Fort Totten is a Washington Metro

Washington Metro

The Washington Metro, commonly called Metro, and unofficially Metrorail, is the rapid transit system in Washington, D.C., United States, and its surrounding suburbs. It is administered by the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority , which also operates Metrobus service under the Metro name...

 station

Metro station

A metro station or subway station is a railway station for a rapid transit system, often known by names such as "metro", "underground" and "subway". It is often underground or elevated. At crossings of metro lines, they are multi-level....

 in Washington, D.C.

Washington, D.C.

Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....

 on the Green

Green Line (Washington Metro)

The Green Line is one of five heavy rail subway lines that constitute the Washington Metro rapid transit system in the Washington, D.C., metropolitan area. The Green Line consists of 21 stations, with termini at Branch Avenue and at Greenbelt. The Green Line runs through Prince George's County,...

, Yellow (Off-Peak)

Yellow Line (Washington Metro)

The Yellow Line of the Washington Metro consists of 17 rapid transit stations from Huntington to Fort Totten. The line terminates at the Mount Vernon Square station during peak hours.Peak hours are 5 a.m. to 9:30 a.m. and 3 p.m. to 7 p.m. Service is extended to the Green Line stations during...

, and Red

Red Line (Washington Metro)

The Red Line of the Washington Metro is a rail rapid transit service operating between 27 stations in Montgomery County, Maryland and the District of Columbia, United States. It is a primary line through downtown Washington, and the oldest and busiest line in the system...

 Lines; it is a transfer station between the Green/Yellow Lines and the Red. It is also the last Green Line station in the District of Columbia going northeast.

Fort Totten is located in the middle of Fort Totten Park

Fort Totten, Washington, D.C.

Fort Totten is a park and neighborhood in northeast Washington, D.C.. The neighborhood is bordered by N Capitol St to the west, Riggs Rd NE to the north, the Red Line tracks to the east, and Hawaii Ave NE to the south. It is named after a Civil War-era fort. The Fort Totten Metro station is named...

 in Northeast and is accessed via Galloway Street. The station is considered to be in the neighborhood of Fort Totten

Fort Totten, Washington, D.C.

Fort Totten is a park and neighborhood in northeast Washington, D.C.. The neighborhood is bordered by N Capitol St to the west, Riggs Rd NE to the north, the Red Line tracks to the east, and Hawaii Ave NE to the south. It is named after a Civil War-era fort. The Fort Totten Metro station is named...

, and is a short distance from the neighborhoods of Manor Park

Manor Park, Washington, D.C.

Manor Park is an averaged-sized neighborhood in northwest Washington, D.C.. The 1967 National Capitol Planning Commission 1967 "District Communities" map indicates this neighborhood is roughly bounded by Fifth Street NW on the west, North Capitol Street and Blair Road on the east, Aspen Street to...

 and Riggs Park

Riggs Park

Riggs Park is a residential neighborhood in Northeast Washington, D.C. It is bounded by Riggs Road NE to the south and east, Eastern Avenue to the north, and Blair Road NE, Kansas Avenue NE, and North Capitol Street NE to the west....

.

Service began on the Red Line (upper) platform on February 6, 1978, and on the Green Line (lower) platform on December 11, 1993. The name comes from a Civil War

American Civil War

The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...

-era fortification

Fortification

Fortifications are military constructions and buildings designed for defence in warfare and military bases. Humans have constructed defensive works for many thousands of years, in a variety of increasingly complex designs...

 which itself was named after General

General

A general officer is an officer of high military rank, usually in the army, and in some nations, the air force. The term is widely used by many nations of the world, and when a country uses a different term, there is an equivalent title given....

 Joseph Gilbert Totten

Joseph Gilbert Totten

Joseph Gilbert Totten fought in the War of 1812, served as Chief Engineer and was regent of the Smithsonian Institution and cofounder of the National Academy of Sciences.-Early life and education:...

, the Chief Engineer of the antebellum US Army.

The lower-level platform for the Green Line (and the Yellow Line during off-peak times) is unique in that it is built into a hillside, part underground in a rock tunnel, and part at ground level in an open cut. A single-track connection east of the station allows trains to be moved between the Red and Green Lines, and was once used for the Green Line Commuter Shortcut service to Farragut North via the Red Line tracks, before the mid-city segment of the Green Line was completed in September 1999.

Beginning on December 31, 2006 as part of an 18-month trial, Metro extended Yellow Line

Yellow Line (Washington Metro)

The Yellow Line of the Washington Metro consists of 17 rapid transit stations from Huntington to Fort Totten. The line terminates at the Mount Vernon Square station during peak hours.Peak hours are 5 a.m. to 9:30 a.m. and 3 p.m. to 7 p.m. Service is extended to the Green Line stations during...

 service to Fort Totten station during non-rush hours and weekends. In a press release, Council

Council of the District of Columbia

The Council of the District of Columbia is the legislative branch of the local government of the District of Columbia. As permitted in the United States Constitution, the District is not part of any U.S. state and is instead overseen directly by the federal government...

member Jim Graham

Jim Graham

Jim Graham is a U.S. politician and a member of the Council of the District of Columbia. He is a Democrat representing Ward 1 - the most populated and diverse area in Washington, D.C....

 said that the service change would support the "development and urban lifestyle" of the neighborhoods between the Fort Totten and Mount Vernon Square stations.

On June 22, 2009, two southbound Metro trains on the Red Line collided between the Takoma and Fort Totten stations, killing 9 and injuring 80, the deadliest accident in the system's history.

External links

• WMATA: Fort Totten Station
• StationMasters Online: Fort Totten Station
• The Schumin Web Transit Center: Fort Totten Station (Upper Level)
• The Schumin Web Transit Center: Fort Totten Station (Lower Level)
• Galloway Street entrance from Google Maps Street View