New Carrollton station

New Carrollton is a joint Washington Metro, MARC, and Amtrak station just outside the city limits of New Carrollton, Prince George's County, Maryland located at the eastern end of the Metro's Orange Line. The station will also serve as the eastern terminus of the Purple Line, currently under construction, and is adjacent to the Capital Beltway.

New Carrollton
A Metro train at New Carrollton station in May 2010
Location	4300-4700 Garden City Drive, New Carrollton, Maryland
Coordinates	38.9480°N 76.8719°W / 38.9480; -76.8719
Owned by	Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority, Amtrak
Line(s)	Northeast Corridor
Platforms	2 island platforms (1 for each service)
Tracks	2 (Washington Metro) 3 (Amtrak/MARC)
Connections	Metrobus: 87, B21, B22, B24, B27, B29, C28, F4, F6, F12, F13, F14, G12, G14, T14, T18 MTA Maryland Commuter Bus TheBus: 15X, 16, 21, 21X Greyhound Peter Pan Bus Lines
Construction
Parking	3,519 spaces
Bicycle facilities	18 racks, 16 lockers (Metro)
Disabled access	Yes
Other information
Station code	NCR (Amtrak) D13 (Metro)
History
Opened	November 30, 1978 (1978-11-30) (Metro) October 30, 1983 (1983-10-30) (Amtrak and Conrail)
Traffic
Passengers (2017)	176,409 annually[1]  1.79% (Amtrak)
Passengers (2017)	3,691 daily[2]  47.2% (Metro)
Services
Preceding station Amtrak Following station Washington, D.C. toward Norfolk, Newport News or Roanoke Northeast Regional BWI Airport toward Boston South or Springfield Washington, D.C. One-way operation Palmetto BWI Airport toward New York Washington, D.C. Terminus Vermonter BWI Airport toward St. Albans Preceding station MARC Following station Union Station Terminus Penn Line Seabrook towards Perryville Preceding station Washington Metro Following station Landover toward Vienna Orange Line Terminus
Former and future services Preceding station MTA Maryland Following station Future services Glenridge toward Bethesda Purple Line Terminus Preceding station Amtrak Following station Former services Washington, D.C. Terminus Acela Express BWI Airport toward Boston South

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.[3] Peter Pan Bus Lines also serves the station.[4]

History

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.

Metroliner at Capital Beltway in 1974.

The second, Capital Beltway, sat just inside the Capital Beltway. Opened on March 16, 1970, it was served by Penn Central (later Amtrak) Metroliners.[5][6]

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.[7][8][9]

In August 1982, Conrail commuter trains (later AMDOT, then the MARC Penn Line) began stopping at Capital Beltway, replacing stops at Lanham and Landover.[10] On October 30, 1983, Amtrak and AMDOT moved from Capital Beltway to a new island platform and waiting room at New Carrollton station.[5][11][12]

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

In May 2018, Metro announced an extensive renovation of platforms at twenty stations across the system. The Metro platform at the New Carrollton station would be rebuilt starting in mid-2021.[13]

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 Line. 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 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.[14]

P Platform level	Track 3	←      Northeast Regional toward Virginia (Washington, D.C.) ←      Palmetto toward Savannah (Washington, D.C.) ←      Vermonter toward Washington, D.C. (Terminus) ←      Penn Line toward Union Station (Terminus)
	Island platform
	Track 2	→      Penn Line toward Penn Station, Martin Airport or Perryville (Seabrook) → →      Vermonter toward St. Albans (BWI Airport) → →      Palmetto toward New York (BWI Airport) → →      Northeast Regional toward Boston or Springfield (BWI Airport) →
	Track 1	←           Amtrak services and Penn Line express trains do not stop here →
	Westbound	← toward Vienna/Fairfax–GMU (Landover) → termination track
	Island platform
	Westbound	← toward Vienna/Fairfax–GMU (Landover) → termination track
G	Street level	Exit/entrance, parking, buses, Metro fare control, Amtrak/MARC station house

References

1. "Amtrak Fact Sheet, FY2017, State of Maryland" (PDF). Amtrak Government Affairs. November 2017. Retrieved January 5, 2018.
2. "Metrorail Average Weekday Passenger Boardings" (PDF). WMATA. Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority. Retrieved August 28, 2018.
3. Staff (August 25, 2011). "Greyhound Brings Premium Greyhound Express Service to the Southeast and Announces Expansion with 24 New Routes and Six New Markets". Greyhound Lines, Inc. Archived from the original on April 21, 2013. Retrieved February 8, 2013.
4. New Carrollton, MD – Hyattsville Amtrak Station
5. Fuchs, Tom (April 2009). "30th Anniversary of New Carrollton Station" (PDF). Transit Times. 23 (2): 5.
6. "More Metro stops added at Capital Beltway stops". The Capital. May 15, 1970. p. 16. Retrieved October 1, 2014 – via Newspapers.com.
7. "Sequence of Metrorail openings" (PDF). Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority. 2017. p. 3. Archived from the original (PDF) on June 12, 2018. Retrieved February 11, 2018.
8. Feaver, Douglas B. (November 12, 1978). "Orange Line brings Metro to Beltway; Orange Line will bring Metro to P.G.". The Washington Post. p. C1.
9. Eisen, Jack; Feinstein, John (November 18, 1978), "City-County fanfare opens Orange Line; Ceremonies open new Orange Line", The Washington Post, p. D1
10. "Commuter Trains' New Stop: Beltway Station". Washington Post. August 11, 1982. p. MD11. ProQuest 147456718.
11. "Metro Parking Spots Rented to Amtrak For Temporary Use at New Carrollton". Washington Post. October 28, 1983. p. C12. ProQuest 147479061.
12. "New New Carrollton station". Amtrak. 1983.
13. "Metro wants to rebuild 20 station platforms over three years, creating SafeTrack-like disruptions". Washington Post. May 7, 2018. Retrieved February 19, 2019.
14. "MARC Growth & Investment Plan" (PDF).

External links

• WMATA New Carrollton station page
• StationMasters page for New Carrollton station

• New Carrollton, MD – Amtrak
• WMATA: New Carrollton Station
• StationMasters Online: New Carrollton Station
• New Carrollton, MD (NCR) (Amtrak's Great American Stations)