Stadium–Armory station

Stadium–Armory station is a Washington Metro station in Southeast, Washington, D.C. It is located in the Hill East neighborhood. The station was opened on July 1, 1977, and is operated by the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA). Stadium–Armory serves the Blue, Orange and Silver Lines. The station is named for its proximity to the RFK Stadium campus and the D.C. Armory.

Stadium–Armory
Stadium–Armory station in 2022
General information
Location	192 19th Street SE Washington, D.C.
Coordinates	38.8883°N 76.9771°W / 38.8883; -76.9771
Owned by	Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority
Platforms	1 island platform
Tracks	2
Connections	Metrobus: C41, C51, D24 OurBus Anacostia Riverwalk Trail
Construction
Structure type	Underground
Bicycle facilities	Capital Bikeshare, 20 racks
Accessible	Yes
Other information
Station code	D08
History
Opened	July 1, 1977 (1977-07-01)
Passengers
2023	1,265 daily[1]
Rank	74 out of 98
Services
Preceding station Washington Metro Following station Potomac Avenue toward Vienna Orange Line Minnesota Avenue toward New Carrollton Potomac Avenue toward Ashburn Silver Line Minnesota Avenue toward New Carrollton Benning Road toward Downtown Largo Potomac Avenue toward Franconia–Springfield Blue Line Benning Road toward Downtown Largo
Route map Benning Road Minnesota Avenue D&G Junction Potomac Avenue
Location

The station is a transfer station, as this is the last station shared by the three lines before the lines diverge going east; east of the station, all three lines rise above ground onto elevated track to cross the Anacostia River. At the diverge point, the Orange Line and every other Silver Line trains continue above ground veering northbound towards the Minnesota Avenue station, and the Blue and every other Silver Line train continue eastbound entering a tunnel towards Benning Road.

Station layout

North headhouse of the station, adjacent to the D.C. Armory

Stadium–Armory station serves the Hill East and Kingman Park neighborhoods. It is named for the adjacent RFK Stadium and D.C. Armory. It has a single island platform with two tracks. Track D1 is for eastbound trains to New Carrollton or Largo and track D2 is for westbound trains to Vienna, Franconia–Springfield, or Ashburn. An indicator sign at the north end of the station flashes to inform passengers of the arriving train's destination, showing Orange for New Carrollton, and Blue and/or Silver for Largo. This feature is only used at final transfer stations; another example being Rosslyn. North of the station, the tracks emerge onto an elevated structure continuing east across the Anacostia river. After an elevated pocket track, the D&G Junction splits the Orange Line with the Blue and Silver lines as they each continue east into Maryland.

The station has two entrances along 19th Street SE; the north entrance at Independence Avenue and the south entrance between C & Burke Streets SE. Elevator access is at the south entrance.

History

20th century

The station opened on July 1, 1977.^[2] Its opening coincided with the completion of 11.8 miles (19.0 km)^[3] of rail between National Airport and RFK Stadium.^[4] Orange Line service to the station began upon the line's opening on November 20, 1978.^[5] The station is the last underground station for eastbound Orange, Blue and Silver lines combined.

In 1979, the D.C. Armory requested that the station name be changed to "Starplex" for the Stadium Armory Complex, but that request was ignored by the Metro Board.^[6] Stadium–Armory would also serve as the eastern terminus of the Blue Line from its opening through the opening of its extension to Addison Road on November 22, 1980.^[7]

21st century

The station was supposed to be the Silver Line's eastern terminus, but in December 2012, due to safety concerns regarding a pocket track between this station and Minnesota Avenue and Benning Road, Metro officials decided to extend the line into nearby Prince George's County, Maryland to Largo, which is the eastern terminus of the Blue Line.^[8] Silver Line service at Stadium-Armory began on July 26, 2014.^[9]

Between May 28 and September 5, 2022, all Orange Line trains were terminating at Stadium–Armory station due to the Platform Improvement Project which closed stations north of Stadium–Armory station. On weekends, all Blue and Silver Line trains were terminating Stadium–Armory while Orange Line trains were cut back to Ballston–MU due to aerial structure repairs along the D route.^[10]

Transformer fire

On September 21, 2015, a transformer caught fire near the station, causing severe delays. The reduced power as a result of the loss of the transformer caused WMATA to implement strategies to combat congestion in the system.^[11] This included having Orange and Silver line trains skip the Stadium–Armory station during rush hours, but service had been restored as of November.^[12]