Herndon station (preliminary names: Herndon–Monroe, Herndon–Reston West)[3][4] is a Washington Metro station in Fairfax County, Virginia on the Silver Line that opened on November 15, 2022. The station is in the median strip of VA-267 adjacent to the current Herndon-Monroe Park and Ride parking garage and bus station, which is on the south side of the highway. It has two pedestrian bridges across SR 267 to reach entrances on either side of the highway. Bus bays are located on the south side of the highway.[5]

Herndon
Herndon station platform in November 2022
General information
Location12530 Sunrise Valley Drive
Herndon, Virginia
Coordinates38°57′10″N 77°23′07″W / 38.9528°N 77.3852°W / 38.9528; -77.3852
Platforms1 island platform
Tracks2
ConnectionsBus transport Fairfax Connector: 553, 901, 921, 924, 937, 950, 951, 952, 954, RIBS 2
Construction
Structure typeAt-grade
Parking3,500 spaces[1]
Bicycle facilities162 racks, 18 lockers, secure storage room[1]
AccessibleYes
Other information
Station codeN08
History
OpenedNovember 15, 2022; 2 years ago (2022-11-15)
Passengers
2023665 daily[2]
Rank91 out of 98
Services
Preceding station Washington Metro Following station
Innovation Center
toward Ashburn
Silver Line Reston Town Center
Location
Map

History

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Station construction in September 2018

In anticipation of a future mass transit route in the Dulles Access Road median, in 1999 Fairfax County constructed a $20 million park and ride facility which includes a Fairfax Connector station that serves most bus lines in the Herndon and Reston areas as well as buses carrying commuters to the West Falls Church or other Metro stations daily. The existing facility is served by direct westbound on-ramps and eastbound off-ramps to SR 267. The existing parking garage has 1,750 spaces. The garage has drawn criticism because of alleged construction flaws.[6] The garage has expanded to 3,500 spaces for the Metro station. In the meantime, the Town of Herndon has initiated transportation oriented development of the land on the north side of the station. On November 10, 2009, the town government designated commercial, industrial and multi-unit rental residential properties within the town boundaries for inclusion in a special tax district to fund the construction of Phase II of the Silver Line.[7]

The Silver Line was developed in the 21st century to link Washington, D.C., by rail to Washington Dulles International Airport and the edge cities of Tysons, Reston, Herndon, and Ashburn.[8] It was built in two phases; the first phase, linking Washington, D.C., to Wiehle–Reston East, opened in 2014.[9] The funding and planning of Phase 2 through Dulles Airport continued while Phase 1 was being constructed. In 2012, the Loudoun County Board of Supervisors voted 5 to 4 to extend the line to Dulles Airport and into the county.[10] On April 25, 2013, the Phase 2 contract was issued at a cost of $1.177 billion.[11]

In April 2015, project officials pushed back the opening date for the station to late 2019, stating that stricter requirements for stormwater management caused much of the delay. Per officials, the line also had to incorporate improvements to the system's automated train controls that were a late addition to the project's first phase.[12] In August 2019, project officials reported that they expected construction on the second phase of the Silver Line to be completed by mid-2020.[13] The opening date was postponed to early 2021,[14] then to late 2021.[15] In February 2021, Metro announced that it would need five months to test the Phase 2 extension.[16][17] The Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority (MWAA) then announced that the Phase 2 extension should be substantially complete by Labor Day 2021,[18] although MWAA subsequently missed this deadline.[19]

MWAA declared the work on the rail line to be "substantially complete" in November 2021. However, WMATA estimated that it could take five months of testing and other preparations before passenger service could begin.[20] Simulated service testing began operating along the Phase 2 tracks in October 2022.[21][22][23] Phase 2 formally opened on November 15, 2022.[24]

References

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  1. ^ a b Klavon, Dawn (February 14, 2023). "Everything You Need to Know About the Silver Line Extension". Northern Virginia Magazine. Retrieved July 3, 2023.
  2. ^ "Metrorail Ridership Summary". Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority. Retrieved February 11, 2024.
  3. ^ "Board of Supervisors Approves Proposed Silver Line Station Names". April 10, 2012. Archived from the original on May 15, 2012. Retrieved April 11, 2012.
  4. ^ Hosh, Kafia (March 29, 2011). "Fairfax OKs names for new Metrorail stations". Washington Post. Retrieved March 29, 2011.
  5. ^ "Dulles Metrorail – Herndon". Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority. Retrieved August 26, 2013.
  6. ^ Turque, Bill (January 27, 2008). "Authorities Cringe as Va. Garage Crumbles". Washington Post. Retrieved December 19, 2009.
  7. ^ "Fund 40120 Dulles Rail Phase II Transportation Improvement District" (PDF). Retrieved July 1, 2016.
  8. ^ "Silver Line Activation Plan" (PDF). WMATA. Archived from the original (PDF) on February 9, 2014. Retrieved June 28, 2014.
  9. ^ III, Ashley Halsey; Aratani, Lori; Duggan, Paul (July 26, 2014). "All aboard! Metro's new Silver Line rolls down the tracks for the first time". Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286. Retrieved November 16, 2022.
  10. ^ Jacobson Moore, Erika (July 3, 2012). "Loudoun's In: Split Board Backs Silver Line Extension". Leesburg Today Media Services. Archived from the original on July 8, 2012. Retrieved July 9, 2012.
  11. ^ "Airports Authority Intends to Award Phase 2 Construction Contract to Capital Rail Constructors" (Press release). April 25, 2013. Retrieved March 22, 2014.
  12. ^ Goldberg, The Associated Press, Jeff (April 28, 2015). "Final phase of Silver Line to Dulles delayed until 2019". WJLA. Retrieved December 13, 2020.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  13. ^ Roussey/ABC7, Tom (August 6, 2019). "Airports Authority: Silver Line could be completed by April 2020". WJLA. Retrieved December 13, 2020.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  14. ^ Roussey (ABC7), Tom (February 20, 2020). "Second phase of Metro Silver Line delayed again, will open spring 2021 at the earliest". WJLA. Retrieved December 13, 2020.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  15. ^ "Second phase of Metro's Silver Line now expected to be delayed again, to fall 2021". wjla.com. Retrieved December 13, 2020.
  16. ^ "Silver Line Phase 2 Update" (PDF). WMATA. February 11, 2021. Retrieved September 6, 2021.
  17. ^ Cushman & Wakefield Research (February 3, 2014). "Silver Line". Washington Business Journal. Retrieved September 6, 2021.
  18. ^ "Silver Line extension expected to be ready for Metro takeover by Labor Day". March 5, 2021.
  19. ^ "MWAA will miss Labor Day deadline for Silver Line Phase 2, likely pushing back opening". July 2, 2021.
  20. ^ "Silver Line extension to Dulles inches closer to completion after years of delay". Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286. Retrieved November 16, 2022.
  21. ^ "Simulated service for Silver Line Phase Two to begin next month but opening date uncertain". FFXnow. September 8, 2022. Retrieved October 7, 2022.
  22. ^ "Your new Silver Line stations coming soon with a new Metrorail map". www.wmata.com. WMATA. Retrieved October 7, 2022.
  23. ^ "Next Phase of Silver Line to Open Soon". NBC4 Washington. Retrieved October 7, 2022.
  24. ^ "Metro launches Silver Line Extension with opening ceremony; welcomes customers to #RideSilver to six new stations" (Press release). Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority. November 15, 2022.
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  Media related to Herndon station at Wikimedia Commons