West Falls Church station explained

West Falls Church
Style:WMATA
Symbol:orange
Symbol Location:washington
Borough:Idylwood, Virginia, U.S.
Coordinates:38.9008°N -77.189°W
Platform:2 island platforms
Tracks:3
Structure:At-grade
Parking:2,009 spaces
Bicycle:Capital Bikeshare, 40 racks, 22 lockers
Pass Year:2023
Passengers:950 daily[1]
Pass Rank:83 out of 98
Rebuilt:2020
Accessible:Yes
Code:K06
Owned:Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority
Former:West Falls Church (1986–1999, 2011–2022)
West Falls Church–VT/UVA (1999–2011)
Mapframe:yes
Mapframe-Custom:
Shape:none
Line:none
Marker:rail-metro
Marker-Color:
  1. f7941d
Zoom:15

West Falls Church station is a Washington Metro station in Idylwood, Virginia on the Orange Line, the first station inside the Capital Beltway on the Orange Line going east. It is one of only two stations in the system to have three tracks, the other being the station. The center track is used for storage and relaying trains to the adjacent Falls Church Yard.

Facilities

The station serves the suburban community of Falls Church and the Northern Virginia Center operated by Virginia Tech and the University of Virginia. While the station has a street address on Haycock Road, it is physically located in the median of Interstate 66 near Virginia State Route 7 (Leesburg Pike); riders access the platform and mezzanine using an elevated walkway from the parking area.

This is a suburban transfer station, as commuter buses that serve communities near the Dulles Toll and Access Roads (Virginia State Route 267) connect to the Metro system at West Falls Church using a bus-only exit from the Access Road. These buses include Fairfax Connector to points within Fairfax, including Reston and Herndon, Metrobus to Tysons Corner, and Loudoun County Transit reverse commute routes to businesses including AOL and MCI and transfer points in Dulles.

With the opening of the Silver Line on July 26, 2014, many commuter bus routes that formerly terminated at West Falls Church were rerouted to instead terminate at locations along the new Silver Line stations in Tysons and Reston. [2] West Falls Church was also the original staging point for Washington Flyer buses to Dulles Airport, but this shifted to Wiehle-Reston East with the opening of the Silver Line.[3]

The Silver Line joins the Orange Line via a flying junction immediately east of this station but does not serve the station. Plans originally called for the Silver Line to stop at West Falls Church, but it was cut out of the final plan.

History

The station opened on June 7, 1986. Its opening coincided with the completion of 9.1miles of rail west of the station and the opening of the, and stations.

In 1999, the station was renamed West Falls Church–VT/UVA when the acronym for Virginia Tech and the University of Virginia were added to the station's name, two years after the dedication of the shared graduate center. These initialisms were moved to a subtitle location on November 3, 2011.[4]

In May 2018, Metro announced an extensive renovation of platforms at twenty stations across the system. The West Falls Church station platforms would be rebuilt starting in late 2020.[5]

From May 23 until August 15, 2020, this station was closed due to the platform reconstruction project which closed stations west of Ballston–MU station.[6] [7] On August 16, 2020, the station reopened as the Orange Line terminus when Silver and Orange Line trains were able to bypass East Falls Church station.[8] [9]

Per request by the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors, the initials for the University of Virginia were dropped from the station's secondary name on September 11, 2022, to reflect its departure from the nearby Northern Virginia Center.[10] [11]

On June 3, 2023, this station was closed for track replacement, affecting stations west of Ballston–MU station. Service resumed on June 26, 2023.[12]

Station layout

GStreet levelExit/entrance, buses, parking, fare control, ticket machines, station agent
P
Platform level
Westbound← toward
Center track No regular service
Eastbound toward →

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Metrorail Ridership Summary . Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority . February 4, 2024.
  2. News: Bus service changes to Silver Line . . July 23, 2014 . August 13, 2014 . August 13, 2014 . https://web.archive.org/web/20140813224658/http://www.myfoxdc.com/story/26097386/bus-service-changes-to-silver-line . live .
  3. Web site: Silver Line Express Bus to Metrorail Station | Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority . February 17, 2016 . May 8, 2016 . https://web.archive.org/web/20160508022326/http://prod.flydulles.com/iad/silver-line-express-bus-metrorail-station?_ga=1.145912374.347950824.1441369453 . dead.
  4. Station names updated for new map . . November 3, 2011 . November 5, 2011 . https://web.archive.org/web/20111105211316/http://www.wmata.com/about_metro/news/PressReleaseDetail.cfm?ReleaseID=5081 . November 5, 2011 . live.
  5. News: Metro wants to rebuild 20 station platforms over three years, creating SafeTrack-like disruptions . Washington Post . May 7, 2018 . February 19, 2019 . February 19, 2019 . https://web.archive.org/web/20190219072942/https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/trafficandcommuting/metro-wants-to-rebuild-20-station-platforms-in-three-years-creating-safetrack-like-disruptions/2018/05/07/f7c19dcc-5164-11e8-abd8-265bd07a9859_story.html . live .
  6. Web site: Metro to use upcoming low-ridership summer to maximum effect, expands Orange, Silver line shutdown . www.wmata.com . 23 April 2020 . May 22, 2020 . https://web.archive.org/web/20200522070244/https://www.wmata.com/about/news/Orange-Silver-Summer-2020.cfm . live .
  7. Web site: Platform Improvement Project WMATA . www.wmata.com . 24 May 2020 . May 21, 2020 . https://web.archive.org/web/20200521224039/https://www.wmata.com/service/rail/PlatformProject/ . live .
  8. Web site: Silver Line service will return August 16, along with reopening of six stations in Fairfax County WMATA . www.wmata.com . 11 July 2020 . July 12, 2020 . https://web.archive.org/web/20200712221453/https://www.wmata.com/about/news/Silver-Line-reopening.cfm . live .
  9. Web site: Metro to add more buses, trains and extended hours as part of Covid-19 Recovery Plan beginning Sunday, August 16 WMATA . www.wmata.com . 16 August 2020 . August 13, 2020 . https://web.archive.org/web/20200813042003/https://www.wmata.com/about/news/Metro-to-add-more-buses-trains-and-extended-hours-beginning-August-16.cfm . live.
  10. Web site: Metro to implement five station name changes Sept. 11 WMATA . www.wmata.com . 9 September 2022.
  11. News: Leayman . Emily . DC Metro Changing 5 Station Names In Virginia, Maryland . Patch . April 20, 2023 . September 9, 2022.
  12. Web site: Metro Closes 4 Orange, Silver Line Stations in Virginia for Weeks, Impacting Travel to Dulles Airport . June 2023 .