Yellow Line
Northbound Yellow Line train arriving atKing Street–Old Town in May 2022
Overview
Locale	Fairfax,Alexandria, andArlington counties,Virginia Washington, D.C.
Termini	Huntington Mount Vernon Square
Stations	13
Service
Type	Rapid transit
System	Washington Metro
Operator(s)	WMATA
Rolling stock	3000-series,6000-series,7000-series
History
Opened	April 30, 1983; 42 years ago (April 30, 1983)[1]
Technical
Number of tracks	2
Character	At-grade, elevated, and underground
Track gauge	4 ft 8+1⁄4 in (1,429 mm)
Electrification	Third rail, 750 V DC
Route map Yellow Line highlighted in yellow Show interactive map Legend toGreenbelt Mount Vernon Square Gallery Place Archives toLargo toNew Carrollton L'Enfant L'Enfant Plaza toBranch Avenue I-395 Southwest Freeway 14th Street bridges (Potomac River) DC VA viaRosslyn Pentagon I-395 Shirley Highway Pentagon City Crystal City | Crystal City National Airport Four Mile Run Potomac Yard Braddock Road King Street–Old Town | Alexandria Union Sta. RF&P Subdivision toRichmond toFranconia–Springfield Eisenhower Avenue I-95 / I-495 Capital Beltway Cameron Run Huntington Multiple services sharing track All stations are accessible This diagram: view talk edit Show route diagram

TheYellow Line is arapid transit line of theWashington Metro system that runs betweenHuntington inVirginia andMount Vernon Square inWashington, D.C. It consists of 13stations inFairfax County, the city ofAlexandria, andArlington County in Virginia, and Washington, D.C.^{[note 1][3][4][5][6]} It is the shortest line in the system, and since its truncation to Mount Vernon Square, it is the only line that does not enterMaryland.

The Yellow Line shares track with theBlue Line betweenKing Street–Old Town andPentagon and theGreen Line betweenL'Enfant Plaza and Mount Vernon Square. It has only two stations that are not shared by any other lines (Huntington andEisenhower Avenue) and only two sections of track that are not shared by any other lines – the section south of King Street–Old Town and the section betweenPentagon andL'Enfant Plaza, crossing thePotomac River.

On weekdays, trains run every 6 minutes until 9:30PM and every 7.5 minutes afterward. On weekends, trains run every 8 minutes.^[7]

Planning for Metro began with the Mass Transportation Survey in 1955, which attempted to forecast freeway and mass transit systems sufficient to meet the region's needs projected for 1980.^[8] In 1959, the study's final report included two rapid transit lines that anticipated downtown Washington subways.^[9] Because the plan called for extensive freeway construction within the District of Columbia, alarmed residents lobbied for federal legislation creating a regional transportation agency with a moratorium on freeway construction through July 1, 1962.^[10] The new agency, the National Capital Transportation Administration, issued a 1962Transportation in the National Capital Region report, which did not include the route that became the Yellow Line.^[11] A central route under 7th Street in downtown was only added in 1967 primarily to serve the "inner city".^[12] In March 1968, theWashington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA) board approved its 98-mile (158 km) Adopted Regional System (ARS), which included the Yellow Line from Franconia and Backlick Road (in Springfield) to Greenbelt.^[13]

While a cut-and-fill tunnel for Yellow Line was built under 7th Street and U Street, street traffic and pedestrian access were difficult.^[14] The result was the loss of the traditional retail businesses along the route. The downtown segment of the line was originally projected to open in September 1977.^[15] Obtaining approval of the District of Columbia and Prince Georges' County of the exact alignment of the Yellow Line north of U Street delayed construction. Originally, the ARS called for the line to be placed in the median strip of the planned North Central Freeway,.^[15] Still, after that road was canceled, the route of the replacement subway tunnel became controversial, resulting in years of expensive delays.^[16]

Service on the Yellow Line began on April 30, 1983, addingArchives to the system and linking the two already-built stations ofPentagon andGallery Place with a bridge across the Potomac River. It was extended beyondNational Airport by four stations toHuntington on December 17, 1983, the first station outside theCapital Beltway.^[1] When theGreen Line link toU Street opened on May 11, 1991, it acted as an extension of the Yellow Line until the southern Green Line branch was completed.^[1][14] When Green Line service began, the Yellow Line was truncated atMount Vernon Square, where a pocket track exists to relay trains.^[1]

