New Carrollton station

Washington Metro, MARC, and Amtrak station From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

New Carrollton station is a joint Washington Metro, MARC, and Amtrak station just outside the city limits of New Carrollton, Prince George's County, Maryland. It is the eastern terminus of the Metro Orange Line and one branch of the Silver Line. It will also be the eastern terminus of the under-construction Purple Line when it opens in 2027. The station is adjacent to the Capital Beltway.

Location4500 Garden City Drive
New Carrollton, Maryland
United States
Coordinates38.9480°N 76.8719°W / 38.9480; -76.8719
Owned byWashington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (Metro station)
Amtrak (Amtrak/MARC station)
Maryland Transit Administration (Purple Line station)
Quick facts General information, Location ...
New Carrollton
Amtrak
A Metro train at the station in May 2010
General information
Location4500 Garden City Drive
New Carrollton, Maryland
United States
Coordinates38.9480°N 76.8719°W / 38.9480; -76.8719
Owned byWashington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (Metro station)
Amtrak (Amtrak/MARC station)
Maryland Transit Administration (Purple Line station)
LineNortheast Corridor
Platforms
  • 2 island platforms (Metro and Northeast Corridor)
  • 1 island platform (Purple Line – future)
Tracks
  • 2 (Metro)
  • 3 (Northeast Corridor)
  • 2 (Purple Line – future)
Connections
Construction
Structure typeAt-grade
Parking3,519 spaces
Bicycle facilities18 racks, 16 lockers
AccessibleYes[1]
Other information
Station codeAmtrak: NCR
Metro: D13
IATA codeZRZ
History
OpenedNovember 20, 1978 (1978-11-20) (Metro)
October 30, 1983 (1983-10-30) (Amtrak and Conrail)
Passengers
20253,294 daily[2] (Metro)
Rank47 out of 98 (Metro)
FY 2025244,906 annually[3] (Amtrak)
Services
Preceding station Amtrak Following station
Washington, D.C. Northeast Regional BWI Airport
Washington, D.C.
toward Savannah
Palmetto BWI Airport
toward New York
Washington, D.C.
Terminus
Vermonter BWI Airport
toward St. Albans
     Acela does not stop here
     Cardinal does not stop here
     Carolinian does not stop here
     Crescent does not stop here
     Silver Meteor does not stop here
Preceding station MARC Following station
Union Station
Terminus
Penn Line Seabrook
toward Perryville
Preceding station Washington Metro Following station
Landover
toward Vienna
Orange Line Terminus
Landover
toward Ashburn
Silver Line
Former services
Preceding station Amtrak Following station
Washington, D.C.
toward Tri-State
Hilltopper BWI Airport
Preceding station Conrail Following station
Union Station
Terminus
Baltimore-Washington
Replaced by Penn Line in 1984
Seabrook
toward Baltimore
Preceding station Washington Metro Following station
Landover
toward Huntington
Blue Line Terminus
Future services
Preceding station Maryland Transit Administration Following station
Glenridge
toward Bethesda
Purple Line Terminus
Location
Close

Beneath the Metro station platform, a waiting room serves Amtrak's Northeast Regional, Vermonter, and Palmetto trains, as well as MARC's Penn Line trains. The New Carrollton Rail Yard is nearby.

Greyhound, a nationwide intercity bus company, also stops at the station on routes serving Richmond, Washington, Philadelphia, New York City, Pittsburgh, and points beyond.[4]

Station layout

Amtrak/MARC platform

At New Carrollton, the Northeast Corridor consists of three tracks. The westernmost two tracks (Tracks 2 and 3) have an island platform between them, with Track 1 having no platform. To the east of the Amtrak platform is the Metro platform, serving the Orange and Silver Lines. Bus loops and parking lots are located on both sides of the rail line.

The station has entrances at Harkins Road and Ellin Road, and Garden City Drive near U.S. Route 50, and Exit 19 on Interstate 95/Interstate 495.

Long-term plans for the New Carrollton station include adding a second island platform (providing access to Track 1) and adding a fourth track.[5]

History

Metroliner at Capital Beltway in 1974

The New Carrollton station is the third station in the area to serve rail traffic. The first station, Lanham, 0.75 miles (1.21 km) north of the current station, opened in the 1870s. By the late 1960s, it consisted of a small shelter and an asphalt platform served by a few Penn Central (later Conrail) commuter trains between Washington and Baltimore. The second, Capital Beltway station, sat just inside the Capital Beltway. Opened on March 16, 1970, it was served by Penn Central (later Amtrak) Metroliners.[6][7]

On November 20, 1978, the Washington Metro opened its New Carrollton station, along with the Cheverly, Deanwood, Landover, and Minnesota Avenue stations, marking the completion of 7.4 miles (11.9 km) of Metro track northeast from the Stadium–Armory station.[8][9][10]

In August 1982, Conrail commuter trains (later AMDOT, then the MARC Penn Line) began stopping at Capital Beltway, replacing stops at Lanham and Landover.[11] On October 30, 1983, Amtrak and AMDOT moved from Capital Beltway to a new island platform and waiting room at New Carrollton station.[6][12][13]

Until 2003, some Acela Express trains stopped at New Carrollton. In October 2015, the Palmetto began stopping in New Carrollton.

The Metro station was closed from May 28, 2022 to September 5, 2022, as part of the summer Platform Improvement Project, which also affected stations north of Stadium-Armory on the Orange Line. Shuttle buses and free parking were provided at the closed stations.[14] On September 10, 2022, Blue Line trains started serving the station due to the 14th Street bridge shutdown as a part of the Blue Plus service.[15] The service ended on May 7, 2023 with the reopening of the Yellow Line.[16]

Reconstruction of the existing Amtrak/MARC platform began in April 2023.[17] An additional side platform and an expanded train hall are planned.[18] Half of Silver Line trains began operating between Ashburn and New Carrollton on June 22, 2025.[19] The Purple Line light rail line is under construction between New Carrollton and Bethesda. It is expected to open in 2027.[20][21]

References

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