Other times the train is above ground, and everything looks more like an Amtrak station.

No matter what, once inside a station vestibule, you need to buy a farecard before
proceeding to a boarding area. The video describes this process nicely.

From MTA's website: "Each person needs his/her own farecard or pass to ride Metrorail.
A pass or farecard cannot be shared with another person. Farecards hold between $1.35
and $45 and are available at fare vending machines in Metrorail stations. You can also
buy farecards and passes online."

Fares change in price throughout the day, so I can't tell you how much it'll cost. Just pick
a farecard vending machine and take your time. It's impossible to screw up-you won't be
able to enter the boarding area unless your card has enough credit, and you won't be able
to leave unless it has enough credit (and yes, there are "add a fare" vending machines at
the exits so you can add money to your card and get out of the station).

Farecard vending machines take cash and credit cards, and if you have an old farecard
that you want to trade in, you can slide it into the machine when it's time to pay. No one
will rush you. The environment tends to be dark, but not scary. The places you'll be
traveling to and from are safe. If you get confused, staffed information kiosks are near the
farecard vending machines in all the stations I've been inside.

Once you've purchased a farecard, look at it. Notice how it has the current value stamped
on the panda side? That value will change as you use it. You always know how much
credit you have. Here's what my card looks like right now:
Copyright 2009 Jamie Michele
Using Washington DC's Metrorail
You, too, can ride DC's wonderful Metrorail trains! Above is a picture taken on a Sunday
afternoon as the Orange Line raced through the Maryland suburbs on its way into the city.

Fabulous, detailed information, including a personalized trip planner and printable maps,
can (and should) be found at the Metro Transit Authority's website.

Here's a lengthy video describing the whole public transportation system, with several
minutes devoted to the Metrorail. It will answer all general questions better than I can, and
I highly recommend watching it if you have any anxiety regarding using the system.

You'll start your journey by entering a Metrorail station, sometimes by riding down a very
long escalator, like the one here, at the Red Line's Wardley Park-Zoo/Adams Morgan
station:
Now, approach the hip-high "faregates" you see everyone walking through. Pick a gate a
with an illuminated green arrow (a red "X" means it's an exit, so watch out for people
coming the other way). Slip your farecard with the green arrow that says "INSERT" facing
up and pointing toward the gate into the slot on the gate. These slots are quite obvious,
and typical of subway systems. If you have enough money to proceed with a journey, the
gate will open and your farecard will pop out, either from the SAME SLOT or a DIFFERENT
SLOT on the top of the machine, depending on the type of gate at that station. Be sure to
retrieve your farecard before you proceed! You'll need your farecard to exit.

If you don't have enough money on your farecard for a journey, the gate won't open. Grab
your farecard, which will have popped back out. Look at it. Go add more money to it, and
try again.

Now, you're through the gates. If there's more than one direction in which to walk, step out
of the flow of pedestrian traffic and look for directional signs. Don't assume that everyone is
walking toward the train that you want. If you're in a big station, like Metro or Chinatown,
there will be multiple train "colors" traveling through one station, and multiple platforms
from which to choose. It's not too complicated. Most subways work this way.

You need to know two things in order to board the right train.
1. Which of five colored train lines do you need to catch?
2. Which of two different endpoint stations are you traveling toward?

There are five Metrorail "lines:" Red, Orange, Blue, Green, and Yellow. Each color
references a certain train path. Some of those paths overlap, so sometimes you can get to
one station in a couple different ways. But each line has just two unique endpoint stations.

Knowing which of those two endpoint stations you want to travel toward is the real key to
your journey.

The trains don't run in simple north-south or east-west directions. You won't be able to find
a train platform labeled north, south, east, or west. You'll be taking a train labeled with a
city, not a compass point. Each train directional leaves from opposite sides of a given
platform. Sometimes, though, different colors will use the same platform, so you do need
to pay attention to announcements and the signs above the platforms that tell you what the
next few trains are, and when they'll arrive.

For example, the Red Line runs in a rough U-shape. Both tops of the "U" are north of the
Marriott/Omni. On that line, you'll be traveling either toward Glenmont or Shady Grove. If
you wish to board the train from the Marriott/Omni station and head into the Smithsonian
district, you'll catch a Red Line train toward Glenmont and disembark three stops later at
Metro. There, you'll catch an Orange Line train toward New Carrollton OR a Blue Line train
toward Largo Town Center and get off two stops later at Smithsonian.

Yes, there's a stop labeled Smithsonian!

Once you board a train, find a seat or hang on. Listen to the garbled announcements.
Know how many stops before yours. When you've reached your goal station, exit the train.
Some stations, like Woodley Park-Zoo/Adams Morgan, are small and have just one exit.
Others are quite large and may have several. If you're in a bigger station, look around for
signs that tell you where the exits lead. Here's one from Dupont Circle station.
You can see the Station (Dupont Circle) indicated in the middle of the sign. Two exits (Q
Street to the North or Dupont Circle to the South) are indicated by arrows. Pick one, and
go follow other departing passengers to the exit, which may be up an escalator and around
a corner or two, as it was for Dupont Circle, here:
Then have fun!

Sorry I didn't take more pictures of the stations more applicable to your journey. I felt
awkward and a little bit guilty for taking pictures of our public transportation system.
Information was accessed on 06/29 or 06/30/2009, and while I tried my best, I am not a
professional travel agent and can make no guarantees or warranties for the accuracy of
this information. As always, travel at your own risk!

If you have any questions, please send me a message. Otherwise, please return to my
main scouting page, the Dulles travel information page, the Reagan travel information
page, or the Baltimore BWI travel information page.
Award-winning author of contemporary romantic adventures