1986: The Completion of the Washington Metro System’s Orange Line

June 7, 1986

In northern Virginia, the opening of a 9.1-mile (14.7-kilometer) extension of the Washington Metro rapid transit system’s Orange Line was celebrated with great fanfare. The public debut of this extension marked the official completion of the Orange Line a little over seven-and-a-half years after the inauguration of its first segment. This line’s newest section included the East Falls Church, West Fall Church, Dunn Loring, and Vienna stations, all of which first went into service on that Saturday morning in 1986 and remain in operation today.

The next day’s edition of the Washington Post highlighted the large number of people who showed up for what that newspaper called “a giddy, exuberant opening day” for the latest addition to the Orange Line. “Passengers crowded onto train and jammed parking lots at East and West Falls Church, Dunn Loring and Vienna,” reported the Washington Post. “They waved orange balloons and wore T-shirts emblazoned with giant Farecards. More than 2,000 people joined in four hours of speeches and ribbon-cutting ceremonies.”

The dozens of public officials taking part in those festivities include Gerald Baliles, who had become governor of Virginia in January of that year. Baliles, wearing a tie dotted with Washington Metro emblems, was a passenger aboard the cab of a train that ran along the latest addition to the Orange Line. He described this ride as “impressive” and “faster than the road,” and also found time to ask train operator Alvin Godfrey a series of questions.

Another public official on hand for the extension’s opening was Carol W. DeLong, mayor of the city of Falls Church. For her hike to the East Falls Church station that day, DeLong wore walking shoes with bright orange laces.

The Orange Line encompasses a total of 26 stations and 26.4 miles (42.5 kilometers). The Vienna station continues to be this line’s western terminus, with the station just outside the city of New Carrollton in Maryland serving as the eastern endpoint.

Photo Credit: Ben Schumin (licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported license at https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/deed.en)

For more information on the Washington Metro’s Orange Line, please check out https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Orange_Line_(Washington_Metro)