Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport (Washington Metro)

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport

Station statistics

Address

2400 South Smith Boulevard
Arlington, VA 22202

Lines

Blue Line, Yellow Line

Platforms

Two center platforms

Tracks

three

Bicycle facilities

eight racks

Other information

Opened

July 1, 1977

Accessible

Code

C10

Owned by

Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority

Services

Previous station		Washington Metro		Next station
Braddock Road toward Franconia-Springfield		Blue		Crystal City toward Largo Town Center
Braddock Road toward Huntington		Yellow		Crystal City toward Fort Totten

Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport (formerly National Airport) is a Washington Metro station in Arlington, Virginia on the Blue and Yellow Lines.

The station is located across Smith Boulevard from the B and C terminals from 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 station platform is elevated and covered, the last above ground on the Yellow Line heading into Washington, D.C. It is one of the only two stations to have three tracks (the other being West Falls Church-VT/UVA). When service began on July 1, 1977, it was the southern terminus of the Blue Line, and the center track was used for relaying trains. 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.

[edit] Renaming controversy

The station retained its original name after the airport was renamed in 1998 after former President Ronald Reagan. 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. Infuriated, 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.^[1]

During the 2003-2004 renovation of the station, new signage was installed. Similar signage can be found at the Gallery Place-Chinatown, New York Avenue, Morgan Boulevard, and Largo Town Center stations.