The Yellow Line was initially planned to follow a slightly different route in Virginia. The plan would have sent Yellow Line trains toFranconia–Springfield, with Blue Line trains serving Huntington. This was changed due to a shortage of rail cars at the time of the completion of the line to Huntington. Because fewer rail cars were required to operate Yellow Line service than would be required to run Blue Line service out to Huntington, the line designations were switched due to the Yellow Line's shorter route.^[17] From 1999 to 2008, the Yellow Line operated to Franconia–Springfield on July 4, as part of Metro's special service pattern on that day.^[18]

On November 16, 1995, WMATA and the developer of thePotomac Yard area of Alexandria, Virginia, signed an agreement to constructPotomac Yard station between Braddock Road and National Airport.^[19]

In 2006, Metro board memberJim Graham and Washington, D.C. MayorAnthony A. Williams proposed re-extending Yellow Line service toFort Totten or even toGreenbelt. Suburban members of the board initially resisted the proposal. Through a compromise that also increased service on theRed Line, on April 20, 2006, the WMATA board approved a Yellow Line extension to the Fort Totten station during off-peak hours. An 18-month pilot program began on December 31, 2006, at a cost of $5.75 million to the District of Columbia.^[20][21] On June 26, 2008, due to the success of the 18-month trial, the Yellow Line was permanently extended to Fort Totten at all times except peak hours.^[2]

As part of the Rush Plus initiative trial, additional Yellow Line trains began running between Greenbelt and Franconia-Springfield starting June 18, 2012; these trains were discontinued on June 25, 2017, due to budget cuts.^[22] To accommodate platform reconstructions, the Blue and Yellow Lines south of Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport were closed from May 25 to September 8, 2019, in the longest line closure in Metro's history.^[23][24] The Yellow Line was extended to Greenbelt at the beginning of the closure and retained after.^[25] On May 7, 2023, Yellow Line trains were shortened to Mount Vernon Square at all times being replaced by additional Green Line trains.^[26]

From March 26, 2020, until June 28, 2020, trains bypassedEisenhower Avenue,Archives,Mount Vernon Square, andCollege Park–University of Maryland stations due to theCOVID-19 pandemic.^[27][28] All stations were reopened beginning on June 28, 2020.^[29] Between February 13 and May 13, 2021, additional Yellow Line trains began operating between Mount Vernon Square andFranconia–Springfield at all times, replacing theBlue Line due to it being suspended because of platform reconstruction atArlington Cemetery andAddison Road.^[30] Between May 29 and September 6, 2021, all Yellow Line trains terminated at Mount Vernon Square due to a platform improvement project which closed stations north ofFort Totten.^[31]

Yellow Line trains were suspended beginning September 10, 2022, to tie inPotomac Yard station and to rehabilitate the14th Street Bridge that the Yellow Line operates over. Service was replaced by additional Green Line trains, as well as Blue Line trains that operated betweenHuntington andNew Carrollton stations.^[32] The Yellow Line reopened on May 7, 2023, with its northeastern terminus cut back from Greenbelt to Mount Vernon Square.^[33][26] Potomac Yard station opened on May 19, 2023.^[34]Automatic train operation on the Yellow and Green lines, which had ceased following the2009 Red Line train collision, was allowed to resume in May 2025.^[35][36] Effective December 31, 2025, half of Yellow Line trains will be re-extended to Greenbelt.^[37][38]

The southern terminus of the Yellow Line is adjacent to Kings Highway (Virginia State Route 241) in Fairfax County, Virginia.^[39] The line heads northeast on a bridge over Hunting Creek and theCapital Beltway to a station just south of Eisenhower Avenue, which serves several government office buildings, including theUnited States Patent and Trademark Office. The Yellow Line then merges with the Blue Line and follows the right-of-way of theRF&P Railroad through the City of Alexandria.^[39] The line enters a short tunnel underU.S. Route 1. After crossing a bridge over Four Mile Run, the line enters Arlington County on an elevated structure above the National Airport parking lots.^[40]

