Rosslyn /ˈrɒzlɪn/ 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, Virginia, United States. Rosslyn is the first station in Virginia heading westward from the District on the Orange and Silver Lines and southward on the Blue Lines. It is one of four interchange points on the Metrorail system west of the Potomac River and located in a growing business district.

Rosslyn
General information
Location	1850 North Moore Street, Rosslyn, Virginia
Owned by	WMATA
Platforms	2 split platforms (1 on each level)
Tracks	2 (1 on each level)
Connections	Arlington Transit: 45, 55, 61 Metrobus: 4A, 4B, 5A, 15K, 38B DC Circulator:   Rosslyn – Georgetown – Dupont Loudoun County Transit Georgetown University Shuttle Ride Smart Northern Shenandoah Valley
Construction
Structure type	Underground
Depth	103 feet (31 m) (upper level) 117 feet (36 m) (lower level)[1][2][3]
Platform levels	2
Bicycle facilities	20 racks
Disabled access	Yes
Other information
Station code	C05
History
Opened	July 1, 1977; 45 years ago (July 1, 1977)
Passengers
2018	13,020 daily[4]  4.07%
Services
Preceding station Washington Metro Following station Arlington Cemetery toward Franconia–Springfield Blue Line Foggy Bottom–GWU toward Downtown Largo Court House toward Wiehle–Reston East Silver Line Court House toward Vienna Orange Line Foggy Bottom–GWU toward New Carrollton

Depending on the year, Rosslyn is the busiest, or one of the busiest stations outside the District of Columbia, along with Pentagon City and Pentagon, which are also in Arlington, and Silver Spring and Shady Grove in Montgomery County, Maryland. 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.[5]

Location

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 is a stop for several express Metrobus lines, including the 5A to Washington Dulles International Airport and L'Enfant Plaza.

History

The station opened on July 1, 1977.[6] Its opening coincided with the completion of 11.8 miles (19.0 km)[7] of rail between National Airport and RFK Stadium and the opening of the Arlington Cemetery, Capitol South, Crystal City, Eastern Market, Farragut West, Federal Center SW, Federal Triangle, Foggy Bottom–GWU, L'Enfant Plaza, McPherson Square, National Airport, Pentagon, Pentagon City, Potomac Avenue, Smithsonian and Stadium–Armory stations.[8] Orange Line service to the station began upon the line's opening on November 20, 1978.[9]

Station layout

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.[10] This ensures that no trains traveling in opposite directions share a track.[11]

An indicator sign at the south end of the station flashes to inform passengers of the arriving train's destination, showing Orange for Vienna, Blue for Franconia-Springfield, and Silver for Reston. This feature is only used at final transfer stations; another example being Stadium-Armory station.

Rosslyn is the deepest station on the three lines servicing it. The mezzanine and upper platform are 103 feet (31 m) below the Fort Myer Drive street-level entrance; the lower platform is 117 feet (36 m) below the entrance.[12][13][14] This 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 feet (31 m)[15] beneath the river surface. The station's depth also takes advantage of the strength and watertightness of the bedrock 40 feet (12 m) below the surface.[16] An escalator ride between the street and mezzanine levels takes about three minutes.[17]

It is one of three stations on the Metro with platform-level fare gates and elevators (the other two being the Pentagon and Tenleytown–AU stations). A new bank of three high-speed elevators and an expanded mezzanine opened officially on October 7, 2013.[18] It replaces the original single street elevator, cutting elevator transit time from about a minute to about 17 seconds. 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.

G	Street level	Exit/entrance, buses
B1	Mezzanine	Fare control, ticket machines, station agent
B2	Side platform
	Eastbound	←   toward Downtown Largo (Foggy Bottom–GWU) → ← toward New Carrollton (Foggy Bottom–GWU) →
B3	Westbound	← toward Franconia–Springfield (Arlington Cemetery) ← toward Wiehle–Reston East (Court House) ← toward Vienna/Fairfax–GMU (Court House)
	Side platform

Notable places nearby

• Artisphere
• Freedom Park
• Marine Corps War Memorial
• Netherlands Carillon

Gallery

• 
  The escalator to street level at the Rosslyn Metro station is the fifth longest continuous span escalator in the D.C. metro system.[19]
• 
• 
  The upper level platform which provides service inbound to Washington D.C.
• 
  New expanded mezzanine at Rosslyn station. Note the use of the newer four-coffered arch design.

References

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Rosslyn (WMATA station).

• WMATA Rosslyn station page

• The Schumin Web Transit Center: Rosslyn Station
• Fort Myer Drive entrance from Google Maps Street View
• Moore Street entrance from Google Maps Street View