omg, i love this post. thanks.

by Eileen on Jan 12, 2011 11:44 am  

Thanks, Matt! Much appreciated!

by Geoffrey Hatchard on Jan 12, 2011 11:47 am  

Clever; I like it.

by tom veil on Jan 12, 2011 11:47 am  

I think I spotted Axl Rose hanging around Grosvenor.

by FN on Jan 12, 2011 11:47 am  

Not sure if the codes are standard Metro issue or if you in fact generated them, but WTF is up with FLA for the New York Ave metro? Seems a little counterintuitive. Surely NYA would be more clear and better reflection of the most widely used nickname. I don't think there is anyone referring to it as "Florida Ave metro" in any other context.

by eli on Jan 12, 2011 11:52 am  

I think I can come up with some better ones...

Twinbrook -- TBK
Rockville -- ROK
Grosvenor -- GRO
Woodley Park -- ZOO
Foggy Bottom -- GWU
Courthouse -- CHS
Brookland -- CUA
Arlington Cemetery -- ARL
L'Enfant Plaza -- LFP
Pentagon -- CIA
Vienna might be better as FFX?
Crystal City -- CCY?
Union Station should probably retain WAS
Fort Totten -- TOT
College Park -- UMD
There are of course all entirely arbitrary and subjective...

by andrew on Jan 12, 2011 11:54 am  

There's really no need to adopt these 3-letter codes.

There IS a need for WMATA to stop adding on more names to existing stations and to reduce the hyphenated names of existing stations. It's ridiculous when you need a paragraph to list the name of a single station.

by Fritz on Jan 12, 2011 11:55 am  

Love this, but would vote to change the abbreviation for the Rhode Island Avenue station to "RIA", rather than "RHO", since "RIA" is already fairly often used to refer to the avenue itself.

by JD on Jan 12, 2011 11:59 am  

King Street (KGS) doesn't take on the Amtrak code for it's neighboring train station, ALX

Why not?

by jim on Jan 12, 2011 12:00 pm  

@andrew: I love ZOO!

by Eileen on Jan 12, 2011 12:00 pm  

oh fritz, can't you lighten up and smile? these are for tweeting, not a doctoral dissertation. have fun, it's just an exercise in frivolity! :)

by Geoffrey Hatchard on Jan 12, 2011 12:01 pm  

Metro already has a list of four-letter station name abbreviations: http://www.wmata.com/rail/elevators_escalators/abbreviations.cfm

by Gregory O on Jan 12, 2011 12:01 pm  

@eli
new york ave/ florida ave
How about GAL? (Gally, the nickname for Gallaudet University)

by Kara Harkins on Jan 12, 2011 12:02 pm  

Gregory O: Interestingly enough, that list does not include the New York/Florida Ave/Gallaudet Station.

by Geoffrey Hatchard on Jan 12, 2011 12:03 pm  

@eli:
I generated all of the codes.

Personally, I object to the name of the station having New York Avenue in it. None of the exits go to New York Avenue, the station is not adjacent to New York Avenue, and getting to New York Avenue means walking on Florida Avenue (shortest route) or another street.

Besides, the station name is long enough without already including "New York Avenue".

And in following the airport analogy, do you know where CVG is?

CVG is more commonly referred to as Cincinnati. So why not just call it CIN or something? Because of history and geography. It's actually in Covington, Kentucky, from where it gets its IATA code.

So, that's why I picked FLA, but I understand your objection.

by Matt Johnson on Jan 12, 2011 12:03 pm  

If I tweeted this would be excellent. But seriously...who tweets?

by Redline SOS on Jan 12, 2011 12:09 pm  

I'd rather go with KNG instead of KGS for King Street.

by Froggie on Jan 12, 2011 12:09 pm  

The NY Ave Station one is a bit frustrating, because the station isn't on NY Ave *or* Florida Ave (although it's closer to the latter). It's also not hugely close to Gallaudet...

by andrew on Jan 12, 2011 12:15 pm  

Okay, I don't get it. Why would you want strangers to know what Metro station you're in?

by Lance on Jan 12, 2011 12:19 pm  

Foggy Bottom-GWU = GWU or GW

The station is on the GW campus, serving the university which is the largest employer in DC next to the Federal Government. Use of an F is too close to the initials for the Farragut stations.

by DCColonial on Jan 12, 2011 12:23 pm  

@andrew:
I appreciate the suggestions. To address a few of yours:

I avoided airport codes and Amtrak station codes because someone could easily tweet about a trip from GRO -> KIN and mean Greensboro NC to Kingston RI. And since Twitter will already put the little airplane in your tweet for airports, it's important not to duplicate things.

