District of Columbia
District Details
See Wikipedia; also see United States for information relating to the country as a whole, and the national operator Amtrak.
Maps
D.C. is covered by the SPV "North America Railroad Atlas" volume Northeast.
Rail Operators
Main-line rail services are provided by:
- Amtrak - see United States
- MARC - see Maryland
- VRE - see Virginia
Tourist Lines
None
Metro and light rail systems
Washington Metro
WMATA (Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority) operates public transport services in and around D.C, including the Washington Metro. Metro routes extend substantial distances into adjoining states Maryland and Virginia.
Infrastructure
- Gauge: 4'8¼" (1429mm)
- Electrification: 750V DC third-rail
- Rule of the road: right
Information
- Map: map page - click on the Rail tab, or scroll down for PDF maps
- Journey planner: on the website front page, or trip planner page
- Timetable: timetables page - click on the Rail tab
- Real-time information: real-time map page. Also available at Pantograph.
- Service disruption: status and alerts page
- Engineering work: track work page
See also UrbanRail.
DC Streetcar
DC Streetcar operates a roughly two-mile line eastward from Union Station, opened in 2016. There are plans for an extension.
Infrastructure
- gauge: standard
- electrification: 750V DC overhead
- rule of the road: right
Information
- Timetable: schedule page
- Real-time information: real-time map page - note that the map only shows vehicles in the selected direction
- Service disruption: alerts page
Note: the "Purple Line" is a separate streetcar route, under construction in the DC suburbs. It will run wholly within Maryland.
Obscure and Sparse Passenger Services
None known
