Farragut West station

Farragut West
Farragut West station platform in April 2018
General information
Location900 18th Street NW
Washington, D.C.
Coordinates38°54′05″N 77°02′22″W / 38.90139°N 77.03944°W / 38.90139; -77.03944
Owned byWashington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority
Platforms2 side platforms
Tracks2
Connections
Construction
Structure typeUnderground
Bicycle facilitiesCapital Bikeshare, 4 racks
AccessibleYes
Other information
Station codeC03
History
OpenedJuly 1, 1977; 47 years ago (July 1, 1977)
Passengers
20237,001 daily[1]
Rank8 out of 98
Services
Preceding station Washington Metro Following station
Foggy Bottom–GWU
toward Vienna
Orange Line McPherson Square
Foggy Bottom–GWU
toward Ashburn
Silver Line McPherson Square
Foggy Bottom–GWU Blue Line
Location
Map

Farragut West station is a Washington Metro station in Downtown Washington, D.C., United States. The side-platformed station was opened on July 1, 1977, and is operated by the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA). Providing service for the Blue, Orange and Silver Lines, the station is located just west of Farragut Square with two entrances on I Street at 17th and 18th Streets NW.

While it is only a block away (across the square) from Farragut North station on the Red Line, there is no direct connection between the two stations. WMATA originally planned to have a single Farragut station that would serve as an alternate transfer station to ease congestion that would develop in Metro Center. However, it would have been constructed using the cut and cover method, disrupting the square above. Therefore, this proposal was not favored and the two separate stations were built instead. As part of its long-term capital improvement plan dated September 12, 2002, Metro has proposed building an underground pedestrian tunnel (similar to the connection tunnel between Sofia (Bulgaria)’s Serdika and Serdika-2 metro stations) connecting this station with Farragut North. On October 28, 2011, Metro announced its Farragut Crossing program, allowing riders using a SmarTrip card up to 30 minutes to transfer for free by foot between Farragut West and Farragut North stations.[2]

The station opened on July 1, 1977.[3] Its opening coincided with the completion of 11.8 miles (19.0 km)[4] of rail between National Airport and RFK Stadium and the opening of the Arlington Cemetery, Capitol South, Crystal City, Eastern Market, Federal Center SW, Federal Triangle, Foggy Bottom–GWU, L'Enfant Plaza, McPherson Square, National Airport, Pentagon, Pentagon City, Potomac Avenue, Rosslyn, Smithsonian, and Stadium–Armory stations.[5] This was the first station in the system to open without any pylons along the platform. Information which would be normally found on pylons is located on wall plaques. Orange Line service to the station began when the line opened on November 20, 1978.[6] It was the system's eighth-busiest station in 2023.[1]

Between January 15 to January 21, 2021, this station was closed because of security concerns due to the Inauguration of Joe Biden.[7]

  1. ^ a b "Metrorail Ridership Summary". Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority. Retrieved February 4, 2024.
  2. ^ "Metro launches Farragut Crossing" (Press release). WMATA. October 28, 2011.
  3. ^ Feaver, Douglas B. (July 1, 1977), "Today, Metro could be U.S. model", The Washington Post, p. A1
  4. ^ "Sequence of Metrorail openings" (PDF). Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority. 2017. p. 3. Archived from the original (PDF) on July 2, 2018. Retrieved March 30, 2018.
  5. ^ "Metro's newest stations: Where they are, what's nearby", The Washington Post, June 24, 1977
  6. ^ Eisen, Jack; Feinstein, John (November 18, 1978), "City-County fanfare opens Orange Line; Ceremonies open new Orange Line", The Washington Post, p. D1
  7. ^ "Metro announces Inauguration service plans, station closures | WMATA". www.wmata.com. Retrieved January 13, 2021.