Also important to avoid are nearby codes. BAL, as I pointed out refers to Baltimore Penn Station. MARC sometimes uses BAL and WAS in tweets, so again, I tried to avoid confusion.

• Rockville: I picked RKV because Amtrak uses that for Rockville's adjacent Amtrak station.
• Grosvenor: GRO is Amtrak's station code for Greensboro, NC. Similarly GRV is Amtrak at Greenville.
• Arlington Cemetery: My instinct was to pick ANC for Arlington National Cemetery, but GGW talks about ANCs a lot, and they have nothing to do with the cemetery or the Metro stop. ARL could work, but then, it could also be used to refer to the whole county.
• Pentagon: Cute, but the CIA isn't located at the Pentagon. It's closer to Rosslyn, actually. Besides, I'm trying to avoid duplication. Someone could easily commute from the actual CIA somewhere.
• Crystal City: My first instinct was "CRY", but I decided against it.
• Union Station: This is one case where I avoided duplicating the Amtrak code. WAS is a big enough station that it should get it's own code. By separating the Metro stop, it makes sure that it's clear what is being referred to.
• College Park: Since there's an active project to build a Purple Line station at UMD, we shouldn't use the name for a different stop. It might be nice to use UMD to refer to that stop, or the actual UMD. Many people who commute to College Park have nothing to do with going to UMD.

@Froggie:
KIN and KNG are both taken by Amtrak already.

by Matt Johnson on Jan 12, 2011 12:24 pm  

Mr. Salonia: You can read about Twitter here.

by Geoffrey Hatchard on Jan 12, 2011 12:29 pm  

I like IKE.

by spookiness on Jan 12, 2011 12:29 pm  

@Lance:
Regardless of whether you're tweeting "Headed to the Metro for my daily SLV-FTT-GRN" or "Major backups on the RD Line TAK->SLV", there are plenty of reasons to have shorter ways of referring to stations.

Metro's own communications system is an excellent example. Tweets are limited to 140 characters. But Metro's long station names mean that tweets get cut off.

U Street is 44 characters long. Mount Vernon Square is 40. We're already at 88 characters, over half the tweet is gone!

You choose:

"Trains on the Green and Yellow Line are single-tracking between U Street/African Amer Civil War Memorial/Cardozo and Mount Vernon Square/7th"...[tweet overruns]

or

"Trains on GR & YL lines single-tracking UST - MTV"

by Matt Johnson on Jan 12, 2011 12:33 pm  

*err, 84. I can add, I promise.

by Matt Johnson on Jan 12, 2011 12:36 pm  

FGW is confusing, because it could be read as Foggy Bottom-GW.

And BTW: GW likes to call itself GW, not GWU. I never understood why they allowed GWU to get on the Metro signs, while telling employees to use GW, not GWU.

by Jasper on Jan 12, 2011 12:36 pm  

Here are my thoughts, along with a link to the two-letter system I generated.

by BeyondDC on Jan 12, 2011 12:36 pm  

@Matt, so you're going to depend on someone you don't necessarily know to tell you which line to use, where backups are, etc.? And isn't communicating part of what we pay Metro to do? Why would you want to do their job for them?

by Lance on Jan 12, 2011 12:37 pm  

How about for the Florida Avenue stop you use NMA? For NOMA?

by Shipsa01 on Jan 12, 2011 12:37 pm  

@ Matt: "Trains on GR & YL lines single-tracking UST - MTV"

GR&YL lines single-tracking between U St and Mt Vernon

9 characters more, but way more readable.

by Jasper on Jan 12, 2011 12:41 pm  

FWIW, Metro Transit PD has their own set of codes (though they're four letters, not three); they're in an appendix to the Metrorail Safety and Operations Manual.

by Chris Reed on Jan 12, 2011 12:43 pm  

This is interesting but not really applicable or useful. I'd rather people just not tweet about what metro station they're at.

Given that very few of the metro names are even 1 word, it would be way too confusing. Maybe a 4-letter acronym would work if necessary?

