Crystal City station (VRE)

Crystal City station is a commuter rail station in the Crystal City section of Arlington, Virginia, located near the George Washington Memorial Parkway and Ronald Reagan National Airport. It is served by the Fredericksburg Line and Manassas Line of the Virginia Railway Express system. VRE plans to expand the station to accommodate larger trains.

For the nearby Washington Metro station of the same name, see Crystal City station (Washington Metro).

Crystal City
An outbound Manassas Line train at Crystal City station in 2017
Location	1503 South Crystal Drive, Arlington, Virginia United States
Coordinates	38°51′34″N 77°02′54″W
Line(s)	CSX RF&P Subdivision
Platforms	1 side platform
Tracks	3
Connections	Washington Metro: (at Crystal City) Arlington Transit: 43 Fairfax Connector: 599 Metrobus: 10N, 23A, 23B Metroway (at 18th & Crystal) PRTC OmniRide
Construction
Structure type	At-grade
Parking	No
Disabled access	Yes
Other information
Station code	CCV
Fare zone	2
History
Opened	1992[1]
Services
Preceding station Virginia Railway Express Following station Alexandria toward Broad Run Manassas Line L'Enfant toward Washington, D.C. Alexandria toward Spotsylvania Fredericksburg Line

Station layout

There are 3 tracks and 1 side platform located on the west side of the tracks.[2] Crystal City currently represents an "operational bottleneck" for VRE, and is used by 18% of its riders. The single 400-foot (120 m)-long platform is shorter than current 700-foot (210 m) trains, and also forces all trains onto one track.[3][4]

VRE plans to expand the station into a full-length center platform serving two tracks, with an overpass or underpass to allow passengers to reach the platform without crossing the tracks at grade. Three location options - at the existing site, or slightly north or south - are being considered. All locations would allow for a future pedestrian bridge or tunnel to Ronald Reagan National Airport to give VRE riders direct airport access.[2] As of 2018 the Crystal City Business Improvement District released a study on connecting the station to the airport. The study concludes a connection would be feasible and examines five bridge options and three tunnel options.[5]

G	Ground level	Entrance/exit to Crystal Drive
	Side platform, doors will open on the left, right
	Track 1	←      Manassas Line toward Broad Run (Alexandria) ←      Fredericksburg Line toward Spotsylvania (Alexandria) →      Manassas Line and      Fredericksburg Line toward Union Station (L'Enfant) →
	Track 2	← Amtrak and      Manassas Line (select trains) do not stop here →
	Track 3	← Amtrak and      Manassas Line (select trains) do not stop here →

References

1. Fehr, Stephen C. (June 18, 1992), "Getting on track; Fairfax ready to roll with its 3 commuter stations", The Washington Post
2. "VIRGINIA RAILWAY EXPRESS CRYSTAL CITY STATION IMPROVEMENTS: Community Meeting March 30, 2017" (PDF). Virginia Railway Express. March 30, 2017.
3. Teale, Chris (April 25, 2017). "Crystal City VRE Station Set For Major Revamp". ARLnow. Retrieved April 28, 2017.
4. Smith, Max (March 30, 2017). "VRE looks to expand Crystal City station for easier access to airport". WTOP-FM. Retrieved April 14, 2017.
5. "Envisioning a 21st Century Flight-Connected City" (PDF).

External links

• VRE - Crystal City
• Crystal City Station Improvements