College Park–University of Maryland station

College Park–University of Maryland station is a Washington Metro station in Prince George's County, Maryland on the Green Line. It also serves MARC's Camden Line, though only select trains stop at the station.

College Park–University of MD
The Metro platform in September 2021
General information
Location4931 Calvert Road &
7202 Bowdoin Avenue[1]
College Park, Maryland
Coordinates38.9784°N 76.9282°W / 38.9784; -76.9282
Owned byWashington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority
Line(s)Capital Subdivision
Platforms1 island platform (Washington Metro)
2 side platforms (Capital Subdivision)
Tracks4 (2 for each service)
Connections
Construction
Parking1,870 spaces
Bicycle facilities81 racks, 40 lockers
AccessibleMetro only[1]
Other information
Station codeE09
History
OpenedDecember 11, 1993 (December 11, 1993)
Rebuilt2021
Passengers
20221,352 daily[2] (Metro)
Rank58th (Metro)
Services
Preceding station MARC Following station
Riverdale
towards Union Station
 Camden Line Greenbelt
towards Camden Station
Preceding station Washington Metro Following station
Hyattsville Crossing
toward Branch Avenue
 Green Line Greenbelt
Terminus
Future services
Preceding station Maryland Transit Administration Following station
Baltimore Avenue–UMD
toward Bethesda
 Purple Line Riverdale Park North–UMD
toward New Carrollton
Location

The station is located in College Park near the University of Maryland, College Park, with entrances at the intersection of Calvert Road and Bowdoin Avenue, and near the intersection of Paint Branch Parkway and River Road. It adjoins the headquarters of the American Physical Society and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA).

This station is planned to be served by the light rail Purple Line, under construction as of 2023.

History

Service at College Park began on December 11, 1993.

An incident on October 4, 1997, saw a single-engine plane crash into the Metro right-of-way west of College Park Airport, injuring its six occupants and damaging the Metro fence and railing.[3]

In March 2012, the station became the first Metro station to feature a Bike & Ride facility. A mesh enclosure built into the adjacent parking garage, the facility can hold up to 120 bikes and has 24-hour access. The facility hopes to increase transportation to and from the station by bicycle.[4]

On June 25, 2017, Yellow Line trains stopped serving the station due to the elimination of Rush+, which is part of major changes to the Metrorail system.[5]

In May 2018, Metro announced an extensive renovation of platforms at twenty stations across the system. The platforms at the College Park–University of Maryland station would be rebuilt starting on May 29, 2021, through September 6, 2021.[6][7][8]

Yellow Line trains were re-extended from Mount Vernon Square and Fort Totten to Greenbelt at all service hours beginning May 25, 2019.[9]

From March 26, 2020, until June 28, 2020, this station was closed due to the 2020 coronavirus pandemic.[10][11][12]

Since May 7, 2023, the northeastern terminus of the Yellow Line was truncated from Greenbelt to Mount Vernon Square, following its reopening after a nearly eight-month-long major rehabilitation project on its bridge over the Potomac River and its tunnel leading into L'Enfant Plaza. Thus, it no longer services this station.[13]

From July 22 to September 4, 2023, the Metro station will be closed to improve rail system technologies, closing stations north of Fort Totten.[14]

The Purple Line, a light rail system, is under construction as of 2023 and is scheduled to open in 2026.[15]

Station layout
MARC Commuter Rail platform at College Park in August 2018.

The station's bus terminal is host to several Metrobus lines, the 14 and 17 lines of The Bus, and the G Route of the Laurel Connect-a-Ride, as well as the university's complimentary Shuttle-UM running from the station to the Stamp Student Union on campus, connecting residents and passengers to Prince George's County, the university, and to Washington, D.C. The 104 bus shuttles students from the Metro to Stamp Student Union.

A multi-level parking garage on the east side of the island-platformed station containing 1,345 parking spaces opened on June 25, 2005.[16]

The Washington Metro station is compliant with the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, however the MARC station is not compliant, which prevents some disabled people from transferring between the MARC train and the DC Metro. The MARC station lacks several accessible design elements, including raised platforms for boarding as well as tactile paving along the edges of the platform.

MARC trains, on the Camden Line, stop at this station on a set of tracks that are parallel to the Metro tracks. These tracks are accessible from the west side of the station and also via a pedestrian tunnel that passes under the Metro tracks. The station is unstaffed, but has an automated Ticket Vending Machine (TVM) that riders can use to buy tickets. Since the TVM was added, riders that choose to purchase tickets on board the train must pay an additional $5 fee.

P
Platform level
Southbound ← toward Branch Avenue (Hyattsville Crossing)
Island platform Disabled access
Northbound → toward Greenbelt (Terminus) →
G Street level West exit/entrance, buses, kiss and ride
Side platform
Track 1 ←      Camden Line toward Union Station (Riverdale)
Track 2 →      Camden Line toward Camden Station (Greenbelt) →
Side platform
Street level East exit/entrance, buses, parking garage
M Mezzanine Fare control, ticket machines, station agent

References
  1. "MARC Station Information". Maryland Transit Administration. Retrieved January 30, 2021.
  2. "Rail Ridership Data Viewer". WMATA. Retrieved February 13, 2023.
  3. Wilber, Del Quentin; Stiehm, Jamie (October 5, 1997). "Six Pa. men injured in plane crash en route to rally. Aircraft was trying to land at College Park Airport". The Baltimore Sun.
  4. "Construction begins on Metro's first Bike & Ride facility at College Park" (Press release). WMATA. October 6, 2011. News Release.
  5. "June 25 Fare Service Changes" (PDF). WMATA. 2017. Brochure.
  6. Siddiqui, Faiz (May 7, 2018). "Metro wants to rebuild 20 station platforms over three years, creating SafeTrack-like disruptions". The Washington Post.
  7. "Metro announces travel alternatives during summer platform reconstruction work". WMATA. Retrieved April 14, 2021.
  8. "Alternative Travel Options Summer 2021". WMATA. Retrieved May 29, 2021.
  9. "Metro to extend Yellow Line service to Greenbelt beginning May 25" (Press release). WMATA. May 20, 2019.
  10. "Special Covid-19 System Map" (PDF). WMATA. Retrieved May 24, 2020.
  11. "Metrorail stations closed due to COVID-19 pandemic". WMATA. March 23, 2020. Retrieved May 24, 2020.
  12. "Metro to reopen 15 stations, reallocate bus service to address crowding, starting Sunday". WMATA. Retrieved June 22, 2020.
  13. "Metro's Yellow Line reopens Sunday with controversial turnback". WJLA-TV. Sinclair Broadcast Group. May 7, 2023. Retrieved May 7, 2023.
  14. "Enhanced Maintenance Work during Summer 2023 to focus on custom and reliability upgrades to modernize | WMATA". www.wmata.com. Retrieved July 23, 2023.
  15. Shaver, Katherine (January 26, 2022). "Md. board approves $3.4 billion contract to complete Purple Line". The Washington Post.
  16. "Officials celebrate opening of parking garage at College Park-U of MD Metrorail station" (Press release). WMATA. July 5, 2005.
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