Forest Glen (WMATA station)

Forest Glen
Washington Metro rapid transit station
Location	9730 Georgia Avenue Forest Glen, MD 20910
Coordinates	39°00′55″N 77°02′35″W / 39.0153°N 77.0430°W / 39.0153; -77.0430Coordinates: 39°00′55″N 77°02′35″W / 39.0153°N 77.0430°W / 39.0153; -77.0430
Owned by	WMATA
Line(s)	Red Line
Platforms	twin tube inter-connected side platforms
Tracks	2
Connections	Ride On: 7, 8 Metrobus: Q1, Q2, Q4, Y2, Y7, Y8
Construction
Structure type	Underground (rock tunnel)
Depth	196 feet (60 m)
Parking	592 spaces
Bicycle facilities	42 racks, 16 lockers
Disabled access	Yes
Other information
Station code	B09
History
Opened	September 22, 1990; 26 years ago (1990-09-22)
Traffic
Passengers (2016)	2,181 daily   8.44%
Services
Preceding station   Washington Metro   Following station Silver Spring toward Shady Grove Red Line Wheaton toward Glenmont

Forest Glen Station is a side platformed Washington Metro station in Forest Glen, Maryland, United States. The station was opened on September 22, 1990, and is operated by the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA). Its opening coincided with the completion of 3.2 miles (5.1 km) of rail north of the Silver Spring station and the opening of the Wheaton station. Providing service for the Red Line, the station is located at Georgia Avenue (Maryland Route 97) and Forest Glen Road. The station is the deepest in the system at 196 feet (60 m) deep, and high-speed elevators, rather than escalators, are used for access to the surface.

Due to tracks resting at a depth of 196 feet (60 m), Forest Glen is the only station in the system without direct surface access by way of escalators. Instead, there is a bank of six high-speed elevators that travel at a rate of 17 feet per second (5.2 m/s) between the underground station and the surface. In addition, a 20-story staircase exists for emergency use. Because of the lack of escalators, Forest Glen is the only station equipped with smoke doors to protect customers during a train fire and evacuation. Building the tunnels through soft rock close to the surface would have been either very costly or impossible, so engineers decided to dig the tunnels through harder, more solid rock deeper in the ground.

Another architectural feature of this station is separate tunnels and platforms for each direction, instead of the large, vaulted common room seen at most other underground stations. This design, shared with Wheaton, was used because it was cheaper than building a larger two-tracked station with a larger base and higher vaulted ceilings.

The original plan was to build the station above ground, with a parking lot that would have required demolishing about fifteen homes. After community opposition to the above-ground station, Montgomery County approved a modified plan for an underground station.

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Wikipedia