelson Streets, and is identical to Clarendon - two side platforms, waffle architecture and no platform pylons. The entrance pod is just west of station center. Just to the west, the subway veers off to the right, following a curve in Fairfax Drive. Virginia Square-GMU station opened December 1, 1979.

Ballston-MU. Ballston station is next. The 'MU', which stands for Marymount University, was added in 1997. For seven years, this was the end of the Orange line; the extension to Vienna opened in 1986. Keeping consistent with its sister stations, Ballston features the same two side platforms, waffle design and absence of platform pylons. The entrance is at the southeast corner of Fairfax Drive and North Stuart Street; a fancy rain canopy sits over it. The station runs from North Stuart to North Utah Streets, beneath Fairfax Drive, and its entrance pod is situated at the station's east end. There are numerous hotels and office buildings nearby; but just one block away there are homes, churches and other signs of residential life. Ballston-MU station opened December 1, 1979; renamed 1997.

East Falls Church. After Ballston, the Orange line emerges from its tunnel and finds itself in a unique place - in the center median of Interstate 66. This highway was designed as a transitway, there is room in the median for a rail line all the way to Route 50. The first stop is East Falls Church. The station is located near where Lee Highway crosses I-66; the entrance is at North Sycamore Street. There is an island platform with a peaked roof design; concrete windscreens shield the tracks. The parking lot has only 422 spaces. East Falls Church station opened June 7, 1986.

West Falls Church/VT (formerly named West Falls Church, and West Falls Church/VT-UVA). This station features three tracks and two island platforms. Some rush-hour Orange line trains terminate here. The platforms are covered by a building with sloped roof panels. The ends of the platforms extend beyond the building on either end of the station. The mezzanine runs almost the entire length of the platforms. There is a long breezeway leading from the faregate area to the station entrance. This station is located near the intersection of Leesburg Pike (VA Route 7) and I-66, which is close to Tyson's Corner - a bustling corporate and retail center. An access road winds through the highway interchange and leads to a parking lot with 1,064 spaces; it fills up by 7:30AM daily. There are also 240 parking spaces at the nearby University of Virginia campus. This is one of the more aesthetically pleasing stations, especially when viewed from a short distance. West Falls Church/VTstation opened June 7, 1986. The two college campus surnames were added in 1999, and the UVA name was removed in September, 2022.

East of the station, is a new double crossover and the junction turnouts leading north to the "new" WMATA Silver Line, which opened in 2014.

Dunn Loring/Merrifield. Dunn Loring/Merrifield station comes next. Again, the station is located in I-66's median, just about where Gallows Road crosses it. The station entrance is on one side of Gallows Road. There is an island platform, with a peaked roof. It is similar to East Falls Church, with windscreens on either side of the tracks. The roof extends all the way out to the edge of the tracks, providing a full canopy over the station platform. There is a parking lot with 1,319 spaces right next to the station. The "Merrifield" addition to the station name was made official in 1999 and the signage and pylons have been changed to reflect this. Dunn Loring/Merrifield station opened June 7, 1986.

Vienna/Fairfax-GMU. The Orange line terminates at the Vienna/Fairfax-GMU station, which is located where Nutley Street crosses I-66. The entrance is around the corner and there is a parking lot and garage with 2,187 spaces. The station features an island platform and is partially covered by the station entrance building. It is similar to Dunn Loring/Merrifield, with concrete windscreens beside the tracks. A short, peaked roof can be seen at the ends of the station. As at West Falls Church, there is a breezeway leading to the station entrance. The tracks go past the station for a distance of about a half a mile; there is provision for extension to Chantilly. Very popular with area commuters, the parking facility fills up early in the day. Exit signs along I-66 guide the commuters to the station. The destination signs on the trains still refer to this station as simply "Vienna". Vienna/Fairfax-GMU station opened June 7, 1986.

Photo Gallery

Five Random Images
Image 21122 (54k, 520x359) Photo by: Jason R. DeCesare Location: New Carrollton	Image 21196 (74k, 749x491) Photo by: Wayne Whitehorne Location: West Falls Church	Image 42552 (201k, 1044x788) Photo by: S.L. Peters Location: Landover	Image 101563 (198k, 1044x701) Photo by: David Pirmann Location: Virginia Square-GMU	Image 101565 (237k, 1044x701) Photo by: David Pirmann Location: Virginia Square-GMU