West Falls Church station

West Falls Church station is a Washington Metro station in Idylwood, Virginia on the Orange Line, the first station inside the beltway on the Orange Line going east. It is one of only two stations in the system to have three tracks, the other being the National Airport station. The center track is used for storage and relaying trains to the adjacent Falls Church Yard.

West Falls Church
VT
The center track of West Falls Church station, used for train storage
General information
Location7040 Haycock Road
Falls Church, Virginia
Coordinates38.9007928°N 77.1889651°W / 38.9007928; -77.1889651
Owned byWashington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority
Platforms2 island platforms
Tracks3
Connections
Construction
Structure typeSurface
Parking2,009 spaces
Bicycle facilitiesCapital Bikeshare, 40 racks, 22 lockers
AccessibleYes
Other information
Station codeK06
History
OpenedJune 7, 1986 (June 7, 1986)
Rebuilt2020
Previous namesWest Falls Church (1986–1999, 2011–2022)
West Falls Church–VT/UVA (1999–2011)
Passengers
2022571 daily[1]
Rank83rd
Services
Preceding station Washington Metro Following station
Dunn Loring
toward Vienna
 Orange Line East Falls Church
toward New Carrollton
Location

Facilities
A view of the east end of the platforms, open to the weather. The Silver Line viaduct can be seen in the distance
Bus bays at West Falls Church station

The station serves the suburban community of Falls Church and the Northern Virginia Center operated by Virginia Tech and the University of Virginia. While the station has a street address on Haycock Road, it is physically located in the median of Interstate 66 near Virginia State Route 7 (Leesburg Pike); riders access the platform and mezzanine using an elevated walkway from the parking area.

This is a suburban transfer station, as commuter buses that serve communities near the Dulles Toll and Access Roads (Virginia State Route 267) connect to the Metro system at West Falls Church using a bus-only exit from the Access Road. These buses include Fairfax Connector to points within Fairfax, including Reston and Herndon, Metrobus to Tysons Corner, and Loudoun County Transit reverse commute routes to businesses including AOL and MCI and transfer points in Dulles.

With the opening of the Silver Line on July 26, 2014, many commuter bus routes that formerly terminated at West Falls Church were rerouted to instead terminate at locations along the new Silver Line stations in Tysons and Reston. [2] West Falls Church was also the original staging point for Washington Flyer buses to Dulles Airport, but this shifted to Wiehle-Reston East with the opening of the Silver Line.[3]

The Silver Line joins the Orange Line via a flying junction immediately east of this station but does not serve the station. Plans originally called for the Silver Line to stop at West Falls Church, but it was cut out of the final plan.

History

The station opened on June 7, 1986.[4] Its opening coincided with the completion of 9.1 miles (14.6 km) of rail west of the Ballston–MU station and the opening of the East Falls Church, Dunn Loring and Vienna stations.[4]

In 1999, the station was renamed West Falls Church–VT/UVA when the acronym for Virginia Tech and the University of Virginia were added to the station's name, two years after the dedication of the shared graduate center. These initialisms were moved to a subtitle location on November 3, 2011.[5]

In May 2018, Metro announced an extensive renovation of platforms at twenty stations across the system. The West Falls Church station platforms would be rebuilt starting in late 2020.[6]

From May 23 until August 15, 2020, this station was closed due to the platform reconstruction project which closed stations west of Ballston–MU station.[7][8] On August 16, 2020, the station reopened as the Orange Line terminus when Silver and Orange Line trains were able to bypass East Falls Church station.[9][10]

Per request by the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors, the initials for the University of Virginia were dropped from the station's secondary name on September 11, 2022, to reflect its departure from the nearby Northern Virginia Center.[11][12]

On June 3, 2023, this station was closed for track replacement, affecting stations west of Ballston-MU. Service resumed on June 26, 2023.[13]

Station layout
G Street level Exit/entrance, buses, parking, fare control, ticket machines, station agent
P
Platform level		 Westbound ← toward Vienna/Fairfax–GMU (Dunn Loring)
Island platform
Center track → No regular service
Island platform
Eastbound → toward New Carrollton (East Falls Church) →

References
  1. "Rail Ridership Data Viewer". WMATA. Retrieved February 17, 2023.
  2. "Bus service changes to Silver Line". Fox 5 DC. July 23, 2014. Archived from the original on August 13, 2014. Retrieved August 13, 2014.
  3. "Silver Line Express Bus to Metrorail Station | Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority". Archived from the original on May 8, 2016. Retrieved February 17, 2016.
  4. Lynton, Stephen J. (June 8, 1986), "9.1 more miles for Metrorail", The Washington Post, p. C1
  5. "Station names updated for new map" (Press release). Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority. November 3, 2011. Archived from the original on November 5, 2011. Retrieved November 5, 2011.
  6. "Metro wants to rebuild 20 station platforms over three years, creating SafeTrack-like disruptions". Washington Post. May 7, 2018. Archived from the original on February 19, 2019. Retrieved February 19, 2019.
  7. "Metro to use upcoming low-ridership summer to maximum effect, expands Orange, Silver line shutdown". www.wmata.com. Archived from the original on May 22, 2020. Retrieved April 23, 2020.
  8. "Platform Improvement Project | WMATA". www.wmata.com. Archived from the original on May 21, 2020. Retrieved May 24, 2020.
  9. "Silver Line service will return August 16, along with reopening of six stations in Fairfax County | WMATA". www.wmata.com. Archived from the original on July 12, 2020. Retrieved July 11, 2020.
  10. "Metro to add more buses, trains and extended hours as part of Covid-19 Recovery Plan beginning Sunday, August 16 | WMATA". www.wmata.com. Archived from the original on August 13, 2020. Retrieved August 16, 2020.
  11. "Metro to implement five station name changes Sept. 11 | WMATA". www.wmata.com. Retrieved September 9, 2022.
  12. Leayman, Emily (September 9, 2022). "DC Metro Changing 5 Station Names In Virginia, Maryland". Patch. Retrieved April 20, 2023.
  13. "Metro Closes 4 Orange, Silver Line Stations in Virginia for Weeks, Impacting Travel to Dulles Airport". June 2023.
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