Side note: NY Ave is a major throughway to the city, and most metro stations are not named for what street they are on. So you can stop arguing about it already.

by dcw on Jan 12, 2011 12:44 pm  

@Matt: Somehow, I highly doubt people using KNG for King Street Metro would confuse it with Kingman, AZ...

by Froggie on Jan 12, 2011 12:46 pm  

@Lance:
Yes. Have you ever heard of crowdsourcing?

People tweeting often break the news (especially about commuting) long before Metro or the media do.

Besides, if you haven't been reading UnsuckDCMetro, start. There are plenty of reasons there for why trusting Metro's PR people isn't always the best way to get accurate info.

TBD has built a great platform (in @TBDCommute) where they get good info about what people are seeing on the roads and rails.

Just because you don't see the value in something doesn't mean there isn't value in it.

by Matt Johnson on Jan 12, 2011 12:47 pm  

Lance,
Tweets don't necessarily have to be public, many people have it so only people they approve can see it.

by Canaan on Jan 12, 2011 12:48 pm  

Have to say, as an avid train rider, that using the Amtrak station code for Union Station - WAS - would go along with the whole simplicity factor. DCA (Sorry, Ronald Reagan Whatever Airport) is already DCA, and I'd guess once the silver line is complete, our grandchildren would call that the IAD station. MARC calls the BWI station the BWI station. And so on...

Neat idea, but I'm already blanking on some of the stations. CRL? (Reads comments) Ohhhh, see why wouldn't Crystal City be CRY?

And really, we all in our hearts, whether endearingly or derogatively, call Ballston "the Balls," so that should be BLS.

I like FGN and FGW though -- next time the station escalator backs up around the block, I'll just say, "Oh, FG it" and walk!

by M Larsen on Jan 12, 2011 12:48 pm  

Pentagon = DOD, obviously.

by Fun on Jan 12, 2011 12:54 pm  

agree w/Jasper re: FGW. Immediately looks like Foggy-GW. He's right about use of GW vs GWU (GWU never used)

by Tina on Jan 12, 2011 1:06 pm  

@Matt, You make a good point about Metro communications being wrong. But I still don't see why someone would want to go around broadcasting what they are doing ... even if it's to a limited group. It's almost like people are trying to imitate the reality shows they saw ... which never really reflected reality to begin with.

by Lance on Jan 12, 2011 1:10 pm  

maybe Farragut West=FRW. And for continuity, FRN.

by Tina on Jan 12, 2011 1:13 pm  

Lance,
Also consider that groups use twitter, maybe you're a group handing out promotional materials near a metro station. That is certainly a situation where it may make sense to broadcast where you are. Thats just one example of plenty of times where it may be useful. Social media is a tool, its all in how you use it.

by Canaan on Jan 12, 2011 1:15 pm  

I am surprised Lance is not on the Twitter bandwagon. After all, he never takes more than 30 seconds to type a response... Sounds ideal for twitter.

by Jasper on Jan 12, 2011 1:18 pm  

Depending on the crime statistics, you can use DOA for L'Enfant or Gallery Place.

by OX4 on Jan 12, 2011 1:20 pm  

Lance, look up some info on Foursquare. You might not want to broadcast where you are, but quite a few people do.

by The AMT on Jan 12, 2011 1:23 pm  

Cleveland Park should be CPK.

by Herb Caudill on Jan 12, 2011 1:24 pm  

I don't care about Twitter, but this is good stuff. Thanks for doing it.

by jcm on Jan 12, 2011 1:26 pm  

Lance,

Are you some sort of Luddite? "@Matt, so you're going to depend on someone you don't necessarily know to tell you which line to use, where backups are, etc.?"

So I understand you don't trust TV or radio either just your corner barber maybe? Or you actually know all the TV personalities and radio hosts?

Lance, it's the 21st Century, time to start getting comfortable with 20th Century ideas.

by Mike D on Jan 12, 2011 1:28 pm  

Lance,
Telling the world that I'm at a certain station doesn't really invade my privacy. If you know me and know where I live, I'm pretty sure you can guess which station I use in the morning.

Add to that, nobody knows my twitter account. I use it find out about delays in morning because delays are often report via twitter faster than via official means (this goes for traffic accidents which affect my bus, etc.) Oh well if the world knows I'm at gallery place in the morning (especially when they don't know who I am).

