Bethesda is a rapid transit station on the Red Line of the

Washington Metro The Washington Metro (or simply Metro), formally the Metrorail,Google Books search/preview

system in

Bethesda, Maryland Bethesda () is an unincorporated, census-designated place in southern Montgomery County, Maryland. It is located just northwest of Washington, D.C. It takes its name from a local church, the Bethesda Meeting House (1820, rebuilt 1849), which ...

. It is one of the busiest suburban Metro stations, serving on average 9,142 passengers each weekday in 2017. The Purple Line, a light rail system currently under construction, will terminate at Bethesda, providing rail service to other inner Maryland suburbs such as Silver Spring and College Park, each of which has additional north-south connections by Washington Metro, and New Carrollton, which has

Amtrak The National Railroad Passenger Corporation, doing business as Amtrak () , is the national passenger railroad company of the United States. It operates inter-city rail service in 46 of the 48 contiguous U.S. States and nine cities in Canada. ...

and

MARC Marc or MARC may refer to: People * Marc (given name), people with the first name * Marc (surname), people with the family name Acronyms * MARC standards, a data format used for library cataloging, * MARC Train, a regional commuter rail system of ...

connections to both Washington, D.C. and

Baltimore Baltimore ( , locally: or ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland, fourth most populous city in the Mid-Atlantic, and the 30th most populous city in the United States with a population of 585,708 in 2020. Baltimore was ...

Location

Located at the center of the area's central business district, Bethesda station lies underneath Wisconsin Avenue at its intersection with Montgomery Avenue. In the direction of Shady Grove, it is the first station wholly within Montgomery County, as Friendship Heights straddles the border between Maryland and Washington, D.C.

Nearby landmarks

Bethesda-Chevy Chase High School Bethesda-Chevy Chase High School (B-CC) is a public high school in Montgomery County, Maryland. It is named for two of the towns it serves; it also serves Kensington and Silver Spring. It is located at 4301 East-West Highway, in Bethesda. In May ...

Capital Crescent Trail The Capital Crescent Trail (CCT) is a , shared-use rail trail that runs from Georgetown in Washington, D.C., to Bethesda, Maryland. An extension of the trail from Bethesda to Silver Spring along a route formerly known as the Georgetown Branch ...

* Chevy Chase Bank headquarters *

Consumer Product Safety Commission The United States Consumer Product Safety Commission (USCPSC, CPSC, or commission) is an independent agency of the United States government. The CPSC seeks to promote the safety of consumer products by addressing “unreasonable risks” of inj ...

*Bethesda's ''

Madonna of the Trail ''Madonna of the Trail'' is a series of 12 identical monuments dedicated to the spirit of pioneer women in the United States. The monuments were commissioned by the National Society of Daughters of the American Revolution (NSDAR). They w ...

'' monument *

Marriott International Marriott International, Inc. is an American multinational company that operates, franchises, and licenses lodging including hotel, residential, and timeshare properties. It is headquartered in Bethesda, Maryland. The company was founded by ...

headquarters *Television stations

WTTG WTTG (channel 5) is a television station in Washington, D.C., airing programming from the Fox network. It is owned and operated by the network's Fox Television Stations division alongside MyNetworkTV outlet WDCA (channel 20). WTTG and WDCA sh ...

and

WDCA WDCA (channel 20), branded on-air as Fox 5 Plus, is a television station in Washington, D.C., airing programming from MyNetworkTV. It is owned and operated by Fox Television Stations alongside Fox outlet WTTG (channel 5). WDCA and WTTG shar ...

History

The station opened on August 25, 1984. Its opening coincided with the completion of of rail northwest of the Van Ness–UDC station and the opening of the

Friendship Heights Friendship Heights is an urban commercial and residential neighborhood in northwest Washington, D.C. and southern Montgomery County, Maryland. Though its borders are not clearly defined, Friendship Heights consists roughly of the neighborhoods ...

, Grosvenor, Medical Center and

Tenleytown Tenleytown is a historic neighborhood in Northwest, Washington, D.C. History In 1790, locals began calling the neighborhood "Tennally's Town" after area tavern owner John Tennally. Over time, the spelling has evolved and by the 19th century th ...

stations. In October 2013, a new staircase appeared between the mezzanine and platform. In October 2014, the replacement of the first of three entrance escalators at the station began. The escalator site preparation, demolition, construction, installation and testing was projected to take approximately 42 weeks to complete. The $8.4 million project was completed on March 22, 2017. The station's construction has been a major boon to the area, with several office buildings being built on (in the Bethesda Metro Center complex) and around it. The Purple Line system is under construction as of 2022 and is scheduled to open in 2026.

Station layout

Like the other 10 stations in the system constructed with rock tunneling, Bethesda station is deep underground. Its platform is more than below the street level. Prior to the opening of the

Wheaton station Wheaton station could refer to: * Wheaton station (Union Pacific), in Wheaton, Illinois * Wheaton station (Chicago Aurora and Elgin Railroad), defunct, in Wheaton, Illinois * Wheaton station (Washington Metro) Wheaton station is a Washington ...

, the Bethesda station had the longest

escalator An escalator is a moving staircase which carries people between floors of a building or structure. It consists of a motor-driven chain of individually linked steps on a track which cycle on a pair of tracks which keep the step tread horizo ...

in the

Western Hemisphere The Western Hemisphere is the half of the planet Earth that lies west of the prime meridian (which crosses Greenwich, London, United Kingdom) and east of the antimeridian. The other half is called the Eastern Hemisphere. Politically, the te ...

, at , with a rise of . The main escalators descending to the station are located on the west side of Wisconsin Avenue, adjacent to the station's underground bus bays. A Metro-style tunnel connects passengers to the southeast corner of Wisconsin and

Old Georgetown Road Maryland Route 187 (MD 187) is a state highway in the U.S. state of Maryland. Known as Old Georgetown Road, the highway runs from MD 355 and MD 410 in Bethesda north to Executive Boulevard in North Bethesda. MD 187 is a four- to six-lane high ...

. A mezzanine provides fare control and access to the station's

island platform An island platform (also center platform, centre platform) is a station layout arrangement where a single platform is positioned between two tracks within a railway station, tram stop or transitway interchange. Island platforms are popular o ...

within the station. Purple Line - Bethesda shaft construction - 2022a

In December 2022 the Bethesda Plaza entrance escalator was replaced with stairs that lead from the bus station to street level. The escalator was replaced because a canopy could not be accommodated that would provide protection from the elements for a new escalator. A new southern entrance will allow for connections to the Purple Line, which will be located in a tunnel running above the Red Line tunnel.

References

External links

*WMATA
Bethesda StationOld Georgetown Road entrance from Google Maps Street View
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bethesda station Bethesda, Maryland Purple Line (Maryland) Stations on the Red Line (Washington Metro) Washington Metro stations in Maryland Railway stations in the United States opened in 1984 Railway stations in Montgomery County, Maryland Railway stations located underground in Maryland 1984 establishments in Maryland Washington Metro stations located underground