Branch Avenue station is an island-platformed

Washington Metro The Washington Metro, often abbreviated as the Metro and formally the Metrorail, is a rapid transit system serving the Washington metropolitan area of the United States. It is administered by the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority ...

station in

Suitland, Maryland Suitland is a suburb of Washington, D.C., approximately one mile (1.6 km) southeast of Washington, D.C. Suitland is a census designated place (CDP), as of the 2020 census, its population was 25,839. Prior to 2010, it was part of the Suitland ...

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

. The station was opened on January 13, 2001, and is operated by the

Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority The Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA ), commonly referred to as Metro, is a tri-jurisdictional public transit agency that operates transit services in the Washington metropolitan area. WMATA provides rapid transit servic ...

(WMATA). The station presently serves as the southeastern terminus for the Green Line, with the Branch Avenue Rail Yard lying just beyond this station. The station is located near the intersection of Auth Road and Old Soper Road. This is also the station closest to

Andrews Air Force Base Andrews Air Force Base (Andrews AFB, AAFB) is the airfield portion of Joint Base Andrews, which is under the jurisdiction of the United States Air Force (USAF). In 2009, Andrews Air Force Base merged with Naval Air Facility Washington to form ...

History

Plans for a station as the southeastern terminus of the Green Line initially appeared in the original 1968 route map. However, by 1978 the Prince George's County Council, after initially supporting the Branch Avenue alignment, changed their support to moving the terminus to a location adjacent to the Rosecroft Raceway. Metro followed suit and pursued the Rosecroft alignment instead of Branch Avenue in 1980. By May a group of citizens filed suit against Metro stating that the route was improperly changed and failed to conform to the plan adopted by county voters in 1968. In February 1981, the court ruled in favor of the plaintiffs in stating the routing to Rosecroft could not be undertaken until it went through public review. After further appeal, in March 1982 the judge ruled that none of the proposed Green Line along the Rosecroft alignment could start construction until it went through the entire planning process again. After deciding to not file an appeal, in December 1984 Metro voted to change the southeastern terminus back to Branch Avenue thus allowing for construction to commence on the Green Line towards Prince George's County. Groundbreaking for the final segment of the Green Line occurred on September 23, 1995. The station opened on January 13, 2001. Its opening coincided with the completion of approximately of rail southeast of

Anacostia Anacostia is a historic neighborhood in Southeast (Washington, D.C.), Southeast Washington, D.C. Its downtown is located at the intersection of Marion Barry Avenue (formerly Good Hope Road) SE and the neighborhood contains commercial and gover ...

and the opening of the Congress Heights, Naylor Road, Southern Avenue and Suitland. This represented the completion of the system as originally planned.

Station layout

Branch Avenue station has an

island platform An island platform (also center platform (American English) or centre platform (British English)) is a station layout arrangement where a single platform is positioned between two tracks within a railway station, tram stop or transitway inte ...

in an open cut between Auth Way and Capital Gateway Drive. Parking lots are located both east and west of the station platform. Constructed adjacent to the station is a rail yard with the capacity to store 116 cars.

References

External links

* * The Schumin Web Transit Center
Branch Ave Station

Station from Auth Way from Google Maps Street View
{{coord, 38.826995, -76.912134, region:US_type:railwaystation, display=title Stations on the Green Line (Washington Metro) Washington Metro stations in Maryland Railway stations in the United States opened in 2001 2001 establishments in Maryland Railway stations in Prince George's County, Maryland