You should look into crowdsourcing sometime. It is a a cheap and easy way to take the work off of governments and organizations.

by nowisthetime on Jan 12, 2011 1:38 pm  

@Jasper I am surprised Lance is not on the Twitter bandwagon. After all, he never takes more than 30 seconds to type a response... Sounds ideal for twitter.

Thanks Jasper, I'll check it out.

And thanks to everyone else for their explanations. I'm not judging ... just wondering why ... that's all.

by Lance on Jan 12, 2011 1:41 pm  

Mr. Salonia: But I thought you were already on Twitter. Who's this?

by Geoffrey Hatchard on Jan 12, 2011 1:45 pm  

@nowisthetime You should look into crowdsourcing sometime. It is a a cheap and easy way to take the work off of governments and organizations.

okay, it's taking off of government ... and putting it on us? It seems the business model for everyone is increasingly 'passing the buck' ... It started with having to pump your own gas ... and where will it end? Something tells me the Chinese and the Indians aren't doing that ...

by Lance on Jan 12, 2011 1:46 pm  

@Chris Reed - Thanks for mentioning the existing abbreviations. If anyone is interested, they're here: http://www.wmata.com/business/procurement_and_contracting/solicitations/uploads/Attachment%202%20to%20Amendment%20001.pdf (page 305)

I would always vote for going with an existing system rather than creating a duplicate one. I would quibble with some of WMATA's choices, and all else being equal I'd prefer a three-letter system; but if metro staff already uses these internally it would reduce everyone's confusion to just go ahead and use the same codes.

by Herb Caudill on Jan 12, 2011 1:46 pm  

Ok, no, there really isn't a need for me to post at which metro station I am. Then again, I'm wholly against the idea of using something demonstrating our fascination with ourselves (like tweeting) in the first place.

Hey, jus stopped to grab bite @ Zatinya
FNorth 2 damn crowded
Is it colder than last year
Where should i eat breakfast

All of these silly things are tweeted and the sad part is that people follow up with responses.

by HogWash on Jan 12, 2011 1:59 pm  

@Lance

Yep, if the private market/public can do it faster, why should the government? Obviously Metro should know if a train is delayed, but 100 people on a train announcing it via twitter is faster than what metro can currently do. And it is all at no cost to metro!

It is the same reason/thinking as if you see major traffic delays you call your favorite radio station and they'll report it to everyone. Same idea.

It is the same idea as the government asking for "terrorist tips".

It is the same idea as publishing and API for route, schedule, and real-time data. Individuals (nerdy college kids in particular), hobbyists, private industry, etc. can take all this data and do cool stuff with it.. all at no cost to government.

It is the same as the Library of Congress publishing photo libraries on Flickr and allowing people to tag the photos. LOC gets the tags done for free and much bigger variety of tags than they could ever do themselves.

I actually like pumping gas the one time a year I have to do such a thing. Pumping gas really isn't crowdsourcing though, so read up and then look for some better comparisons.

by nowisthetime on Jan 12, 2011 2:00 pm  

@nowisthetime It is the same reason/thinking as if you see major traffic delays you call your favorite radio station and they'll report it to everyone. Same idea.

Actually, I think Google uses my Android phone (in concert with others) to tell me where the traffic problems are ... including color coding the traffic. You'd think they could do the same with the metro. I have nothing against the private/public partnership. But I was wondering the incentive for folks to participate in this 'mass surging' thing a la 'Borgs' (like in Star Trek.) For example, there was a time (more than 10 years ago) where I was taking the metro to get to work sometimes. I enjoyed using the quiet time to get extra work done ... or to simply think. Why would I want to interupt it to participate in this mass social thing? I'm not criticizing it. I'm actually probably doing most of what you're doing (but not Twittering ... not a single time), but I do see some downsides to the loss of concentration and the like that these devices have caused. There was a good article about it in the Post some months back. I definitely see people losing the ability to think things out more than in sound bites ... And I admit to being guilty of it myself. Yes, there are upsides to it ... but also downsides.

by Lance on Jan 12, 2011 2:20 pm  

Forest Glen and Farragut North (FOR and FGN, respectively) could be confused. FGN could just as easily apply for Forest Glen as for Farragut North, considering the most important word in the station name is "Glen" (just as the more important word in Fort Totten is "Totten". I understand the attempt at continuity between Farragut West (FGW) and Farragut North (FGN), but they unfortunately could be confused with other stations. I would suggest FRW and FRN for Farragut West and North, respectively. Additionally for Forest Glen I would suggest using FGN. I don't get much conjuring of names in my brain from FOR (which could also be confused with Fort Totten).

by Eric on Jan 12, 2011 2:27 pm  

Yes, there are upsides to it ... but also downsides.

