Forest Glen station
| Company type | Washington Metro station |
|---|---|
| Industry | Public transportation |
| Founded | September 22, 1990 |
| Headquarters | Montgomery County, Maryland , United States |
| Owner | Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA) |
Forest Glen station is a side platform facility on the Washington Metro's Red Line, situated in Montgomery County, Maryland and managed by the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA). It began operations on September 22, 1990, marking a northward extension of the Red Line beyond the Silver Spring station, coinciding with the inauguration of Wheaton. Positioned at the intersection of Georgia Avenue (Maryland Route 97) and Forest Glen Road, this station caters to commuters in the suburban Red Line corridor.
Distinguished as the deepest station within both the WMATA network and the state of Maryland, it is located at a depth of . Owing to this significant depth, high-speed elevators replace traditional escalators for access between the surface and platform levels, optimizing passenger movement.
History
Originally, plans envisioned an above-ground station accompanied by a parking area that would have necessitated demolishing approximately fifteen residences. After community resistance, Montgomery County approved an alternative design featuring an underground station.
Initial designs placed parking and bus facilities on the east side of Georgia Avenue near Woodland Drive, which would have required closing Tilton Drive and resulted in the removal of one commercial property along with several homes.
Community responses to the underground station proposal varied; some residents and local businesses appreciated the added convenience, while others expressed concerns about potential traffic increases. WMATA emphasized that excluding this station would burden nearby Wheaton and Silver Spring stations beyond capacity. The Montgomery County council granted approval for Forest Glen station in January 1976, following their approval of the more remotely located Wheaton station three months earlier.
On August 13, 1991, a malfunction involving all six elevators—triggered by a fire sensor fault—rendered the station inaccessible for several hours.
Beginning June 1, 2024, Forest Glen along with all Red Line stations north of Fort Totten closed temporarily to accommodate Maryland Transit Authority construction work related to the forthcoming Purple Line. While Takoma resumed service on June 29, the other stations reopened on September 1, 2024.
Layout
Due to the high expense of boring tunnels through soft, shallow rock, engineers decided to construct the tunnels deeper within more solid rock formations. Positioned at a depth of , Forest Glen stands out as the only Metro station lacking escalator access; instead, it relies on six rapid elevators that transport passengers to the surface at a speed of . To improve safety measures, the station is equipped with smoke barriers and an emergency staircase spanning 20 stories for evacuation purposes. Beyond Forest Glen to the south, trains emerge from the tunnel.
In contrast to the majority of underground Metro stations that feature expansive shared platforms, Forest Glen—alongside Wheaton and the lower level of Fort Totten—utilizes separate tunnels and platforms for each travel direction. This economical layout mirrors the design commonly seen in many London Underground tube stations and was selected due to the considerable depth of the station.