L'Enfant Plaza station

L'Enfant Plaza station is an intermodal transit station complex located at L'Enfant Plaza in the Southwest Federal Center neighborhood of Washington, D.C. It consists of an underground Washington Metro rapid transit station and an elevated Virginia Railway Express commuter rail station.

L'Enfant Plaza
The Green and Yellow Line upper level platforms facing south in March 2019
General information
Location	600 Maryland Avenue SW Washington, D.C.
Coordinates	38.884775°N 77.021964°W / 38.884775; -77.021964
Owned by	Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority
Line(s)	RF&P Subdivision (VRE station)
Platforms	2 side platforms (upper level) 1 island platform (lower level) 1 side platform (VRE)
Tracks	Metro: 4 (2 upper level, 2 lower level) RF&P Subdivision: 3
Connections	Metrobus: 52, 70, 74, A6, A8, S2 DC Circulator:   Eastern Market–L'Enfant Plaza MTA Maryland Commuter Bus Loudoun County Transit OmniRide Commuter Ride Smart Northern Shenandoah Valley
Construction
Platform levels	2
Bicycle facilities	Capital Bikeshare
Accessible	Yes
Other information
Station code	F03 (Metro upper level) D03 (Metro lower level)
Fare zone	Zone 1 (VRE)
History
Opened	July 1, 1977 (July 1, 1977) (Metro) June 22, 1992 (1992-06-22) (VRE)
Services
Preceding station Virginia Railway Express Following station Crystal City toward Broad Run Manassas Line Washington, D.C. Terminus Crystal City toward Spotsylvania Fredericksburg Line Preceding station Washington Metro Following station Smithsonian toward Vienna Orange Line Federal Center SW toward New Carrollton Smithsonian toward Ashburn Silver Line Federal Center SW toward Downtown Largo Smithsonian toward Franconia–Springfield Blue Line Pentagon toward Huntington Yellow Line Archives toward Mount Vernon Square Waterfront toward Branch Avenue Green Line Archives toward Greenbelt
Location

The Metro station, which opened on July 1, 1977, is one of four major interchange stations on the Metro system. It is the only station to serve five of the six Metro lines: the Green and Yellow lines with two side platforms on the upper level, and the Blue, Orange, and Silver lines with one island platform on the lower level. It was the seventh-busiest Metro stop in 2023, with an average of 7,506 daily passenger entries.

The VRE station, which has a single side platform serving the northernmost of the three tracks of the RF&P Subdivision, is served by the Manassas Line and Fredericksburg Line.

Station layout

The 7th Street head house of the Metro station visually echoes the arched roof of the underground station

The station complex is located in the Southwest Federal Center area of Southwest, Washington, DC, centered around the intersection of 7th Street SW and D Street SW. The Metro station has three levels: a fare mezzanine, the Yellow/Green Line upper level with two side platforms, and the Orange/Blue/Silver Line lower level with one island platform. The north-south upper level stretches from C Street to E Street; the east-west lower level stretches from 9th Street to 6th Street. Metro entrances are located at the L'Enfant Plaza shopping mall concourse at 9th and D Streets, on D Street between 6th and 7th Streets, and at Maryland Avenue and 7th Street. Additional head houses may be eventually added.

The VRE platform is located on the north side of the three-track RF&P Subdivision, which is elevated above Virginia Avenue SW between 6th Street and 7th Street. Stairs lead to the station from 6th Street and 7th Street; a ramp leads to the station from C Street west of 7th Street. Most Amtrak intercity trains do not stop at L'Enfant, though several Northeast Regional trains stop for VRE passengers only as part of a ticket cross-honoring agreement.

History

Metro station

The lower level of the Metro station opened on July 1, 1977, as part of the opening of 11.8 miles (19.0 km) of the Blue Line between National Airport and Stadium–Armory. Orange Line service began on November 20, 1978 when the extension to New Carrollton opened. The upper level opened with the opening of the Yellow Line on April 30, 1983; Green Line service began on May 11, 1991. Silver Line service on the lower level began on July 26, 2014. The Maryland Avenue entrance will be closed for about seven months beginning on May 9, 2022, for escalator replacement.

L'Enfant Plaza was the setting of a 2007 Pulitzer Prize–winning article by Washington Post reporter Gene Weingarten where world-famous classical violinist Joshua Bell performed outside the station at rush hour disguised as a street musician. On January 12, 2015, smoke appeared in the station during the afternoon rush hour, causing one death. A scene from the 2020 film Wonder Woman 1984 was filmed in the station in June 2018.

VRE station

The VRE platform, which opened in 1992

Richmond, Fredericksburg and Potomac Railroad local service used a station at 7th Street until at least the mid-1950s. Virginia Railway Express (VRE) built a new station in the early 1990s. Manassas Line service began on June 22, 1992, followed by Fredericksburg Line service on July 20. L'Enfant is the northern terminus of 40% of trips on VRE. A 2010 city report analyzed options to expand the station, including the potential extension of MARC service from Union Station to L'Enfant or Alexandria. VRE began planning for an expansion of the station in 2021. The existing side platform will be replaced with an island platform to allow for increased service, with a fourth track added.

External links

Media related to L'Enfant Plaza (WMATA station) at Wikimedia Commons

• WMATA L'Enfant Plaza station page

• VRE - Stations
• Metro entrances on Google Maps Street View: D Street between 6th and 7th, Maryland Avenue and 7th Street, D Street and 9th Street
• VRE entrances on Google Maps Street View: 6th Street, 7th Street, C Street