Arlington Cemetery station

Arlington Cemetery station is a side platformed Washington Metro station in Arlington, Virginia, United States. The station was opened on July 1, 1977, and is operated by the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA). The station provides service for only the Blue Line, and is located at the entrance to Arlington National Cemetery, underneath Memorial Drive. There is no public parking near the station except at the cemetery, which is reserved for cemetery visitors. It is the only station that closes earlier than the rest of the system, closing at 7 PM from October to March, and 10 PM from April to September.[2]

Arlington Cemetery
Station platoforms in June 2021 following spring 2021 rehabilitations
General information
Location1000 North Memorial Drive
Arlington, Virginia
Coordinates38°53′4.5″N 77°3′47.1″W / 38.884583°N 77.063083°W / 38.884583; -77.063083
Owned byWashington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority
Platforms2 side platforms
Tracks2
Construction
Structure typeBelow-grade
AccessibleYes
Other information
Station codeC06
History
OpenedJuly 1, 1977; 47 years ago (July 1, 1977)
Rebuilt2021
Passengers
2023987 daily[1]
Rank82 out of 98
Services
Preceding station Washington Metro Following station
Pentagon Blue Line Rosslyn
Location
Map

The station is one of three stations to be exclusively serviced by the Blue Line. The rest of the Blue Line's stations are shared with the Yellow Line to the south (except for two of the southernmost stations), and with the Orange Line and Silver Line to the north.

History

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View from outbound end of station, showing canopy

The station opened on July 1, 1977.[3] Its opening coincided with the completion of 11.8 miles (19.0 km)[4] of rail between National Airport and RFK Stadium and the opening of the 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, Rosslyn, Smithsonian, and Stadium–Armory stations.[5]

In May 2018, Metro announced an extensive renovation of platforms at twenty stations across the system. The platforms at the Arlington Cemetery station were rebuilt from February 13 to May 23, 2021.[6]

On March 19, 2020, this station closed in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.[7][8] The station reopened on August 23, 2020.[9]

Between January 15 to January 21, 2021, this station was closed because of security concerns related to the 2021 Inauguration.[10]

Station layout

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Arlington Cemetery is unique in its design, located just below ground level and only covered by a bridge carrying Memorial Drive. It is also one of two stations with three levels (the other being Fort Totten). Escalators from Memorial Drive go down two levels to the mezzanine, where customers may purchase SmarTrip cards at vending machines and pass through fare control. Escalators on the other side of fare control then go up to the side platforms. Elevators go directly to the platforms with one fare gate for each elevator at platform level.

G Street level Exit/entrance
P
Platform level
Side platform
Southbound   toward Franconia–Springfield (Pentagon)
Northbound   toward Downtown Largo (Rosslyn)
Side platform
M Mezzanine Fare control, ticket machines, station agent

Notable places nearby

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References

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  1. ^ "Metrorail Ridership Summary". Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority. Retrieved February 11, 2024.
  2. ^ "Arlington Cemetery". WMATA. Retrieved March 27, 2018.
  3. ^ Feaver, Douglas B. (July 1, 1977). "Today, Metro could be U.S. model". The Washington Post. p. A1.
  4. ^ "Sequence of Metrorail openings" (PDF). Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority. 2017. p. 3. Archived from the original (PDF) on July 2, 2018. Retrieved March 27, 2018.
  5. ^ "Metro's newest stations: Where they are, what's nearby". The Washington Post. June 24, 1977.
  6. ^ "Metro wants to rebuild 20 station platforms over three years, creating SafeTrack-like disruptions". Washington Post. May 7, 2018. Retrieved February 19, 2019.
  7. ^ "Special Covid-19 System Map" (PDF). Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority. Archived from the original (PDF) on March 27, 2020. Retrieved May 24, 2020.
  8. ^ "Metrorail stations closed due to COVID-19 pandemic". Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority. March 23, 2020. Retrieved May 24, 2020.
  9. ^ "Metro announces reopening of East Falls Church and Arlington Cemetery stations on Aug. 23". WJLA. August 17, 2020. Retrieved August 17, 2020.
  10. ^ "Metro announces Inauguration service plans, station closures | WMATA". www.wmata.com. Retrieved January 13, 2021.
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