To relieve congestion on the Orange and Blue lines and support future growth in the region’s core, Metro is proposing a loop line between downtown DC and Arlington. They’ve just created a map of what the service might look like.

Detail of Metro’s proposed downtown loop from PlanItMetro.

The loop is part of Metro’s Regional Transit System Plan, which lays out a vision of how the transit system should expand over the next three decades to accommodate predicted regional growth. It incorporates previously studied ways to expand Metro in downtown DC, including new Blue and Yellow lines.

The loop line would go to areas that don’t have Metro service, like Georgetown, while adding new connections to existing transfer points like Farragut Square and Union Station. It’s unclear how Metro’s service patterns would change to serve the loop. Right now, the map shows the Blue, Orange, Silver, and Yellow lines all running on the loop.

WMATA planners are also considering an express line on I-66.

Metro’s also looking at a new express line along I-66 between Rosslyn and East Falls Church, which could give the Silver Line an alternate, faster path to downtown DC. This isn’t a new idea, either.

What do you think of Metro’s loop line?

Dan Reed (they/them) is Greater Greater Washington’s regional policy director, focused on housing and land use policy in Maryland and Northern Virginia. For a decade prior, Dan was a transportation planner working with communities all over North America to make their streets safer, enjoyable, and equitable. Their writing has appeared in publications including Washingtonian, CityLab, and Shelterforce, as well as Just Up The Pike, a neighborhood blog founded in 2006. Dan lives in Silver Spring with Drizzy, the goodest boy ever.