Well, that just about sums up everything in the universe. Can't make a much broader or less value-added statement than that.

by Geoffrey Hatchard on Jan 12, 2011 2:51 pm  

MTV is the airport code for Montevideo, Uruguay, so I would not use it.

by G on Jan 12, 2011 2:54 pm  

Will flash cards be available?

by MJ on Jan 12, 2011 2:54 pm  

You also have Capitol Heights, Columbia Heights and Congress Heights that can easily be confused, especially since you've given one the CHT label that could mean any of the three. Maybe you should have the middle letter for all of them be something none of the others share, so CBH for Columbia Heights, CPH for Capitol Heights, and CGH for Congress Heights.

Also WFL for White Flint looks like it could be WFC. WFT or WHF (or WTF, for that matter) would be less confusing.

by arlucbo on Jan 12, 2011 2:58 pm  

A few recommendations for better codes on a few stations:

Crystal City - CRY
Mt. Vernon Square (I have the idea of confusion with a terrible TV network) - MVS
Rosslyn - RSY

by Matt on Jan 12, 2011 3:01 pm  

+------+----------------+
| A01 | Metro Center U |
| A02 | Farragut North |
| A03 | Dupont Circle |
| A04 | Woodley Zoo |
| A05 | Cleveland Park |
| A06 | Van Ness UDC |
| A07 | Tenleytown |
| A08 | Friendship H |
| A09 | Bethesda |
| A10 | Medical Center |
| A11 | Grosvenor |
| A12 | White Flint |
| A13 | Twinbrook |
| A14 | Rockville |
| A15 | Shady Grove |
| B01 | Gallery Pl Up |
| B02 | Judiciary Sq |
| B03 | Union Station |
| B04 | Rhode Island |
| B05 | Brookland |
| B06 | Fort Totten Up |
| B07 | Takoma |
| B08 | Silver Spring |
| B09 | Forest Glen |
| B10 | Wheaton |
| B11 | Glenmont |
| B35 | New York Av |
| B99 | Brentwood Yard |
| C01 | Metro Center L |
| C02 | McPherson Sq |
| C03 | Farragut West |
| C04 | Foggy Bottom |
| C05 | Rosslyn |
| C06 | Arlington Cem |
| C07 | Pentagon |
| C08 | Pentagon City |
| C09 | Crystal City |
| C10 | National Arpt |
| C11 | Potomac Yard |
| C12 | Braddock Road |
| C13 | King Street |
| C14 | Eisenhower Av |
| C15 | Huntington |
| C97 | Duke Street |
| C98 | Telegraph Road |
| D01 | Federal Tria |
| D02 | Smithsonian |
| D03 | L'Enfant Pl LL |
| D04 | Federal Ctr SW |
| D05 | Capitol South |
| D06 | Eastern Market |
| D07 | Potomac Avenue |
| D08 | Stadium Armory |
| D09 | Minnesota Av |
| D10 | Deanwood |
| D11 | Cheverly |
| D12 | Landover |
| D13 | New Carrollton |
| D98 | D & G Junction |
| E01 | Mt Vernon Sq |
| E02 | Shaw |
| E03 | U Street |
| E04 | Columbia Hgths |
| E05 | Georgia Av |
| E06 | Fort Totten L |
| E07 | W Hyattsville |
| E08 | Pr Georges Pl |
| E09 | College Park |
| E10 | Greenbelt |
| F01 | Gallery Pl L |
| F02 | Archives |
| F03 | L'Enfant Pl Up |
| F04 | Waterfront |
| F05 | Navy Yard |
| F06 | Anacostia |
| F07 | Congress H |
| F08 | Southern Ave |
| F09 | Naylor Road |
| F10 | Suitland |
| F11 | Branch Avenue |
| G01 | Benning Road |
| G02 | Capitol H |
| G03 | Addison Road |
| G04 | Summerfield |
| G05 | Largo |
| J01 | Quaker Lane |
| J02 | Van Dorn St |
| J03 | Franconia Spr |
| K01 | Court House |
| K02 | Clarendon |
| K03 | Virginia Sq |
| K04 | Ballston |
| K05 | E Falls Church |
| K06 | W Falls Church |
| K07 | Dunn Loring |
| K08 | Vienna |
-------------------------

by B.O. on Jan 12, 2011 3:32 pm  

B.O.: Now that's funny. :)

by Geoffrey Hatchard on Jan 12, 2011 3:34 pm  

FYI, here's the WMATA four-letter codes from their operating handbook:

