History
The New Carrollton station is the third rail station in the area to serve intercity rail traffic. The first station, Lanham, was located 0.75 miles north of the current station and consisted of a small shelter and an asphalt platform. The station was served by only a few Penn Central trains.
The second station, Capital Beltway Station, was opened on January 16, 1969, being serviced by Penn Central (later Amtrak) Metroliners. This station was located just inside the Capital Beltway.
Washington Metro service began on November 20, 1978. Its opening for Metro service coincided with the completion of 7.4 miles (11.9 km) of rail northeast of the Stadium–Armory station and the opening of the Cheverly, Deanwood, Landover and Minnesota Avenue stations.
In the early 1980s the state of Maryland took over the operations of commuter rail service from Conrail (the successor to the Penn Central), branding the service as MARC. Commuter service was moved to Capital Beltway Station and Lanham station was abandoned. Eventually, in 1983, Amtrak and MARC consolidated service to the New Carrollton station, using a new island platform next to the existing Washington Metro platform. The platforms of Capital Beltway were eventually demolished, although as of 2010 the concrete cap over the stairs that led to one of the platforms is still visible. The former station building off Cobb Road is now used by the Maryland DOT and the station's parking lot is used for road maintenance vehicles.
Read more about this topic: New Carrollton (WMATA Station)
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