Owned by WMATA Connections Metrobus: 13Y Bicycle facilities 8 racks Connection Metrobus Tracks 3 | Line(s) Blue Line
Yellow Line Structure type Elevated Opened 1 July 1977 Platforms in use 2 | |
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Location 2400 South Smith Boulevard
Arlington, VA 22202 Address Arlington, VA 22202, United States Owner Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority Similar Pentagon City station, Braddock Road station, Franconia–Springfield station, Crystal City station, Largo Town Center st | ||
Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport (formerly National Airport) is a Washington Metro station in Arlington, Virginia on the Blue and Yellow Lines. The station platform is elevated and covered and is the last above ground station on the Yellow Line in Virginia, heading into Washington, D.C. It is one of only two stations in the system to have three tracks (the other being West Falls Church). The station is located across Smith Boulevard from the B and C terminals at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport (DCA); the airport shuttle bus carries people to and from Terminal A. The mezzanines are directly connected to the B and C terminals by pedestrian walkways to Level 2 (gate level). The airport's Abingdon Plantation historical site is near the station.
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History
The station opened on July 1, 1977. Its opening coincided with the completion of 11.8 miles (19.0 km) 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, Pentagon, Pentagon City, Potomac Avenue, Rosslyn, Smithsonian and Stadium–Armory stations.
When service began on July 1, 1977, it was the southern terminus of both the Blue and Yellow Lines. After the Yellow Line extension to Huntington opened on December 17, 1983, it remained the southern terminus for the Blue Line until the Van Dorn Street station opened in 1991.
During construction of a second canopy at the station, Metro began running trains through the center track even though it had not been constructed for standard operations, and on January 20, 2003, a Blue Line train derailed at the switch. No injuries resulted, but the accident delayed construction by a number of weeks. The center track was originally intended for relaying trains.
In 2014, a train was temporarily parked in the middle track while one of the elevators in the station was repaired, creating a "train bridge" to allow passengers to walk through the train to transfer between directions.
Renaming controversy
The station retained its original name after the airport was renamed in 1998 from "Washington National Airport" to "Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport". In early 2001, a letter signed by 24 members of Congress requested WMATA rename the station to conform. However, according to a Metro policy adopted in 1987, groups seeking to rename a station were required to pay the cost of replacing signs and maps. The Arlington County government, which could have made the change, demurred—the price was estimated at $400,000—and WMATA subsequently declined to rename the station on April 19, 2001. In response, Republican Congressman Bob Barr of Georgia threatened to withhold federal funding from the agency unless the station was renamed. Congress ultimately voted to require the renaming on November 30. According to then-General Manager Richard A. White, Metro paid to complete the renaming.
During the 2003–2004 renovation of the station, new signage was installed. Similar signage can be found at the Gallery Place, NoMa – Gallaudet University, Morgan Boulevard, Grosvenor-Strathmore, and Largo Town Center stations.