Get Our Extension

West Falls Church station

From Wikipedia, in a visual modern way
West Falls Church
VT
WMATA Orange.svg
West Falls Church from near outbound end.jpg
The center track, used for train storage operations
General information
Location7040 Haycock Road, Falls Church, Virginia
Coordinates38°54′03″N 77°11′21″W / 38.90083°N 77.18917°W / 38.90083; -77.18917Coordinates: 38°54′03″N 77°11′21″W / 38.90083°N 77.18917°W / 38.90083; -77.18917
Owned byWashington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority
Platforms2 island platforms
Tracks3
ConnectionsBus transport Metrobus: 28A
Bus transport Fairfax Connector: 703
Bus transport Loudoun County Transit
Bus transport Megabus
Construction
Structure typeSurface
Parking2,009 spaces
Bicycle facilitiesCapital Bikeshare & 40 racks, 22 lockers
Disabled accessYes
Other information
Station codeK06
History
OpenedJune 7, 1986; 36 years ago (June 7, 1986)
Rebuilt2020
Previous namesWest Falls Church (1986–1999, 2011–2022)
West Falls Church–VT/UVA (1999–2011)
Passengers
2022571 daily[1]
Rank83rd
Services
Preceding station WMATA Metro Logo.svg Washington Metro Following station
Dunn Loring
toward Vienna
Orange Line East Falls Church
Location

West Falls Church is a Washington Metro station in Idylwood, Virginia on the Orange Line, the first station inside the 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 National Airport station. The center track is used for train storage, and for relaying trains to the adjacent Falls Church Yard.

Discover more about West Falls Church station related topics

Washington Metro

Washington Metro

The Washington Metro, often abbreviated as the Metro and formally the Metrorail, is a rapid transit system serving the Washington metropolitan area of the United States. It is administered by the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA), which also operates the Metrobus service under the Metro name. Opened in 1976, the network now includes six lines, 97 stations, and 129 miles (208 km) of route.

Metro station

Metro station

A metro station or subway station is a train station for a rapid transit system, which as a whole is usually called a "metro" or "subway". A station provides a means for passengers to purchase tickets, board trains, and evacuate the system in the case of an emergency. In the United Kingdom, they are known as underground stations, most commonly used in reference to the London Underground.

Idylwood, Virginia

Idylwood, Virginia

Idylwood is a census-designated place (CDP) in Fairfax County, Virginia, United States. The population was 17,954 as of the 2020 census. It originally developed as a suburban community along the route of the Washington and Old Dominion Railroad, and later along Virginia State Route 7. The construction of the Capital Beltway in the 1960s, and I-66 and the Orange Line of the Washington Metrorail system in the 1980s, as well as the concurrent development of nearby Tysons Corner into Washington's leading suburban business district, led to the development of several apartment, townhouse, and small-lot single-family housing complexes, as well as the high-rise Idylwood Towers condominium, in the portion of Idylwood lying to the north of I-66. The area to the south of I-66 remains primarily large-lot single-family.

Virginia

Virginia

Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States between the Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. Its geography and climate are shaped by the Blue Ridge Mountains and the Chesapeake Bay. The state's capital is Richmond. Its most-populous city is Virginia Beach, and Fairfax County is the state's most-populous political subdivision. Virginia's population in 2022 was over 8.68 million, with 35% living within in the Greater Washington metropolitan area.

Orange Line (Washington Metro)

Orange Line (Washington Metro)

The Orange Line is a rapid transit line of the Washington Metro system, consisting of 26 stations in Fairfax County and Arlington, Virginia; the District of Columbia; and Prince George's County, Maryland, United States. The Orange Line runs from Vienna in Virginia to New Carrollton in Maryland. Half of the line's stations are shared with the Blue Line and over two thirds are shared with the Silver Line. Orange Line service began on November 20, 1978.

Facilities

A view of the east end of the platforms, open to the weather. The Silver Line viaduct can be seen in the distance
A view of the east end of the platforms, open to the weather. The Silver Line viaduct can be seen in the distance
Bus bays at West Falls Church station
Bus bays at West Falls Church station

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 by means of 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 Corner 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.

Discover more about Facilities related topics

Falls Church, Virginia

Falls Church, Virginia

Falls Church is an independent city in the Commonwealth of Virginia. As of the 2020 census, the population was 14,658. Falls Church is included in the Washington metropolitan area.

University of Virginia

University of Virginia

The University of Virginia (UVA) is a public research university in Charlottesville, Virginia. Founded in 1819 by Thomas Jefferson, the university is ranked among the top academic institutions in the United States, with highly selective admission. Set within the Academical Village, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, the university is referred to as a "Public Ivy" for offering an academic experience similar to that of an Ivy League university. It is known in part for certain rare characteristics among public universities such as its historic foundations, student-run honor code, and secret societies.

Interstate 66

Interstate 66

Interstate 66 (I-66) is an east–west Interstate Highway in the eastern United States. The highway runs from an interchange with I-81 near Middletown, Virginia, on its western end to an interchange with U.S. Route 29 (US 29) in Washington, D.C., at the eastern terminus. Much of the route parallels US 29 or State Route 55 (SR 55) in Virginia. I-66 has no physical or historical connection to the famous US 66, which was located in a different region of the United States.

