College_Park-University_of_Maryland_(Washington_Metro)

College Park–University of Maryland station

College Park–University of Maryland station

Washington Metro and MARC Train 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.

Quick Facts General information, 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]

Yellow Line train approaching College Park–University of Maryland seen from the Amtrak/MARC tracks in May 2022

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 was 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 2027.[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.


References

  1. "MARC Station Information". Maryland Transit Administration. Retrieved January 30, 2021.
  2. "Rail Ridership Data Viewer". WMATA. Archived from the original on February 8, 2023. 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. "Alternative Travel Options Summer 2021". WMATA. Retrieved May 29, 2021.
  7. "Special Covid-19 System Map" (PDF). WMATA. Archived from the original (PDF) on March 27, 2020. Retrieved May 24, 2020.
  8. "Metrorail stations closed due to COVID-19 pandemic". WMATA. March 23, 2020. Retrieved May 24, 2020.
  9. Shaver, Katherine (January 26, 2022). "Md. board approves $3.4 billion contract to complete Purple Line". The Washington Post.
Purple Line
Bethesda
Connecticut Avenue
Lyttonsville
16th Street–Woodside
Silver Spring
Bonifant Street
Silver Spring Library
Wayne Avenue
Dale Drive
Manchester Place
Long Branch
MD Route 193.svg
MD 193
University Boulevard
Piney Branch Road
Takoma Langley
Riggs Road
Adelphi Road–UMGC–UMD
Campus Drive–UMD
Campus Drive
Baltimore Avenue–UMD
College Park–University of Maryland
Riverdale Park North–UMD
MD Route 201.svg
MD 201
Kenilworth Avenue
Riverdale Park–Kenilworth
Beacon Heights–East Pines
Glenridge Maintenance Facility
Glenridge
Ellin Road
New Carrollton
Amtrak

Handicapped/disabled access All stations are accessible

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