Rosslyn station

Template:Short description Template:Use American English Template:Use mdy dates Template:Infobox station Rosslyn station Template:IPAc-en is the westernmost station on the shared segment of the Blue, Orange, and Silver lines of the Washington Metro. It is located in the Rosslyn neighborhood of Arlington County, Virginia. Rosslyn is the first station in Virginia heading westward from Washington, D.C. on the Orange and Silver Lines and southward on the Blue Line. It is one of four interchange points on the Metrorail system west of the Potomac River and located in a growing business district.

Averaging 5,941 daily tapped entries in 2023, Rosslyn is the 11th-busiest station in the Metro system and the busiest station located outside of Washington, D.C.<ref name="Data" /> Rosslyn is the biggest choke point of the Metro system. Due to this, planners are considering adding another station in the Rosslyn neighborhood, possibly as part of an inner loop through Washington and Arlington.<ref name="choke1">Template:Cite news</ref>

Station layout

File:Rosslyn Escalators (full).jpg

The escalator to street level at the Rosslyn Metro station is the fifth longest continuous span escalator in the D.C. metro system.<ref>Johnson, Matt. "What are the Ten Longest Metro Escalators?". Greater Greater Washington, July 8, 2014. http://greatergreaterwashington.org/post/23038/what-are-the-10-longest-metro-escalators</ref>

File:Rosslyn stacked platforms (9579036562).jpg

View of the stacked platform layout of Rosslyn station.

The station has entrances on the west side of North Moore Street between Wilson Boulevard and 19th Street North and on the east side of Fort Myer Drive between Wilson Boulevard and 19th Street North. A bank of three high-speed street elevators to the mezzanine (upper) level of the station is on the east side of North Moore Street, across the street from the station entrance. The station was historically a stop for several express Metrobus lines, including the now-discontinued D.C.–Dulles Line (route 5A).

Rosslyn is one of two stations (the other being the Pentagon 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 Orange/Silver and Blue lines split apart an extremely short distance from the station.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> This ensures that no trains traveling in opposite directions share a track.<ref name="proquest.com">Template:Cite news</ref> An indicator sign at the south end of the station flashes to inform passengers of the arriving train's destination, showing Orange for Template:Wmata, Blue for Template:Wmata, and Silver for Template:Wmata. This feature is only used at final transfer stations; another example being Template:Wmata.

Rosslyn is the deepest station on the three lines servicing it. The mezzanine and upper platform are Template:Convert below the Fort Myer Drive street-level entrance; the lower platform is Template:Convert below the entrance.<ref name="Rosslyn Magazine 2006, p. 21">Rosslyn Magazine: Discover A New Horizon, Vol. 1, Issue 2, Summer 2006, p. 21.</ref><ref name="An Effect of Metro">Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite book</ref> This is because its neighborhood is on a bluff over the Potomac River, while its shared rail line into Washington passes through a rock-bored tunnel up to Template:Convert<ref name="proquest.com"/> beneath the river surface. The station's depth also takes advantage of the strength and watertightness of the bedrock Template:Convert below the surface.<ref name="An Effect of Metro"/> An escalator ride between the street and mezzanine levels takes about three minutes.<ref name="Rosslyn Magazine 2006, p. 21">Rosslyn Magazine: Discover A New Horizon, Vol. 1, Issue 2, Summer 2006, p. 21.</ref>

The separate accessible entrance and general entrances are a relative rarity in the Washington Metro system; only Template:Wmata, Template:Wmata, and Template:Wmata stations share this feature. The underground hallway to the new elevator bank contains a four-coffered arch like most underground stops on the Red Line that were opened after 1980. This is the only stop on the Blue, Orange, and Silver Lines with this arch. It is also the only stop in the system that contains both the waffle and four-coffer arch design.

History

The station opened on July 1, 1977.<ref name="July 1, 1977">Template:Citation</ref> Its opening coincided with the completion of Template:Convert<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> of rail between National Airport and RFK Stadium and the opening of the Template:Wmata, Template:Wmata, Template:Wmata, Template:Wmata, Template:Wmata, Template:Wmata, Template:Wmata, Template:Wmata, Template:Wmata, McPherson Square, Template:Wmata, Template:Wmata, Template:Wmata, Template:Wmata, Template:Wmata and Template:Wmata stations.<ref name="June 24, 1977">Template:Citation</ref> Orange Line service to the station began upon the line's opening on November 20, 1978.<ref name="November 18, 1978">Template:Citation</ref>

A new bank of three high-speed elevators and an expanded mezzanine opened officially on October 7, 2013.<ref>Arlington County news release 10/7/2013</ref> It replaces the original single street elevator, cutting elevator transit time from about a minute to about 17 seconds. This project also included an emergency stairwell, station manager kiosk, and new pay stations and had a total cost of $49.9 million, of which Arlington County paid for 42.2%.