Glenmont station
| Company type | Washington Metro station |
|---|---|
| Industry | Public transportation |
| Founded | July 25, 1998 |
| Headquarters | Montgomery County, Maryland , United States |
Area served | Glenmont, Aspen Hill |
| Products | Metro transit services (Red Line terminus) |
Glenmont station is a Washington Metro facility situated in Montgomery County, Maryland along the Red Line. It functions as the easternmost terminus for this route.
Positioned at the intersection of Georgia Avenue and Layhill Road, Glenmont station primarily caters to the communities of Glenmont and Aspen Hill. The station commenced operations on July 25, 1998.
Initial planning stages
From the outset in the 1968 system blueprint, Glenmont was identified as the final stop on a Metrorail line. Soon after, local opposition emerged against extending beyond Silver Spring, driven by worries about development impacts and expenses, with fears that pushing further to Olney would disrupt the rural nature of the region. Despite these objections, the original plan stayed intact, aiming for a station opening in 1979.
At that time in 1970, the land designated for the station was undeveloped residential property owned by Georgia Avenue Baptist Church. Safeway expressed interest in constructing a supermarket there and requested rezoning to commercial use. WMATA resisted this change, cautioning that rezoning would increase land acquisition costs by $750,000 since Metro needed to purchase the site. However, WMATA had not yet completed engineering evaluations or allocated funds for buying the property. Montgomery County declined to acquire the land amid uncertainty over its suitability for station development. Given that neighboring parcels were commercial and Metro’s purchase was years away, county authorities lacked jurisdiction to block rezoning.
A resolution was reached whereby WMATA committed to acquiring the property within three years, Montgomery County agreed to reserve it for Metro purposes, and the church received exemption from property taxes on the parcel.
Developments in 1977
In May 1977, Secretary of Transportation Brock Adams raised concerns about extending the Red Line to Glenmont due to escalating costs linked to excavation through deep bedrock. Facing pressure from the Office of Management and Budget and President Jimmy Carter’s administration, Adams called for an evaluation of alternative transit solutions such as bus lines, trolleys, or highways. Montgomery County Executive James P. Gleason opposed this move and threatened to withdraw county funding if plans for extending to Glenmont were abandoned.
By June, an agreement allowed cost-reduction studies while affirming commitment to extend the Red Line to Glenmont. In July, Gleason withheld all WMATA funding until he received written assurance guaranteeing continuation of the extension. Although the Montgomery County Council disagreed with withholding funds, it lacked authority to compel financing. Meanwhile, Maryland Secretary of Transportation Hermann Intemann also held back state funds pending similar guarantees.
In October, consulting engineers proposed simplified station designs at Forest Glen and Wheaton—utilizing two smaller tubes instead of large caverns—resulting in savings of $352.6 million while preserving Glenmont’s original cavernous design. Following these cost-saving proposals and plans for a regional task force study, Gleason approved releasing Montgomery County’s construction funds.
By February 1978, engineering studies for extending service to Glenmont received Department of Transportation approval, indicating federal support for the project. Although a regional task force endorsed routing stations on other lines, it did not evaluate alternatives for the Red Line’s path. In August, WMATA’s board endorsed a two-phase Metrorail expansion plan that included the Glenmont extension as a subsequent phase and submitted this proposal to the Department of Transportation.
Delays
In July 1979, Adams authorized the release of all previously withheld federal funds for the Metrorail lines. Once federal construction obstacles were cleared, Glenmont station was originally planned to open in 1986; however, by 1982, this timeline was extended to 1991.
During 1984, the Reagan administration imposed a restriction on track mileage that prevented the Red Line's expansion from Wheaton to Glenmont. Although this restriction was subsequently removed by the Senate Appropriations Committee, federal funding continued to be withheld, postponing Glenmont’s debut until 1994. In 1985, the Office of Management and Budget advised stopping all federal construction financing, further endangering the extension project. Funding was reinstated by Congress in 1991, and WMATA anticipated opening the station by 1998.
Federal support was approved under President Clinton’s administration in 1993. Construction commenced that year, track installation began in 1996, and Glenmont station officially opened on July 25, 1998.
2024 closing
Starting June 1, 2024, all Red Line stations located north of Fort Totten, including Glenmont, were closed to facilitate progress on the Purple Line initiative led by the Maryland Transit Authority. Takoma resumed service on June 29, with the remaining stations reopening on September 1.
Station layout
Glenmont stands out as the sole Red Line station showcasing the six-coffer arch architectural style also found on the Green and Yellow lines. Until 2023, it was one of only two underground terminal stations in the system and held a unique distinction until 2006 for being illuminated by sodium-vapor lamps before transitioning to mercury vapor lighting. The nearby Glenmont rail yard has a capacity for storing 132 rail cars.
The station features two entrances at street level positioned on either side of Georgia Avenue (Route 97). It offers two elevators connecting street level to the mezzanine but only one elevator linking the mezzanine to the platform. Though compliant with ADA standards, there are no backup elevators; shuttle buses are arranged when elevator service is unavailable. Several Metrobus routes provide transit access to Glenmont.
A parking area located north of the station was initially acquired for planned schools that never materialized. Additionally, Glenmont incorporates the "Arch II" design motif shared with stations such as Columbia Heights, Congress Heights, Georgia Avenue-Petworth, and Mount Vernon Square.