New Carrollton station explained

New Carrollton
Style:WMATA
Symbol:orange
Symbol Location:washington
Symbol2:marc
Symbol Location2:baltimore
Symbol3:amtrak
Symbol Location3:us
Address:4500 Garden City Drive
Borough:New Carrollton, Maryland
Country:United States
Coordinates:38.948°N -76.8719°W
Owned:Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority, Amtrak
Line:Amtrak Northeast Corridor
Platform:2 island platforms (1 for each service)
Tracks:2 (Washington Metro)
3 (Amtrak/MARC)
Structure:At-grade
Parking:3,519 spaces
Bicycle:18 racks, 16 lockers
Accessible:Yes[1]
Code:
Metro: D13
Iata:ZRZ
Opened: (Metro)
(Amtrak and Conrail)
Other Services Header:Former services
Other Services Collapsible:yes
Other Services2 Header:Future services
Other Services2 Collapsible:yes
Mapframe:yes
Mapframe-Custom:
Shape:none
Line:none
Marker:rail
Marker-Color:
  1. 000
Zoom:15

New Carrollton station is a joint Washington Metro, MARC, and Amtrak station just outside the city limits of New Carrollton, Prince George's County, Maryland located at the eastern end of the Metro's Orange Line. The station will also serve as the eastern terminus of the Purple Line, currently under construction, and is adjacent to the Capital Beltway.

Beneath the Metro station platform, a waiting room serves Amtrak's Northeast Regional, Vermonter, and Palmetto trains, as well as MARC's Penn Line trains. The New Carrollton Rail Yard is nearby.

Greyhound, a nationwide intercity bus company, also stops at the station on routes serving Richmond, Washington, Philadelphia, New York City, Pittsburgh, and points beyond.[2]

History

The New Carrollton station is the third station in the area to serve rail traffic.

The first station, Lanham, 0.75miles north of the current station, opened in the 1870s. By the late 1960s, it consisted of a small shelter and an asphalt platform served by a few Penn Central (later Conrail) commuter trains between Washington and Baltimore.

The second, Capital Beltway station, sat just inside the Capital Beltway. Opened on March 16, 1970, it was served by Penn Central (later Amtrak) Metroliners.[3]

On November 20, 1978, the Washington Metro opened its New Carrollton station, along with the Cheverly, Deanwood, Landover, and Minnesota Avenue stations, marking the completion of 7.4miles of Metro track northeast from the Stadium–Armory station.[4] [5] [6]

In August 1982, Conrail commuter trains (later AMDOT, then the MARC Penn Line) began stopping at Capital Beltway, replacing stops at Lanham and Landover.[7] On October 30, 1983, Amtrak and AMDOT moved from Capital Beltway to a new island platform and waiting room at New Carrollton station.[8] [9] [10]

Until 2003, some Acela Express trains stopped at New Carrollton. In October 2015, the Palmetto began stopping in New Carrollton.

In May 2018, Metro announced an extensive renovation of platforms at twenty stations across the system.[11] The Metro station was closed from May 28, 2022 to September 5, 2022, as part of the summer Platform Improvement Project, which also affected stations north of on the Orange Line. Shuttle buses and free parking were provided at the closed stations.[12]

On September 10, 2022, Blue Line trains started serving the station due to the 14th Street bridge shutdown as a part of the Blue Plus service.[13] The service ended on May 7, 2023 with the reopening of the Yellow Line.[14]

The Purple Line light rail system will begin at New Carrollton and run west to Bethesda. The line will connect to Washington Metro stations on the Red and Green lines. The system is under construction as of 2022 and is scheduled to open in 2027.[15] [16]

Station layout

At New Carrollton, the Northeast Corridor consists of three tracks. The westernmost two tracks (Tracks 2 and 3) have an island platform between them, with Track 1 having no platform. To the east of the Amtrak platform is the Metro platform, serving the Orange Line. Bus loops and parking lots are located on both sides of the rail line.

The station has entrances at Harkins Road and Ellin Road, and Garden City Drive near U.S. Route 50, and Exit 19 on Interstate 495.

Long-term plans for the New Carrollton station include adding a second island platform (providing access to Track 1) and adding a fourth track.[17]

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: MARC Station Information . . June 5, 2021.
  2. Web site: Greyhound Brings Premium Greyhound Express Service to the Southeast and Announces Expansion with 24 New Routes and Six New Markets. Staff. August 25, 2011. Greyhound Lines, Inc.. February 8, 2013. dead. https://archive.today/20130421192804/http://www.autobusesamericanos.us/en/newsroom/viewrelease.aspx?id=439&year=2011. April 21, 2013.
  3. News: More Metro stops added at Capital Beltway stops . The Capital. May 15, 1970. 16. Newspapers.com. October 1, 2014 .
  4. Web site: Sequence of Metrorail openings . 2017 . Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority . 3 . February 11, 2018 . https://web.archive.org/web/20180612140221/https://www.wmata.com/about/upload/Metro-Facts-2017-FINAL.pdf . June 12, 2018 . dead.
  5. News: Feaver . Douglas B. . Orange Line brings Metro to Beltway . The Washington Post . C1 . November 12, 1978.
  6. News: Eisen . Jack . John . Feinstein . John Feinstein . City-County Fanfare Opens Orange Line . The Washington Post . D1 . November 18, 1978.
  7. News: Frances . Sauve . Commuter Trains' New Stop: Beltway Station . The Washington Post . August 11, 1982 . MD11 . .
  8. 30th Anniversary of New Carrollton Station . April 2009 . Transit Times . 23 . 2 . Tom . Fuchs . 5.
  9. News: Metro Parking Spots Rented to Amtrak For Temporary Use at New Carrollton . The Washington Post . October 28, 1983 . C12 . .
  10. Web site: "New New Carrollton station" brochure, 1983 . Amtrak: History of America's Railroad . 1983 . Amtrak.
  11. News: Faiz . Siddiqui . Metro wants to rebuild 20 station platforms over three years, creating SafeTrack-like disruptions . . May 7, 2018 . February 19, 2019.
  12. Web site: Final phase of Metro's multi-year Platform Improvement Project begins this weekend, closing five Orange Line stations . WMATA . May 28, 2022 . May 23, 2022.
  13. Web site: Metro announces travel alternatives for major Blue and Yellow Line construction this fall . 9 March 2024.
  14. Web site: Metro's Yellow Line reopens Sunday with controversial turnback . WJLA-TV . May 7, 2023 . 9 March 2024.
  15. Web site: Stations . July 2, 2022 . Purple Line . Maryland Transit Administration . Baltimore, MD.
  16. News: Shaver . Katherine . January 26, 2022 . Md. board approves $3.4 billion contract to complete Purple Line . The Washington Post .
  17. Web site: MARC Growth & Investment Plan.