Forest Glen station

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).[1][4] 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 Wheaton station.[1][4][5] 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, so high-speed elevators, rather than escalators, are used for access to the surface.[1]

For the Metra station in Chicago, Illinois, see Forest Glen station (Illinois).
Forest Glen
Forest Glen station platform
General information
Location9730 Georgia Avenue
Forest Glen, Maryland
Coordinates39.0153°N 77.0430°W / 39.0153; -77.0430
Owned byWashington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority
Platforms2 twin tube interconnected side platforms
Tracks2
Connections
Construction
Structure typeUnderground
Depth196 ft (60 m)
Parking592 spaces[1]
Bicycle facilities42 racks, 16 lockers
AccessibleYes
Other information
Station codeB09
History
OpenedSeptember 22, 1990 (1990-09-22)[2]
Passengers
2022676 daily[3]
Rank78th
Services
Preceding station Washington Metro Following station
Silver Spring
toward Shady Grove
 Red Line Wheaton
toward Glenmont
Location

History
Elevator hall, train level

The original plan was to build the station above ground, with a parking lot that would have required demolishing about fifteen homes.[6] After community opposition to the above-ground station, Montgomery County approved a modified plan for an underground station.[6]

The originally planned location for the parking lot and bus stops was on the east side of Georgia Avenue, between Sherwood Road and Tilton Drive, near Woodland Drive.[7] Tilton Drive would have been closed between Georgia Avenue and Woodland Drive in order to reduce traffic through the nearby residential neighborhood.[7] Building the parking lot and bus stops there would have required the demolition of one business and several homes.[7]

Response to plans for the underground station were mixed, with some residents and local businesses looking forward to the convenience of a nearby station and other residents concerned about potential increases in traffic in the area.[1][6] Metro contended that deleting the station from the plans altogether would have overloaded both Wheaton and Silver Spring metro stations.[7] The Montgomery County council approved the station in January 1976,[6] three months after it had approved the further-away Wheaton station.[8]

On August 13, 1991, all six elevators broke down due to a malfunctioning fire sensor, blocking access to and from the station for several hours.[9]

Layout

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.[1][7] 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.[4] Instead, a bank of six high-speed elevators serve the station, with each elevator able to travel at a rate of 17 feet per second (5.2 m/s) between the underground station and the surface.[10] 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.[4] In addition, a 20-story staircase exists for emergency use.[11] South of this station, trains emerge from the tunnel.

This station, along with Wheaton station farther north, has separate tunnels and platforms for each direction, instead of the large, vaulted common room seen at most other underground stations in the Metro system; this design, which is similar to many of the London Underground's tube stations, was used to save money due to the station's depth.[12]

G Street level Exit/entrance, buses, parking; fare control, ticket machines, station agent
P
Platform level		 Westbound ← toward Grosvenor–Strathmore or Shady Grove (Silver Spring)
Side platform
Side platform
Eastbound → toward Glenmont (Wheaton) →

References
  1. Fehr, Stephen C. (September 16, 1990). "Wheaton, Forest Glen to Climb Aboard Metro: New Stations to Extend Red Line 3.2 Miles". The Washington Post. p. D1. ProQuest 307320514. Article preview
  2. Hill, Retha (September 18, 1990). "Metro Station Divides Forest Glen Residents: Impact on Century-Old Community an Issue". The Washington Post. p. D07. ProQuest 307295207.Article Preview
  3. "Rail Ridership Data Viewer". WMATA. Retrieved February 15, 2023.
  4. Fehr, Stephen C. (September 23, 1990). "Metro Adds 2 Stations To System; Wheaton, Forest Glen Open for Thousands". The Washington Post. p. D4. ProQuest 307308111.
  5. "Sequence of Metrorail openings" (PDF). WMATA. 2017. p. 3. Archived from the original (PDF) on July 2, 2018. Retrieved April 1, 2018.
  6. "County Approves Forest Glen Stop". The Washington Post. January 14, 1976. p. B2. ProQuest 146406605. Article preview
  7. Eisen, Jack (April 14, 1975). "Public Hearings Set on Metro Stop Shift in Montgomery County". The Washington Post. p. C3. ProQuest 146427745.
  8. "County Council Decides on Wheaton Metro Site". The Washington Post. October 8, 1975. p. A9. ProQuest 146339453. Article preview
  9. Fehr, Stephen (August 14, 1991). "ELEVATOR BREAK CLOSES METRO'S FOREST GLEN STOP". The Washington Post. Retrieved June 19, 2021.
  10. Levy, Claudia (November 6, 1989). "New Metro Stop Is Way Down Under: Curious in Md. Take Preview Plunge into Area's Deepest Station". The Washington Post. p. B03. ProQuest 307231764. Article preview Article blurb
  11. Fehr, Stephen (September 17, 1990). "METRO STATION'S FIRE SAFETY QUESTIONED". The Washington Post. Retrieved March 17, 2023. As a last resort, passengers also could walk up 20 stories of stairs.
  12. Burgess, John (November 4, 1981). "Jumbo Bores Metro Tunnel: Transit Agency Racing Against Reagan Funds Slash". The Washington Post. p. C1. ProQuest 147326196. Article preview
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