Georgetown Metro Station Inches Forward

As I’ve discussed many times in the past: there are long (long) term plans to finally bring a metro station to Georgetown. This result would not come as a result of WMATA specifically going out of its way to build a station here, but rather be the happy consequence of the agency attempting to solve a separate problem. To wit: the tunnel between Rosslyn and Foggy Bottom cannot accommodate the ridership that is projected to need it, especially after the construction of the Silver Line. A new tunnel between Rosslyn and the District is necessary, and with that would come a new Metro line across downtown, one that could include one (or two) Georgetown stations.

All this has been floating around in the planning ether for decades. But with the pandemic and the rapid change in commuting behavior, the need for the tunnel could be reasonably questioned. To that end, WMATA this week is expected to reiterate the need for the tunnel, even with new ridership projections. As reported elsewhere, the agency’s planners are still contemplating between different options for what a build or no-build scenario could include. The board is expected to hear these options again this week and further public input will be sought later this year.

For a refresher, here are some of the plans that are being considered. The first is above. The new line would be an extension of the Blue line, which would travel under M St. across the city to Union Station, at which point it would head south through Capitol Hill, southeast DC, and then to National Harbor in Prince George’s County. It would then travel across the Potomac and link up with its tail in Alexandria, thus creating DC’s first circle line.

Another option would use the Silver line instead. Under one variation of this option, the Silver Line would run express between Rosslyn and West Falls Church (with one stop at Balston) and then out to Dulles Airport and Loudoun County. It would travel the same route through DC until it hit Union Station. This version would send the line northeast parallel with New York Ave. until hooking through Hyattsville and joining the Green line.

This next one is a slight variation on the last. It would still use the Silver line, but would not offer express service through Arlington. Additionally it would link up with the Orange line in Prince George’s County.

The last option would use the Blue line again but would follow the same route east of Union Station as the third option provides.

This is all still pie-in-the-sky stuff. It’s all well and good to draw lines on a map and dream about future lines. It’s a Metro line of a different color to actually have the money to build it. That reality still remains TBD.