Rosslyn station

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title: "Rosslyn station" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["stations-on-the-blue-line-(washington-metro)", "stations-on-the-orange-line-(washington-metro)", "stations-on-the-silver-line-(washington-metro)", "transportation-in-arlington-county,-virginia", "washington-metro-stations-in-virginia", "railway-stations-in-the-united-states-opened-in-1977", "1977-establishments-in-virginia", "rosslyn,-virginia"] description: "Washington Metro station" topic_path: "sports" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rosslyn_station" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0

::summary Washington Metro station ::

::data[format=table title="Infobox station"]

Field	Value
name	Rosslyn
style	WMATA
symbol	orange
symbol2	silver
symbol3	blue
symbol_location	washington
image	Rosslyn upper level.jpg
image_caption	A Blue Line train arriving on the upper level in April 2005
address	1850 North Moore Street
borough	Rosslyn, Virginia
coordinates
connections	{{Unbulleted list
platform	2 split side platforms (1 on each level)
tracks	2 (1 on each level)
levels	2
structure	Underground
depth	103 ft (upper level)
117 ft (lower level)
bicycle	Capital Bikeshare, 20 racks
pass_year	2024
passengers	6,381 daily
pass_rank	13 out of 98
opened
accessible	yes
code	C05
owned	Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority
services	{{Adjacent stations
line1	Orange
line2	Silver
line3	Blue
route_map	{{Routemap
map_state	collapsed
mapframe	yes
mapframe-zoom	15
mapframe-marker-color	#000
mapframe-marker	rail-metro
::

| name = Rosslyn | style = WMATA | symbol = orange | symbol2 = silver | symbol3 = blue | symbol_location = washington | image = Rosslyn upper level.jpg | image_caption = A Blue Line train arriving on the upper level in April 2005 | address = 1850 North Moore Street | borough = Rosslyn, Virginia | coordinates = | connections = {{Unbulleted list | Arlington Transit: 45, 55, 56 Metrobus: A58, A76, F62 | Loudoun County Transit | Georgetown University Shuttle | Ride Smart Northern Shenandoah Valley | platform = 2 split side platforms (1 on each level) | tracks = 2 (1 on each level) | levels = 2 | structure = Underground | depth = 103 ft (upper level) 117 ft (lower level) | parking = | bicycle = Capital Bikeshare, 20 racks | pass_year = 2024 | passengers = 6,381 daily | pass_rank = 13 out of 98 | opened = | rebuilt = | accessible = yes | code = C05 | owned = Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority | zone = | services = {{Adjacent stations|system1=WMATA |line1=Orange|left1=Court House|right1=Foggy Bottom–GWU |line2=Silver|left2=Court House|right2=Foggy Bottom–GWU |line3=Blue|left3=Arlington Cemetery|right3=Foggy Bottom–GWU |route_map = {{Routemap|inline=yes|legend=no|map= numN000\utSTRf!~MFADEg\SEP!~MFADEg\utSTRg!~MFADEg~~
\utSTR\SEP\utSTR \utPSTR(L)\SEP\utPSTR(R)~~ Superimposed tracks \utPSTR(L)\SEP\utPSTR(R)~~ (Right track above left) \utPSTR(L)\SEP\utPSTR(R) \utSTRc2\utABZg3\SEP\utSTRc2\utABZg3\POINTERgq~~ C&K Junction utSTR3+1!~MFADEgq\utSTR!~utSTRc4\SEP\utSTR3+1!~MFADEgq\utSTR!~utSTRc4~~
\utSTRf!~MFADEf\SEP\utSTRg!~MFADEf~~
| map_state = collapsed | mapframe = yes | mapframe-zoom = 15 | mapframe-marker-color = #000 | mapframe-marker = rail-metro | mpassengers = Rosslyn station 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. 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.

Station layout

::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d8/Rosslyn_Escalators_(full).jpg" caption="The [[escalator]] to street level at the Rosslyn Metro station is the fifth longest continuous span escalator in the D.C. metro system.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"] ::

::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/24/Rosslyn_stacked_platforms_(9579036562).jpg" caption="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. This ensures that no trains traveling in opposite directions share a track. An indicator sign at the south end of the station flashes to inform passengers of the arriving train's destination, showing Orange for , Blue for , and Silver for . This feature is only used at final transfer stations; another example being .

Rosslyn is the deepest station on the three lines servicing it. The mezzanine and upper platform are 103 ft below the Fort Myer Drive street-level entrance; the lower platform is 117 ft below the entrance. 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 101 ft beneath the river surface. The station's depth also takes advantage of the strength and watertightness of the bedrock 40 ft below the surface. An escalator ride between the street and mezzanine levels takes about three minutes.

The separate accessible entrance and general entrances are a relative rarity in the Washington Metro system; only , , and 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. Its opening coincided with the completion of 11.8 mi of rail between National Airport and RFK Stadium and the opening of the , , , , , , , , , McPherson Square, , , , , and stations. Orange Line service to the station began upon the line's opening on November 20, 1978.

A new bank of three high-speed elevators and an expanded mezzanine opened officially on October 7, 2013. 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%.

References

References

1. (1977-07-03). "An Effect of Metro". The Washington Post.
2. (August 1983). "Metrorail Station Area Planning: A Metrorail before-and-After Study Report".
3. ''Rosslyn Magazine: Discover A New Horizon'', Vol. 1, Issue 2, Summer 2006, p. 21.
4. "Metrorail Ridership Summary". Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority.
5. "Metro considers building 'inner loop' of new stations to ease congestion in system's core". [[The Washington Post]].
6. 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
7. (March 2007). "Rosslyn Station New Entrance Study". WMATA.
8. (1977-01-07). "Metro Trip Hits a Low Point: New Line Under Potomac Dips 97 Feet at Rosslyn Metro Line Under River Dips 97 Feet at Rosslyn". The Washington Post.
9. (August 1983). "Metrorail Station Area Planning: A Metrorail before-and-After Study Report".
10. Feaver, Douglas B.. (July 1, 1977). "Today, Metro could be U.S. model". The Washington Post.
11. (2017). "Sequence of Metrorail openings". WMATA.
12. Staff Reporters. (June 24, 1977). "Metro's newest stations: Where they are, what's nearby". The Washington Post.
13. Eisen, Jack. (November 18, 1978). "City-County fanfare opens Orange Line; Ceremonies open new Orange Line". The Washington Post.
14. [http://news.arlingtonva.us/releases/arlington-county-unveils-new-rosslyn-metro-entrance Arlington County news release 10/7/2013]

::callout[type=info title="Wikipedia Source"] This article was imported from Wikipedia and is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Content has been adapted to SurfDoc format. Original contributors can be found on the article history page. ::