Beneath the Metro station platform, a waiting room serves Amtrak's Northeast Regional, Vermonter, and Palmetto trains, as well as MARC's Penn Line trains. The New Carrollton Rail Yard is nearby.
The New Carrollton station is the third station in the area to serve rail traffic.
The first station, Lanham, 0.75 miles (1.21 km) north of the current station, opened in the 1870s. By the late 1960s, it consisted of a small shelter and an asphalt platform served by a few Penn Central (later Conrail) commuter trains between Washington and Baltimore.
In August 1982, Conrail commuter trains (later AMDOT, then the MARC Penn Line) began stopping at Capital Beltway, replacing stops at Lanham and Landover.[10] On October 30, 1983, Amtrak and AMDOT moved from Capital Beltway to a new island platform and waiting room at New Carrollton station.[5][11][12]
Until 2003, some Acela Express trains stopped at New Carrollton. In October 2015, the Palmetto began stopping in New Carrollton.
In May 2018, Metro announced an extensive renovation of platforms at twenty stations across the system.[13] The Metro station was closed from May 28, 2022 to September 5, 2022, as part of the summer Platform Improvement Project, which also affected stations north of Stadium-Armory on the Orange Line. Shuttle buses and free parking were provided at the closed stations.[14]
On September 10, 2022, Blue Line trains started serving the station due to the 14th Street bridge shutdown as a part of the Blue Plus service.[15] The service ended on May 7, 2023 with the reopening of the Yellow Line.[16]
The Purple Line light rail system will begin at New Carrollton and run west to Bethesda. The line will connect to Washington Metro stations on the Red and Green lines. The system is under construction as of 2022 and is scheduled to open in 2027.[17][18]
Station layout
Amtrak/MARC platform
At New Carrollton, the Northeast Corridor consists of three tracks. The westernmost two tracks (Tracks 2 and 3) have an island platform between them, with Track 1 having no platform. To the east of the Amtrak platform is the Metro platform, serving the Orange Line. Bus loops and parking lots are located on both sides of the rail line.
The station has entrances at Harkins Road and Ellin Road, and Garden City Drive near U.S. Route 50, and Exit 19 on Interstate 495.
Long-term plans for the New Carrollton station include adding a second island platform (providing access to Track 1) and adding a fourth track.[19]
