Wheaton is a Washington Metro station in Montgomery County, Maryland on the Red Line.
Service at Wheaton began on September 22, 1990.
The station serves the suburb of Wheaton, and is located at the intersection of Georgia Avenue (Maryland Route 97) and Reedie Drive. This station features the longest set of single-span escalators in the Western Hemisphere, each featuring a length of 508 feet (155 m) and a (presumably) vertical rise of 230 feet (70 m). It is not the deepest station in the system, however; that honor goes to Forest Glen, which has an elevator-only exit due to its depth. The trip on Wheaton’s escalator takes approximately two minutes and 45 seconds, though some commuters shorten the time by walking.
Another architectural feature of this station is separate tunnels and platforms for each direction, instead of the large, vaulted common room seen at most other underground stations in the Metro system. This design, which is similar to many of the London Underground's tube stations, was used to save money due to the station's depth. Forest Glen is the only other Washington Metro station to have this design.
October 8, 2018