Commuting

Commuting

Commuting is periodically recurring travel between one's place of residence and place of work or study, where the traveler, referred to as a commuter, leaves the boundary of their home community. By extension, it can sometimes be any regular or often repeated travel between locations, even when not work-related. The modes of travel, time taken and distance traveled in commuting varies widely across the globe. Most people in least-developed countries continue to walk to work. The cheapest method of commuting after walking is usually by bicycle, so this is common in low-income countries, but is also increasingly practised by people in wealthier countries for environmental and health reasons. In middle-income countries, motorcycle commuting is very common. The next technology adopted as countries develop is more dependent on location: in more populous, older cities, especially in Eurasia mass transit predominates, while in smaller, younger cities, and large parts of North America and Australasia, commuting by personal automobile is more common. A small number of very wealthy people, and those working in remote locations around the world, also commute by air travel, often for a week or more at a time rather than the more typical daily commute. Transportation links that enable commuting also impact the physical layout of cities and regions, allowing a distinction to arise between mostly-residential suburbs and the more economically focused urban core of a city, but the specifics of how that distinction is realized remain drastically different between societies, with Eurasian "suburbs" often being more densely populated than North American "urban cores".

Fairfax Connector

Fairfax Connector

Fairfax Connector is a public bus service provided by Fairfax County, Virginia, United States, and is managed by the county government. The bus system provides service within Fairfax County, and connects to Metrobus, Metrorail stations, Virginia Railway Express, and other local bus systems. Fairfax Connector serves all of Fairfax Metrorail Stations, the city of Alexandria, the city of Fairfax, the Washington Dulles International Airport, and the Pentagon Metrorail station. In 2021, the system had a ridership of 4,851,200, or about 26,400 per weekday as of the third quarter of 2022.

Metrobus (Washington, D.C.)

Metrobus (Washington, D.C.)

Metrobus is a bus service operated by the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA). Its fleet consists of 1,595 buses covering an area of 1,500 square miles (3,900 km2) in Washington, D.C., Maryland and Virginia. There are 269 bus routes serving 11,129 stops, including 2,554 bus shelters. In 2021, the system had a ridership of 60,603,600, or about 284,800 per weekday as of the second quarter of 2022.

Loudoun County Transit

Loudoun County Transit

Loudoun County Transit is a public-transportation service provided by the Loudoun County, Virginia government. The buses operate from Dulles, Leesburg, and Purcellville to Washington Metro stations as well as directly to Rosslyn, Virginia, The Pentagon, and Washington, D.C. The service is attractive because the buses, unlike normal traffic, are permitted to travel on the express lanes of the Dulles Toll Road. This allows for a shorter trip and also bypasses commuter tolls. The Loudoun County Commuter Bus accepts payment via SmarTrip, a reloadable transit card issued by the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority.

Reverse commute

Reverse commute

A reverse commute is a round trip, regularly taken, from an urban area to a suburban one in the morning, and returning in the evening. It is almost universally applied to trips to work in the suburbs from homes in the city. This is in opposition to the regular commute, where a person lives in the suburbs and travels to work in the city.

AOL

AOL

AOL is an American web portal and online service provider based in New York City. It is a brand marketed by the current incarnation of Yahoo! Inc.

MCI Inc.

MCI Inc.

MCI, Inc. was a telecommunications company. For a time, it was the second-largest long-distance telephone company in the United States, after AT&T. WorldCom grew largely by acquiring other telecommunications companies, including MCI Communications in 1998, and filed bankruptcy in 2002 after an accounting scandal, in which several executives, including CEO Bernard Ebbers, were convicted of a scheme to inflate the company's assets. In January 2006, the company, by then renamed MCI, was acquired by Verizon Communications and was later integrated into Verizon Business.

Silver Line (Washington Metro)

Silver Line (Washington Metro)

The Silver Line is a rapid transit line of the Washington Metro system, consisting of 34 stations in Loudoun County, Fairfax County and Arlington County, Virginia, Washington, D.C., as well as Prince George's County, Maryland. The Silver Line runs from Ashburn in Virginia to Downtown Largo in Maryland. Five stations, from both lines' eastern terminus at Downtown Largo to Benning Road, are shared with the Blue Line alone; thirteen stations, from Stadium–Armory to Rosslyn, with both the Orange Line and Blue Lines; and five stations from Court House to East Falls Church with the Orange Line alone. Only the five stations of Phase 1, which began service on July 26, 2014, and the six stations of Phase 2, which began service on November 15, 2022, are exclusive to the Silver Line.

Reston, Virginia

Reston, Virginia

Reston is a census-designated place in Fairfax County, Virginia, and a principal city of the Washington metropolitan area. As of the 2020 U.S. Census, Reston's population was 63,226.