At the north end of the airport, the Yellow Line enters a tunnel under 18th Street South and South Hayes Street inCrystal City.^[39] The tunnel continues along the southwest face of thePentagon which is a 2-level station to facilitate a fork with the Blue Line. After the Pentagon station, the Yellow Line emerges from its tunnel east of the Pentagon and crosses theCharles R. Fenwick Bridge over the George Washington Memorial Parkway, the Potomac River, and Ohio Drive.^[39] At the end of the bridge, the Yellow Line re-enters a tunnel near theJefferson Memorial and crosses under theWashington Channel.^[39] The tunnel merges with the Green Line tunnel under 7th Street Southwest just south of theL'Enfant Plaza.^[39] The joint Yellow—Green Line tunnel continues north through downtown Washington under 7th Street, turns west under Florida Avenue and U Street, and then north under 14th Street Northwest.^[39] The tunnel then turns toward the northeast under Park Road and New Hampshire Avenue.^[39] The tunnel then bends eastward under Rock Creek Cemetery and Fort Totten Park to emerge just before entering the lower level of the Fort Totten station. Until May 2019, this was the northern terminal for Yellow Line service, with the track continuing northeast as just the Green Line to the Greenbelt terminus.^[39][41] Between May 2019 and September 2022, and again beginning in December 2025, the Yellow Line continued along these tracks to Greenbelt.

Internally, the Yellow Line in Virginia is called the "Huntington Route" (C) and the route through the District of Columbia and beyond to Greenbelt as the "Greenbelt Route" (E). The line's bridge over the Potomac River is called the L Route.^[42] As of March 2018, all Yellow Line trains were required only to run 8-car trains.^[43][44] However Yellow Line trains began operating 6-car trains again in summer 2019, and full time by September 2022.

The following stations are along the line, from south to north.

Station	Code	Opened	Image	Other Metro Line(s)	Notes
Huntington	C15	December 17, 1983			Southern terminus
Eisenhower Avenue	C14
King Street–Old Town	C13				atAlexandria Union Station Transfer station for theBlue Line (southern)
Braddock Road	C12
Potomac Yard	C11	May 19, 2023			Infill station
National Airport	C10	July 1, 1977
Crystal City	C09				Manassas Line,Fredericksburg Line
Pentagon City	C08
Pentagon	C07				Transfer station for theBlue Line (northern); crossesPotomac River viaFenwick Bridge. Built as a multi-level station due to geographic constraints, with trains heading south towardsHuntington (Yellow Line) andFranconia-Springfield (Blue Line) on the lower level, and trains heading north towardsMount Vernon Square (Yellow Line) andLargo (Blue Line) on the upper level.
L'Enfant Plaza	F03				Manassas Line,Fredericksburg Line atL'Enfant Transfer station for theOrange,Silver,Blue, andGreen Lines.
Archives	F02	April 30, 1983
Gallery Place	F01	December 15, 1976			Transfer station for the Green and Red Lines.
Mount Vernon Square	E01	May 11, 1991			Northern terminus, Transfer station for the Green Line toGreenbelt

A second improvement project involves building a pedestrian tunnel to interconnect the Gallery Place station with Metro Center. A July 2005 study proposed connecting the eastern mezzanine of Metro Center with the western mezzanine of Gallery Place that are only one block apart. The proposed connection would reduce the number of passengers that use the Red Line to transfer between the Yellow Line and the Blue and Orange lines at Metro Center. As of 2011, the project remained unfunded.^{[45][needs update]}

• List of Washington Metro stations

• Schrag, Zachary (2006).The Great Society Subway: A History of the Washington Metro. Baltimore, MD: Johns Hopkins University Press.ISBN 0-8018-8246-X.

Wikimedia Commons has media related toYellow Line (Washington Metro).

• world.nycsubway.org:Yellow Line

• Yellow Line (Washington Metro)
• Airport rail links in the United States
• Railway lines opened in 1983
• 1983 establishments in Virginia

• CS1 errors: missing periodical
• Good articles
• Articles with short description
• Short description matches Wikidata
• Use American English from April 2024
• All Wikipedia articles written in American English
• Use mdy dates from April 2024
• Pages using BSsplit instead of BSsrws
• Wikipedia articles in need of updating from February 2025
• All Wikipedia articles in need of updating
• Pages using gadget WikiMiniAtlas
• Articles using KML from Wikidata
• Commons category link is on Wikidata
• Pages using the Kartographer extension