Bethesda is an island platform

Island platform

An island platform is a station layout arrangement where a single platform is positioned between two tracks within a railway station, tram stop or transitway interchange...

ed Washington Metro

Washington Metro

The Washington Metro, commonly called Metro, and unofficially Metrorail, is the rapid transit system in Washington, D.C., United States, and its surrounding suburbs. It is administered by the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority , which also operates Metrobus service under the Metro name...

 station

Metro station

A metro station or subway station is a railway station for a rapid transit system, often known by names such as "metro", "underground" and "subway". It is often underground or elevated. At crossings of metro lines, they are multi-level....

 in Bethesda

Bethesda, Maryland

Bethesda is a census designated place in southern Montgomery County, Maryland, United States, just northwest of Washington, D.C. It takes its name from a local church, the Bethesda Meeting House , which in turn took its name from Jerusalem's Pool of Bethesda...

, Maryland

Maryland

Maryland is a U.S. state located in the Mid Atlantic region of the United States, bordering Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware to its east...

, United States

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

. The station was opened on August 25, 1984, and is operated by the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority

Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority

The Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority is a tri-jurisdictional government agency that operates transit service in the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area, including the Metrorail, Metrobus and MetroAccess...

 (WMATA). Providing service for the Red

Red Line (Washington Metro)

The Red Line of the Washington Metro is a rail rapid transit service operating between 27 stations in Montgomery County, Maryland and the District of Columbia, United States. It is a primary line through downtown Washington, and the oldest and busiest line in the system...

 Line, the station serves downtown Bethesda and is below the intersection of Wisconsin Avenue (Maryland Route 355

Maryland Route 355

Maryland Route 355 is a north–south road in western central Maryland in the United States. The southern terminus of the route is at the Washington, D.C. border in Friendship Heights, Montgomery County, where it continues south as Wisconsin Avenue into Washington. The northern terminus is...

) and Montgomery Lane. It is the first station wholly within Montgomery County

Montgomery County, Maryland

Montgomery County is a county in the U.S. state of Maryland, situated just to the north of Washington, D.C., and southwest of the city of Baltimore. It is one of the most affluent counties in the United States, and has the highest percentage of residents over 25 years of age who hold post-graduate...

, after the Red Line leaves Washington, D.C.

Washington, D.C.

Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....

. This station is planned to be one of the Metro stations on the Purple Line system, formerly known as the Bi-County Transitway. Its escalators empty into a bus depot served by Metrobus

Metrobus (Washington, D.C.)

Metrobus is a bus service operated by the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority . Its fleet consists of 1,480 buses covering an area of in Washington, D.C., Maryland, and Virginia. There are over 300 bus routes serving 12,216 stops, including 2,398 bus shelters. In fiscal year 2009,...

, Ride On

Ride On (bus)

Ride On is the primary public transportation system in Montgomery County, Maryland. Ride On serves Montgomery County as well as the community of Langley Park in Prince George's County...

, and the Bethesda Circulator trolley bus, situated one level below the intersection of Wisconsin, Old Georgetown Road (Maryland Route 187

Maryland Route 187

Maryland Route 187 is a state highway in the U.S. state of Maryland. Known as Old Georgetown Road, the state highway runs from MD 355 and MD 410 in Bethesda north to MD 355 in North Bethesda...

), and East-West Highway (Maryland Route 410

Maryland Route 410

Maryland Route 410 is a state highway in the U.S. state of Maryland. Known for most of its length as East–West Highway, the highway runs from MD 355 in Bethesda east to Pennsy Drive in Landover Hills...

).

The station opened on August 25, 1984. Its opening coincided with the completion of 6.8 miles (10.9 km) of rail northwest of the Van Ness–UDC station and the opening of the Friendship Heights

Friendship Heights (Washington Metro)

Friendship Heights is a Washington Metro station straddling the border of Washington, D.C. and Montgomery County, Maryland, United States. The station was opened on August 25, 1984, and is operated by the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority ....

, Grosvenor, Medical Center

Medical Center (Washington Metro)

Medical Center is an island platformed Washington Metro station in Bethesda, Maryland, United States. The station was opened on August 25, 1984, and is operated by the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority...

 and Tenleytown stations. It is relatively deep; prior to the opening of the Wheaton

Wheaton (Washington Metro)

Wheaton is a Washington Metro station in Montgomery County, Maryland on the Red Line.The station serves the suburb of Wheaton, and is located at the intersection of Georgia Avenue and Reedie Drive. This station features the longest set of single-span escalators in the Western Hemisphere, each...

 station, the Bethesda station had the longest escalator

Escalator

An escalator is a moving staircase – a conveyor transport device for carrying people between floors of a building. The device consists of a motor-driven chain of individual, linked steps that move up or down on tracks, allowing the step treads to remain horizontal.Escalators are used around the...

 (475 feet (144.8 m)) in the Western Hemisphere

Western Hemisphere

The Western Hemisphere or western hemisphere is mainly used as a geographical term for the half of the Earth that lies west of the Prime Meridian and east of the Antimeridian , the other half being called the Eastern Hemisphere.In this sense, the western hemisphere consists of the western portions...

. The station's construction has been a major boon to the area, with several office buildings being built on (in the Bethesda Metro Center complex) and around it.

Nearby landmarks

• Bethesda-Chevy Chase High School
  Bethesda-Chevy Chase High School
  Bethesda-Chevy Chase High School is a Montgomery County, Maryland, USA, public school named for two of the towns it serves along with Kensington and Silver Spring, Maryland. It is located at 4301 East-West Highway, in Bethesda, an unincorporated community in Montgomery County...
  
  
• Capital Crescent Trail
  Capital Crescent Trail
  The Capital Crescent Trail is an long, shared-use rail trail that runs from Georgetown in Washington, D.C., to Silver Spring, Maryland. The portion from Bethesda to Silver Spring is also called the Georgetown Branch Trail but is recognized as the Future Capital Crescent Trail.The Capital Crescent...
  
  
• Chevy Chase Bank
  Chevy Chase Bank
  Chevy Chase Bank, F.S.B. was the largest locally-based banking company in the Washington Metropolitan Area. It was acquired by Capital One in 2009 and rebranded as Capital One Bank in 2010. Despite its name, Chevy Chase Bank was a federally chartered thrift regulated by the Office of Thrift...
  
   headquarters
• Consumer Product Safety Commission
  Consumer Product Safety Commission
  The United States Consumer Product Safety Commission is an independent agency of the United States government created in 1972 through the Consumer Product Safety Act to protect "against unreasonable risks of injuries associated with consumer products." The CPSC is an independent agency that does...
  
  
• Bethesda's Madonna of the Trail
  Madonna of the Trail
  Madonna of the Trail is a series of 12 monuments dedicated to the spirit of pioneer women in the United States. The monuments were commissioned by the National Society of Daughters of the American Revolution...
  
  monument

External links

• WMATA: Bethesda Station
• StationMasters Online: Bethesda Station
• Bethesda Circulator - Free bus line
• The Schumin Web Transit Center: Bethesda Station
• Old Georgetown Road entrance from Google Maps Street View