West Falls Church station

West Falls Church VT / UVA
The center track, used for train storage
Location	7040 Haycock Road Falls Church, VA 22043
Owned by	Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority
Line(s)	Orange Line
Platforms	2 island platforms
Tracks	3
Connections	Metrobus: 3T, 28A, 28X, Fairfax Connector Loudoun County Commuter OmniRide Commuter
Construction
Structure type	Surface
Parking	2,009 spaces
Bicycle facilities	40 racks, 22 lockers
Disabled access	Yes
Other information
Station code	K06
History
Opened	June 7, 1986
Previous names	West Falls Church (1986-1999) West Falls Church/VT-UVA (1999-2011)
Traffic
Passengers (2014)	10,597 daily [1]  2.19%
Services
Preceding station   Washington Metro   Following station Dunn Loring toward Vienna Orange Line East Falls Church toward New Carrollton

West Falls Church is a Washington Metro station in Idylwood, Virginia on the Orange Line, the first station inside the beltway on the Orange Line going east. It is one of only two stations in the system to have three tracks, the other being the National Airport station. The center track is used for train storage, and for relaying trains to the adjacent Falls Church Yard.

A view of the east end of the platforms, open to the weather. The Silver Line viaduct can be seen in the distance

The station serves the suburban community of Falls Church and the Northern Virginia Center operated by Virginia Tech and the University of Virginia. While the station has a street address on Haycock Road, it is physically located in the median of Interstate 66 near Virginia State Route 7 (Leesburg Pike); riders access the platform and mezzanine by means of an elevated walkway from the parking area. The initialisms for the two universities were added to the station's name in 1999, two years after the dedication of the shared graduate center. These initialisms were moved to a subtitle location on November 3, 2011.^[2] Service began on June 7, 1986.

This is a major suburban transfer station, as many commuter buses that serve communities near the Dulles Toll and Access Roads (Virginia State Route 267) connect to the Metro system at West Falls Church using a bus-only exit from the Access Road. These buses include Fairfax Connector to points within Fairfax including Reston and Herndon, Metrobus to Tysons Corner, and Loudoun County Transit reverse commute routes to businesses including AOL and MCI and transfer points in Dulles.

With the opening of the Silver Line on July 26, 2014, many commuter bus routes that formerly terminated at West Falls Church were rerouted to instead terminate at locations along the new Silver Line stations in Tysons Corner and Reston. ^[3] West Falls Church was also the original staging point for Washington Flyer buses to Dulles Airport, but this shifted to Wiehle-Reston East with the opening of the Silver Line.^[4]

The Silver Line joins the Orange Line via a flying junction immediately east of this station, but does not serve the station.

Station layout

P Platform level	Westbound	← Orange Line toward Vienna (Dunn Loring)
	Island platform, doors will open on the left
	Center track	No regular service
	Island platform, doors will open on the left
	Eastbound	→ Orange Line toward New Carrollton (East Falls Church) →
M	Mezzanine	One-way faregates, ticket machines, station agent
G	Street Level	Exit/ Entrance

References

1. "Metrorail Average Weekday Passenger Boardings" (PDF). WMATA. Retrieved 2014-11-04.
2. "Station names updated for new map" (Press release). Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority. 2011-11-03. Archived from the original on 2011-11-05. Retrieved 2011-11-05.
3. "Bus service changes to Silver Line". Fox 5 DC. 2014-07-23. Retrieved 2014-08-13.
4. http://prod.flydulles.com/iad/silver-line-express-bus-metrorail-station?_ga=1.145912374.347950824.1441369453

External links

Media related to West Falls Church (WMATA station) at Wikimedia Commons

• WMATA: West Falls Church Station
• StationMasters Online: West Falls Church Station
• The Schumin Web Transit Center: West Falls Church Station
• Station from Google Maps Street View

Bus bays at West Falls Church station

Coordinates: 38°54′03″N 77°11′21″W / 38.900773°N 77.189298°W