History UsefulNotes / WashingtonMetro

* AsceticAesthetic: The spare, grey station architecture.

* The station listed as "Woodley Park-Zoo/Adams Morgan" is [[NonindicativeName a ten-minute walk from the main center of Adams Morgan and a twenty-minute walk from the entrance to the National Zoo]]. You have been warned.

There have been several proposed extensions; the one that seems to be most likely (despite [[DevelopmentHell thirty years of delays) is the proposed "Purple Line" that would run north of the District (although whether as light rail or heavy rail is unclear) entirely within Maryland to connect the termini of the Green, Red, and Orange Lines; it would be the first line not to be a radial going to Downtown and also the first not to enter the District. DC is also (re)introducing streetcars to supplement the Metro in some neighborhoods; however, these have little to do with the Metro system and are run by the District directly.

* The '''Yellow Line''' runs in a generally straight line from Huntington, VA to Fort Totten Station in the District. It runs concurrently with the Blue Line for most of its route in Virginia; they meet at UsefulNotes/ThePentagon coming out of the District before splitting again. In the District, it mostly runs concurrently with...

* The '''Yellow Line''' runs in a generally straight line from Huntington, VA to Fort Totten Station in the District. It runs concurrently for most of its route in the District with...

* The '''Silver Line''', not yet completed as of this writing, will run from Loudoun County, VA to Largo Town Center, running by Dulles International Airport on the way.

-->''*[[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v94Awc7JCo0 ding ding]]* Doors opening. Step back to allow customers to exit. When boarding, please move to the center of the car.... *[[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v94Awc7JCo0 ding-dong ding-dong]]* Step back, doors closing.''

* Despite the previous two grouses, you really can take the Metro pretty much everywhere in DC. You're well-advised not to drive; the Metro is generally just better, and driving is a pain in the rear end.

* The '''Silver Line''', not yet completed as of this writing, will run from Loudon County, VA to Largo Town Center, running by Dulles International Airport on the way.

-->''*[[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v94Awc7JCo0 ding ding]]* Doors opening. Step back to allow customers to exit. When boarding, please move to the center of the car.... [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v94Awc7JCo0 ding-dong ding-dong]] Step back, doors closing.''

The result is that the Metro is supremely modern, efficient, and consistent. This even shows up in the architecture, with sober, simple, and hauntingly beautiful Mid-century Modern coffered concrete arches defining all the stations (almost as a direct challenge to the palatial stations of the UsefulNotes/MoscowMetro). The trains were designed from the start for driver-assisted automatic operation (albeit this has been nixed since the Fort Totten disaster on the Red Line in 2009). Although schedules are somewhat unreliable, the times posted for trains on the electronic boards in each station are almost always exactly right.

-->''*[[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v94Awc7JCo0 ding ding]]* Doors opening. Step back to allow customers to exit. When boarding, please move to the center of the car.''

-->''Doors opening. Step back to allow customers to exit. When boarding, please move to the center of the car.''

Five lines, 86 stations, 103 miles of track, 800,000 trips daily. UsefulNotes/WashingtonDC's Metrorail might have only been established in 1976 and serve a metropolitan area half the size of the UsefulNotes/NewYorkSubway, but it is already the second most-utilized subway in the United States and the second most-extensive on the East Coast, and today the Metro is as much a part of the identity of the District as the Subway is in New York.

-->''Please stand back to allow customers to exit. When boarding, please move to the center of the car.''

The result is that the Metro is supremely modern, efficient, and consistent. This even shows up in the architecture, with sober, simple, and hauntingly beautiful coffered concrete arches defining all the stations (almost as a direct challenge to the palatial stations of the UsefulNotes/MoscowMetro). The trains were designed from the start for driver-assisted automatic operation (albeit this has been nixed since the Fort Totten disaster on the Red Line in 2009). Although schedules are somewhat unreliable, the times posted for trains on the electronic boards in each station are almost always exactly right.

Unlike many of the older subway and mass-transit networks in the US, the Washington Metro was centrally planned from the very beginning, rather than developing out of a number of private lines (as did the NYC Subway, the Chicago 'L', Boston MBTA, Philadelphia SEPTA, San Francisco Muni, and others). In TheSixties, the federal Department of Transportation was working on a plan for transportation in the nation's capital, and, in keeping with the concrete-slapping times, planned to build two rings of freeway, one mostly outside the district limits in Maryland and Virginia, and an "Inner Loop" running inside it. Although the Outer Loop was built without incident (as the notorious Capitol Beltway), the Inner Loop faced serious opposition from locals, and in the face of freeway revolt, the DOT and regional authorities opted for [[TimeForPlanB Plan B]]: a mass-transit system to draw people out of their cars in the city.

Unlike many of the older subway and mass-transit networks in the US, the Washington Metro was centrally planned from the very beginning, rather than developing out of a number of private lines (as did the Subway, the Chicago 'L', Boston MBTA, Philadelphia SEPTA, San Francisco Muni, and others). In TheSixties, the federal Department of Transportation was working on a plan for transportation in the nation's capital, and, in keeping with the concrete-slapping times, planned to build two rings of freeway, one mostly outside the district limits in Maryland and Virginia, and an "Inner Loop" running inside it. Although the Outer Loop was built without incident (as the notorious Capitol Beltway), the Inner Loop faced serious opposition from locals, and in the face of freeway revolt, the DOT and regional authorities opted for [[TimeForPlanB Plan B]]: a mass-transit system to draw people out of their cars in the city.

* If you intend to be in the city for more than a day, get a [=SmarTrip=] card. This wave-and-pay stored-value card makes everything easier and cheaper for you and everyone.

* They do trackwork on the weekends during the daytime. If you have to be somewhere at a particular time during the day on Saturday or Sunday, take into account the possibility it could take over half an hour longer than you expect.

* SceneryPorn: The aforementioned concrete coffered stations. The vaults at Metro Center and Gallery Place are particularly pretty.

* It is ''clean''. And they intend to keep it this way. Do not eat or drink on the Metro. Small children have been ''arrested'' for eating McDonalds fries on the Metro. You have been warned.

* The Metro stops running at around midnight on weeknights; it runs until 3:00 on Fridays and Saturdays. This can be bothersome at times, e.g. when the Fourth of July is on a weeknight.

-->''Please stand back to allow customers to exit. When boarding, please move to the middle of the train.''

* If you intend to be in the city for more than a day, get a [=MetroCard=]. This wave-and-pay stored-value card makes everything easier and cheaper for you and everyone.