ADRD Addison Road
ANAC Anacostia
ARCE Arlington Cemetery
ARCH Archives
BALL Ballston
BNRD Benning Road
BETH Bethesda
BRRD Braddock Road
BRKL Brookland
CAPH Capitol Heights
CAPS Capitol South
CHVY Cheverly
CLRN Clarendon
CLPK Cleveland Park
CLGP College Park
CTHS Court House
CSTL Crystal City
DEAN Deanwood
DNLR Dunn Loring
DPCL Dupont Circle
EAFC East Falls Church
ESTM Eastern Market
EIAV Eisenhower Avenue
FARN Farragut North
FARW Farragut West
FEDC Federal Center, SW
FEDT Federal Triangle
FOGB Foggy Bottom
FOGL Forest Glen
FTTO Fort Totten
FRHE Friendship Heights
GALP Gallery Place
GNBT Greenbelt
GROS Grosvenor
HUNT Huntington
JDSQ Judiciary Square
KIST King Street
LFPL L'Enfant Plaza
LAND Landover
MPSQ McPherson Square
MDCR Medical Center
MTRC Metro Center
MINA Minnesota Avenue
MVSQ Mount Vernon Square
NAPT National Airport
NEWC New Carrollton
NYRD Navy Yard
PENT Pentagon
PNTC Pentagon City
POTA Potomac Avenue
PGPL Prince George's Plaza
RIAV Rhode Island Avenue
ROCK Rockville
RSLY Rosslyn
SDGR Shady Grove
SHAW Shaw
SILS Silver Spring
SMIT Smithsonian
STAD Stadium/Armory
TAKO Takoma
TETO Tenleytown
TWIN Twinbrook
USTR U Street
UNST Union Station
VNDS Van Dorn Street
VNNE Van Ness
VENN Vienna
VASQ Virginia Square
WTRF Water Front
WEFC West Falls Church
WEHI West Hyattsville
WHTN Wheaton
WHFL White Flint
WOPK Woodley Park

by Alex B. on Jan 12, 2011 3:46 pm  

I also don't get why you wouldn't use ALX for the King Street Metro Station. You refer to the Metro stations at New Carrollton and Rockville as being adjacent to their Amtrak stations, but that is no less true for King Street. Moreover, no station is more tied intermodally to the rest of Alexandria than King Street.

by Craig on Jan 12, 2011 4:12 pm  

@ Craig: Moreover, no station is more tied intermodally to the rest of Alexandria than King Street.

Franconia-Springfield?

by Jasper on Jan 12, 2011 4:45 pm  

I agree with not using ALX for King Street. The idea is convenience, and most people will have to look up ALX - if they don't know the Amtrak station there, they'll have no idea why it would be labeled that way. DCA is easy enough to figure out because airport codes are generally well known. You can still figure out the New Carrollton and Rockville stations from their already-used-by-Amtrak codes; the same's not true for King Street.

by The AMT on Jan 12, 2011 4:48 pm  

Is something wrong with what's the presumably obvious CPK / CPRK for College Park? Too busy to do the homework on these codes...

by C. R. on Jan 12, 2011 5:10 pm  

Nobody's mentioned that Metrorail in Miami has three-letter codes of its own already?

by Jason on Jan 12, 2011 5:15 pm  

@Jasper, Franconia-Springfield station is not in Alexandria. It's in Springfield.

Let me rephrase: "No other station in Alexandria is tied more intermodally to the rest of Alexandria than King Street." Although, frankly, I would have thought that the words "the rest of" would have obviated the need for that repetition.

by Craig on Jan 12, 2011 5:23 pm  

@C.R.:
I was not aware of Metro's 4-letter codes before embarking on this exercise. Admittedly, there's little likelihood that my 3-letter codes will be adopted or even used with any regularity.

