Capital Beltway (Amtrak station)
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Capital Beltway
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Capital Beltway in 1979 as an Amtrak Metroliner arrives
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| Coordinates | 38°57′19″N 76°51′57″W / 38.9554°N 76.8659°WCoordinates: 38°57′19″N 76°51′57″W / 38.9554°N 76.8659°W |
| Line(s) | Northeast Corridor |
| Platforms | 2 side platforms |
| History | |
| Opened | March 16, 1970 |
| Closed | October 30, 1983 |
Capital Beltway was a railway station in Lanham, Maryland. It was built in 1970 by the Penn Central Transportation Company in partnership with the state of Maryland, the United States Department of Transportation (DOT), and Prince George's County. The station was located on the Northeast Corridor approximately 10 miles (16 km) north of Union Station in Washington, D.C. Its purpose was to provide a stop near the Capital Beltway ring-road for the new high-speed Metroliners. Amtrak used the station until 1983 when New Carrollton opened to the south.
Capital Beltway was one of two park-and-ride infill stations proposed in the 1960s for use by the new Metroliners, the other being Metropark Station in Woodbridge Township, New Jersey. The two stations were originally named Capital Beltway Metropark and Garden State Metropark, though these were shortened to Capital Beltway and Metropark, respectively. Both were conceived as public-private partnerships. Discussion of the Capital Beltway project began in the mid-1960s before being approved at the end of 1968.
The station was built with two high-level platforms, each 850 feet (260 m) long. The two platforms were linked by a pedestrian tunnel. The head house was a 960-square-foot (89 m2) prefabricated building. Adjoining the station was a 200-space parking lot which could be expanded to 1000 spaces if traffic warranted. The station was located just off the Beltway to encourage park-and-ride traffic. Maryland contributed the land for the station, valued at $500,000; DOT contributed $1,000,000 to the project, mostly for physical infrastructure. The parking lot was built by Prince George's County at a cost of $150,000; the county also paid, at the outset, for a night watchman to guard the lot. As part of the project, several grade crossings were eliminated.
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