| Pentagon | |||||||||||
| Style: | WMATA | ||||||||||
| Symbol: | blue | ||||||||||
| Symbol2: | yellow | ||||||||||
| Symbol Location: | washington | ||||||||||
| Address: | 2 South Rotary Road | ||||||||||
| Borough: | Arlington, Virginia | ||||||||||
| Coordinates: | 38.8692°N -77.0539°W | ||||||||||
| Owned: | Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority | ||||||||||
| Platforms: | 2 split platforms | ||||||||||
| Tracks: | 1 on each level | ||||||||||
| Levels: | 2 | ||||||||||
| Train Operators: | Washington Metro | ||||||||||
| Bus Stands: | Upper: 1 to 13, Lower: 1 to 11 | ||||||||||
| Bicycle: | 6 racks | ||||||||||
| Accessible: | Yes | ||||||||||
| Code: | C07 | ||||||||||
| Rebuilt: | 2002 | ||||||||||
| Passengers: | 4,850 daily[1] | ||||||||||
| Pass Year: | 2023 | ||||||||||
| Pass Rank: | 17 out of 98 | ||||||||||
| Mapframe: | yes | ||||||||||
| Mapframe-Custom: |
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Pentagon station is a split platform station on the Washington Metro located adjacent to The Pentagon in Arlington, Virginia. The station was opened on July 1, 1977, and is operated by the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority. Providing service for both the Blue and Yellow Lines, the station is where the two lines diverge and thus acts as a transfer point. Northbound, both lines rise above ground, with the Blue Line serving the station, and the Yellow Line crossing the Potomac River into the District of Columbia.
The station opened on July 1, 1977 with the completion of 11.8miles[2] of rail between National Airport and RFK Stadium.
Photography is not allowed anywhere on the station grounds.[3]
Pentagon station is also a major bus hub[4] [5] in northern Virginia. The current bus facility opened in 2001[6] as part of the Pentagon Renovation Program.[7]
The station is located underground, adjacent to The Pentagon, and formerly had a direct (but secure) entrance to the Pentagon and its underground shopping center. This entrance was closed in 2001 as part of the Pentagon Renovation Program. Access to the Pentagon is now gained via a new secured entrance facility above ground near the bus depot and the entrances to the subway station. The new exit features signage displayed at Gallery Place-Chinatown and newer stations.
Pentagon is one of two stations (the other being the Rosslyn station) at which trains going one direction are boarded on a different station level than trains going the other direction, as a way to prevent an at-grade crossing. This is because the Blue and Yellow lines split apart an extremely short distance from the station.
An indicator sign at the north end of the station flashes to inform passengers of the arriving train's destination, showing Blue for, and Yellow for . This feature is only used at final transfer stations; another example being .
South of the station, two empty tunnels diverge from the tracks towards Columbia Pike for future extension, but the plans were later dropped.[8]
| S | Upper level | Pentagon, Pentagon Memorial, upper level bus bays |
| 1 | Lower level | Lower level bus bays |
| M | Mezzanine | Fare gates, ticket machines, station manager |
| Northbound | toward → toward → | |
| T | Southbound | ← toward ← toward |
On March 4, 2010, a gunman, identified as John Patrick Bedell, who espoused anti-government views, shot and wounded two Pentagon police officers at a security checkpoint in the Pentagon station. The officers returned fire, striking him in the head. Bedell died the next day, on March 5, 2010.[9]
At 10:40 a.m. EST, on August 3, 2021, a stabbing occurred, killing officer George Gonzalez and leading to a lockdown of the Pentagon that was later lifted. The perpetrator, 27-year-old Austin William Lanz shot and killed himself using Gonzalez's service weapon. In an apology issued by Lanz's family, they stated that in his final few months, he suffered from "many mental health challenges". There was a warrant out for Lanz's arrest due to an incident months earlier, in which Lanz broke into a Georgia home with a crowbar.[10] [11] [12] [13]