History

The station opened on June 7, 1986.[4] Its opening coincided with the completion of 9.1 miles (14.6 km) of rail west of the Ballston station and the opening of the East Falls Church, Dunn Loring and Vienna stations.[4]

In 1999, the station was renamed West Falls Church–VT/UVA, when the initialisms 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.[5]

In May 2018, Metro announced an extensive renovation of platforms at twenty stations across the system. The platforms at the West Falls Church station would be rebuilt starting in late 2020.[6]

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.[7][8] 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.[9][10]

On September 11, 2022, the station's name was changed to drop the "UVA" initialism from the subtitle name, leaving the full name as West Falls Church–VT.[11]

Discover more about History related topics

Station layout

G Street level Exit/entrance, buses, parking, fare control, ticket machines, station agent
P
Platform level
Westbound WMATA Orange.svg toward Vienna/Fairfax–GMU (Dunn Loring)
Island platform
Center track No regular service
Island platform
Eastbound WMATA Orange.svg toward New Carrollton (East Falls Church)

Discover more about Station layout related topics

Orange Line (Washington Metro)

Orange Line (Washington Metro)

The Orange Line is a rapid transit line of the Washington Metro system, consisting of 26 stations in Fairfax County and Arlington, Virginia; the District of Columbia; and Prince George's County, Maryland, United States. The Orange Line runs from Vienna in Virginia to New Carrollton in Maryland. Half of the line's stations are shared with the Blue Line and over two thirds are shared with the Silver Line. Orange Line service began on November 20, 1978.

Dunn Loring station

Dunn Loring station

Dunn Loring is a Washington Metro station in Fairfax County, Virginia, on the Orange Line. The station is in Merrifield, with a Vienna mailing address. The station is in the median of Interstate 66 at Gallows Road, just outside the Capital Beltway, and is accessed by a footbridge over the eastbound lanes.

Island platform

Island platform

An island platform is a station layout arrangement where a single platform is positioned between two tracks within a railway station, tram stop or transitway interchange. Island platforms are popular on twin-track routes due to pragmatic and cost reasons. They are also useful within larger stations where local and express services for the same direction of travel can be provided from opposite sides of the same platform thereby simplifying transfers between the two tracks. An alternative arrangement is to position side platforms on either side of the tracks. The historical use of island platforms depends greatly upon the location. In the United Kingdom the use of island platforms is relatively common when the railway line is in a cutting or raised on an embankment, as this makes it easier to provide access to the platform without walking across the tracks.

New Carrollton station

New Carrollton station

New Carrollton station is a joint Washington Metro, MARC, and Amtrak station just outside the city limits of New Carrollton, Prince George's County, Maryland located at the eastern end of the Metro's Orange Line. The station will also serve as the eastern terminus of the Purple Line, currently under construction, and is adjacent to the Capital Beltway.

East Falls Church station

East Falls Church station

East Falls Church is an island-platformed Washington Metro station in Arlington, Virginia on the Orange and Silver Lines. East Falls Church station is the last aboveground, at grade, or open cut station for eastbound trains. East of this station, the trains enter the subway.

Source: "West Falls Church station", Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, (2023, February 17th), https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/West_Falls_Church_station.

Enjoying Wikiz?

Enjoying Wikiz?

Get our FREE extension now!

References
  1. ^ "Rail Ridership Data Viewer". WMATA. Retrieved February 17, 2023.
  2. ^ "Bus service changes to Silver Line". Fox 5 DC. July 23, 2014. Archived from the original on August 13, 2014. Retrieved August 13, 2014.
  3. ^ "Silver Line Express Bus to Metrorail Station | Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority". Archived from the original on May 8, 2016. Retrieved February 17, 2016.
  4. ^ a b Lynton, Stephen J. (June 8, 1986), "9.1 more miles for Metrorail", The Washington Post, p. C1
  5. ^ "Station names updated for new map" (Press release). Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority. November 3, 2011. Archived from the original on November 5, 2011. Retrieved November 5, 2011.
  6. ^ "Metro wants to rebuild 20 station platforms over three years, creating SafeTrack-like disruptions". Washington Post. May 7, 2018. Archived from the original on February 19, 2019. Retrieved February 19, 2019.
  7. ^ "Metro to use upcoming low-ridership summer to maximum effect, expands Orange, Silver line shutdown". www.wmata.com. Archived from the original on May 22, 2020. Retrieved April 23, 2020.
  8. ^ "Platform Improvement Project | WMATA". www.wmata.com. Archived from the original on May 21, 2020. Retrieved May 24, 2020.
  9. ^ "Silver Line service will return August 16, along with reopening of six stations in Fairfax County | WMATA". www.wmata.com. Archived from the original on July 12, 2020. Retrieved July 11, 2020.
  10. ^ "Metro to add more buses, trains and extended hours as part of Covid-19 Recovery Plan beginning Sunday, August 16 | WMATA". www.wmata.com. Archived from the original on August 13, 2020. Retrieved August 16, 2020.
  11. ^ George, Justin (September 9, 2022). "Five Metro station names to change Sunday". The Washington Post. Retrieved September 10, 2022.
External links

The content of this page is based on the Wikipedia article written by contributors..
The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike Licence & the media files are available under their respective licenses; additional terms may apply.
By using this site, you agree to the Terms of Use & Privacy Policy.
Wikipedia® is a registered trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., a non-profit organization & is not affiliated to WikiZ.com.