Metro Center: Information from Answers.com

Metro Center

Station statistics

Address

607 13th Street, Northwest
Washington, D.C. 20005

Lines

Blue Line

Orange Line Red Line

Silver Line (planned)

Connections

Metrobus
MTA Maryland Commuter Bus

Platforms

2 side platforms (upper level)
1 island platform (lower level)

Tracks

2 upper level, 2 lower level

Bicycle facilities

8 racks

Other information

Opened

March 27, 1976

Accessible

Code

A01 (upper level)
C01 (lower level)

Owned by

Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority

Traffic

Passengers (2006)

10.790 million ▲ 2%

Services

Preceding station	Washington Metro	Following station
Farragut North toward Shady Grove	Red Line	Gallery Pl–Chinatown toward Glenmont
McPherson Square toward Franconia–Springfield	Blue Line	Federal Triangle toward Largo Town Center
McPherson Square toward Vienna/Fairfax–GMU	Orange Line	Federal Triangle toward New Carrollton
McPherson Square toward Route 772	Silver Line (planned)	Federal Triangle toward Stadium–Armory

Metro Center is the central hub station of the Washington Metro rapid transit system in Washington, D.C. Metro Center was one of the original Metro stations, and has been in service since March 27, 1976.

Metro Center is on the Blue, Orange, and Red Lines, and is a transfer station between the Red Line and the already-joined Blue and Orange Lines. It is also planned to be on the Silver Line route, which is scheduled to start operations in 2013.

Metro Center is located in downtown Washington, under an area roughly extending east–west from 11th to 13th Streets Northwest, and north–south from G to H Streets Northwest. Its entrances are on G Street at 11th, 12th, and 13th Streets, and at the corner of 12th and F Streets. The station's only street elevator is on the west side of 12th Street north of G Street. It is the second busiest station in the Metrorail system after Union Station, averaging 30,500 passengers per weekday as of May 2006^[update].^[1]

The mezzanine (upper) level of the station contains side platforms for Red Line trains traveling towards Glenmont and towards Shady Grove. Orange Line and Blue Lines trains traveling in both directions share a center platform on the station's lower level.

A Metro sales office is located on the mezzanine level of the station on the platform for Glenmont-bound Red Line trains, near the 12th and F Street entrance. The Grand Hyatt Washington is connected to Metro Center, as is downtown's only remaining department store, Macy's. During the mid-20th century, the area was the commercial heart of Washington, housing many department stores, theaters, offices, restaurants, and entertainment venues. Due to a combination of the racial disturbances associated with the 1968 riots, the opening of new suburban malls, and concentration of new commercial building near K Street–Farragut Square, the Metro Center area declined. It later successfully revived. The Shops at National Place is an adjacent two-level dining/shopping complex.

Contents

1 Improvements
2 Notable places nearby
3 References
4 External links

Improvements

The station is located so close to the Gallery Place–Chinatown station that the lights of each station are visible to the other through the tunnel. Plans have long been in the works to add a pedestrian tunnel to connect Gallery Place–Chinatown with Metro Center. The most recent major development was the completion of a "Gallery Place/Chinatown - Metro Center Pedestrian Passageway Tunnel Study" in July 2005.^[2]