But I thought it was an interesting thought experiment. I sincerely apologize for wasting your time.

I did not use CPK for College Park because I assumed it could be confused with Cleveland Park. And, by the way, CPRK stands for Cleveland Park, not College Park as you assert, so perhaps even the 4 letter codes are confusing.

by Matt Johnson on Jan 12, 2011 5:26 pm  

@The AMT, I have to disagree. King Street is the station that primarily serves Old Town Alexandria. There is no obscurity in the choice.

by Craig on Jan 12, 2011 5:28 pm  

@B.O.:
I appreciate your posting of the RTU codes. I was aware of those, but I chose not to use them because I think for most people, "DCA" is easier to remember than "C10".

by Matt Johnson on Jan 12, 2011 5:31 pm  

Biggest confusion that stuck out to me was GAL for Gallery Place/Chinatown. My first thought was Gallaudet (as in New York/Florida/Gallaudet).

by Rob on Jan 12, 2011 5:48 pm  

My first thought is that using GRN as the code for Greenbelt might trip up anybody trying to refer to the Green line as GRN instead of just GR. I think you might get more clarity with GRB or maybe GBT (which would work alongside GNT for Glenmont)

by Greg on Jan 12, 2011 11:24 pm  

@Andrew Pentagon = CIA? Damn, dude, if you had any concept of the history of enmity between those organizations that'd be a hell of a slap in the face. I can only hope you were kidding. As an aside, DOD makes a much better 3 letter acronym for the 5-gon.

@Matt CIA's in *Rosslyn*? I. ..you... Wut? Since when does Rosslyn extend up to nearly the beltway?

Y'all actually live in DC... Right?

by Andrew in DC on Jan 13, 2011 12:11 am  

@Andrew in DC:
I never said it was in DC. I said it was closer to Rosslyn than to Pentagon. That's true. It is closer to Rosslyn than Pentagon. I didn't mean it was actually close to Rosslyn.

by Matt Johnson on Jan 13, 2011 12:36 am  

@B.O
Now I wonder where you got the RTU codes?
Oh, and you forgot New York Avenue, B35

by Sand Box John on Jan 13, 2011 9:48 am  

Oh I forgot to mention Silver line

| N02 | Tysons East |
| N03 | Tysons Central 123 |
| N04 | Tysons Cental 7 |
| N05 | Tysons West |
| N09 | Wiehle Avenue |
| N10 | Reston Parkway |
| N11 | Herndon Monroe |
| N12 | VA-28 |
| N13 | Washington Dulles International Airport |
| N15 | VA 606 |
| N16 | VA 277 |
| N99 | Dulles Yard |

by Sand Box John on Jan 13, 2011 9:59 am  

@Matt Eh, I guess I misread the "closer to Rosslyn" as being "close to Rosslyn" (presumably the station).

Got me thinking though - the Red-line stops (Tenley, Friendship, VN) are, distance wise, even closer than Rosslyn. WFC is about equidistant. But each of these is 6-7+ miles away I'd imagine the Silver line stops will be closer still - guess we'll have to wait for one of those to have a CIA :(

by Andrew in DC on Jan 13, 2011 11:24 am  

@Matt:
Funny that you object to the name of the metro station, which is just ridiculous. As another poster pointed out, the NY Ave metro is not on Florida Ave (actually it really isn't) nor is it any closer to Florida Ave than it is to NY. And it may serve Gallaudet but it sure is 8 blocks away. I think you should spend time thinking about what people actually call metro stations and not just about what you would ideally rename a station.

by eli on Jan 13, 2011 5:40 pm  

This whole thread may have been for naught.

I heard on the radio tonight that WMATA is considering selling naming rights to the stations. An example given by the announcer was 'Coca Cola Station' ... So, maybe instead of something like 'ANAC' we'll have 'COKE'?

by Lance on Jan 13, 2011 9:51 pm  

Is that a reference to Marion Barry?

by William on Jan 13, 2011 10:22 pm  

In general, I prefer the first three letters, as much as possible.

So HUN instead of HNT for Huntington, for example, and VIE instead of VNA for Vienna. ROS, BAL, etc.

CCY for Crystal City. It's in the BID.

Overall pretty cool!

by Jack Love on Oct 13, 2011 3:43 pm