Rockville station

The Baltimore and Ohio Railroad (B&O) opened its Metropolitan Branch on April 30, 1873, providing direct service to Washington, D.C. from the west.^[7] Rockville station opened on May 19, 1873; the convenient access to Washington D.C. caused the town's population to more than double by 1890.^[8] The station and the 1887-added fright house were designed by Ephraim Francis Baldwin, head architect of the B&O.^[9][1] Long distance trains did not stop at the station in the B&O era. The first stop on long distance trains out of Washington was Silver Spring station instead.^[10]

The station building is among the few original Metropolitan Branch stations to survive. It is a brick Victorian picturesque structure with some Eastlake detailing, particularly in the roofline and gable decoration.^[8] The station was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1974 as the Rockville Railroad Station.^[6]

When Amtrak took over intercity passenger service on May 1, 1971, it did not include any service on the B&O; Rockville was served only by three daily commuter round trips to Brunswick and Martinsburg.^[11]: 67 Amtrak introduced the West Virginian (later renamed the Potomac Turbo and Potomac Special) in September 1971; it did not stop at Rockville.^[11]: 70 The Blue Ridge replaced the Potomac Special on May 5, 1973.^[11]: 68 The Blue Ridge was timed to serve as a commuter train; eastbound-only stops at Rockville and Gaithersburg were added on July 1, 1973.^[11]: 70 The Shenandoah, which stopped at Rockville in both directions, was added on October 31, 1976.^[11]: 68 The Blue Ridge began stopping at Rockville and Gaithersburg in both directions on weekends in 1977.^[12] The Shenandoah was replaced by the Capitol Limited on October 1, 1981, at which time weekend service ended on the Blue Ridge^{[13][11]: 70}

Construction of a modern station for Amtrak, state-subsidized B&O commuter trains, and the new Washington Metro system began in 1981.^[1] On March 2, 1981, the old station and freight house were moved about 50 metres (160 ft) to the south to make way for construction.^[8] The new station opened on December 15, 1984, as part of a 7-mile (11 km), four-station extension of the Red Line from Grosvenor–Strathmore stationtoShady Grove station.^[14][15] In 1986, the Blue Ridge was taken over by MARC as part of the Brunswick Line—the state-subsidized ex-B&O commuter service—leaving the Capitol Limited as the only Amtrak service to Rockville.^[16]

On January 26, 2010, two Metro employees were killed when they were hit by a piece of track equipment at the station. They were installing new train control equipment in the track bed on the outbound track of the Red Line, towards Shady Grove.^[17]

From September 11, 2021, to January 16, 2022, the Metro station was closed due to the Rockville Canopy Replacement Project.^[18]

Rockville station is located on an embankment south of Park Road and east of Hungerford Drive and downtown Rockville, with the Amtrak/MARC platforms just east of the Metro platform. Metro uses a single island platform between the two tracks of the Red Line, while Amtrak and MARC use two low-level side platforms flanking the two tracks of the CSX Metropolitan Subdivision.^[1] A pedestrian underpass provides access to the platforms from parking lots, bus bays, and kiss and ride lots on the east and west sides of the station. A footbridge over Hungerford Drive connects the west side of the station to the Montgomery County office buildings and Rockville Town Center.^[1]

  Media related to Rockville station at Wikimedia Commons

• Rockville, MD – Amtrak
• Rockville, MD – Station history at Great American Stations (Amtrak)

• WMATA Rockville station page

• Rockville Railroad Station, Montgomery County, Inventory No.: M: 26-12-1, including photo in 2003, at Maryland Historical Trust website