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Addison Road station

This article is about the Washington Metro station. For other uses, see Addison Road.

Addison Road
Seat Pleasant
General information
Location100 Addison Rd S
Capitol Heights, Maryland, U.S.
Coordinates38°53′12.2″N 76°53′39.4″W / 38.886722°N 76.894278°W / 38.886722; -76.894278
Owned byWMATA
Platforms1 island platform
Tracks2
Connections
Construction
Structure typeAt grade
Parking1,268 spaces
Bicycle facilities16 racks
AccessibleYes
Other information
Station codeG03
History
OpenedNovember 22, 1980; 43 years ago (November 22, 1980)
Previous namesAddison Road—Seat Pleasant (2000–2011)
Passengers
20231,004 daily[1]
Rank80 out of 98
Services
Preceding station Washington Metro Following station
Capitol Heights
toward Ashburn
 Silver Line Morgan Boulevard
toward Downtown Largo
Capitol Heights
toward Franconia–Springfield
 Blue Line
Former services
Preceding station Washington Metro Following station
Capitol Heights
toward Vienna
 Orange Line Morgan Boulevard
toward Downtown Largo
Location
Map

Addison Road station is a rapid transit station on the Washington Metro's Silver and Blue Lines. It is operated by the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority, who opened it in 1980. It was the eastern end of the Blue Line until 2004. The station is in Seat Pleasant on Central Avenue, although its official address puts it in Capitol Heights.

History

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The station, which has a single central platform, opened on November 22, 1980, and coincided with the completion of 3.52 miles (5.66 km) of rail east of the Stadium–Armory station and the opening of the Benning Road and Capitol Heights stations.[2] The station was originally named "Addison Road"; the name "Seat Pleasant" was added in 2000[3] and moved to a new subtitle location in 2011.[4] It was the eastern terminus of the Blue Line from its opening until December 18, 2004, when the extension to the Largo Town Center (now known as Downtown Largo) station opened to the east.[5] In the early eighties, due to peculiarities of the system at the time, trains travelling toward Addison Road showed blue rollsigns, but switched to orange signs before departing westward, back into the city.[6]

In December 2003, security cameras at this station filmed a deer walking around the station mezzanine, running down an escalator, and going down the platform past a waiting train, as startled passengers watched. The deer then jumped onto the tracks and escaped into nearby woods. Metro spokesperson Lisa Farbstein reported that Metro had nicknamed the deer "Rudolph the Blue Line Reindeer".[7]

In December 2012, Addison Road was one of five stations added to the route of the Silver Line, which was originally supposed to end at the Stadium–Armory station, but was extended into Prince George's County, Maryland, to Downtown Largo (the eastern terminus of the Blue Line) due to safety concerns about a pocket track just past Stadium-Armory.[8] Silver Line service at Addison Road began on July 26, 2014.[9]

In May 2018, Metro announced an extensive renovation of platforms at twenty stations across the system. The platform at the Addison Road station would be rebuilt from February 13 to May 23, 2021.[10]

References

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  1. ^ "Metrorail Ridership Summary". Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority. Retrieved February 11, 2024.
  2. ^ Cooke, Janet (November 23, 1980). "Three new Metro stations have a festive first day". The Washington Post. p. D1.
  3. ^ "Metro to rename 4 subway stations". The Washington Post. March 24, 2000.
  4. ^ "Station names updated for new map" (Press release). WMATA. November 3, 2011. Archived from the original on November 5, 2011. Retrieved November 5, 2011.
  5. ^ Dana, Rebecca (December 19, 2004). "Metro, Prince George's extend their reach; Two new Blue Line stations open, bringing passengers and economic potential". The Washington Post. p. C3.
  6. ^ Alpert, David (July 25, 2014). "Watch Metro grow from one short line in 1976 to the Silver Line today". Greater Greater Washington. Retrieved May 4, 2021.
  7. ^ "Deer runs through rail station". China Daily. December 17, 2003. Retrieved April 27, 2007.
  8. ^ Aratani, Lori (December 5, 2012). "Metro details Silver Line service changes". The Washington Post. Retrieved July 8, 2016.
  9. ^ Halsey, Ashley (July 26, 2014). "All aboard! Metro's new Silver Line rolls down the tracks for the first time". The Washington Post. Retrieved July 8, 2016.
  10. ^ "Metro wants to rebuild 20 station platforms over three years, creating SafeTrack-like disruptions". The Washington Post. May 7, 2018. Archived from the original on May 7, 2018. Retrieved February 19, 2019.
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