Foggy Bottom-GWU Metro Station

Clean and efficient. easy to use. Can busy outside station.

There’s always some construction going on that prevents at least one part of the escalators from running. On the bright side, the station managers are good customer service reps and because of its relatively small size this station tends to feel safer than others.

Do you know what DC train platforms have that NYC subway platforms don’t have? Air conditioning! Holy crap. Everyone hates commuting, but, the fact that you’re not standing on a sweltering 100+ degree platform improves the experience greatly. D.C., 1, NYC, 0.
It’s pretty easy to navigate, even when your blue train switches to an orange one, mid-​ride (meh). So, it’s a bit dimly lit underground, and my train experience here was limited, but, hey, it’s the cheapest way to get around the city. Oh, and another bonus? DC train stations are clean and I didn’t see any rats on the tracks! D.C., 2, NYC, 0. (Did I visit on an «off» day or something?)
I bought a one day unlimited pass for $ 14 and that was just fine by me. When my pass wouldn’t work a very polite and nice transit worker swiped me through the turnstile with her pass. Thank you again, Ma’am.

This place is a total madhouse outside the station! But what’s not to love about that. Most of the folks that look sort of off are totally harmless. This is the «Georgetown» station even though you have to walk about a mile to get to Georgetown. Lots of action and noise, just like I like my big cities.

The DC metro is like a giant airport monorail. Except it’s larger and trains run less frequently and with more delays.
I may or may not have stolen a METRO sign in the year 2000 from this station before there were security cameras all over the city.
Metro is hella expensive compared to NYC and the bus fare is not compatible with your smart card. Yuck.
Anyways, easy to use system and best way to get around besides a bike. Woot.

Maybe it’s me, Are all these Metro subway stations fashioned after a fallout shelter?
Listen, I am the king of all the finest NYC transportation systems. Here’s what tripped me out using your Metro system.
— You better be good at math! If I want a round trip anywhere on the system, I need to buy a ticket and double the price. Yeah, try adding after a few drinks
— Why can’t I use my train ticket on the bus system? NYC for the win!
— Your trains look like an old Disneyworld monorail car from the 70s.
— I can ride the NYC subway ANYWHERE for $ 2 and change. Better count those coins if you want to change your destination on the Metro.
I liked the Foggy Bottom-​GWU Metro Station. I walked out of the Founding Farmers restaurant and asked how far is the train station. I was corrected, «The Metro» is three blocks straight ahead. Nice!
(NYC still rules regarding transportation)

I don’t have any strong feelings towards this stop. It’s really convenient for me (because it’s on the blue line) but because I rarely have business in Foggy Bottom, I rarely stop here.
It’s a busy stop, being the GWU stop. There are always a bunch of kids around but they generally know where they’re going so it’s not bad at all. They get where they need to go without blocking up the doors/​escalators, like some tourists may.
This stop is very clean and not foreboding at all. That’s the general feeling I get when I use underground stops, but this stop (and DC metros in general) are well lit without the lighting being too bright/​harsh. And because this stop is always crowded, I feel safer at this stop (especially at night) than I do at a lot of other (underground) locations.

I don’t frequent this station often, but I do use it occasionally when I’m in the DC getting dinner, like at Founding Farmers. This station always seems to be pretty crowded, but less touristy so people are moving with a purpose and understand that you stand to the right and walk on the left.
This in an underground station, so the cell phone reception isn’t always great, but it keeps you warm and dry. There is always a normal dingy-​ness to the metro stations and this one is no exception. But all and all this is a decent station and doesn’t seem to have too many creepers hanging out around it.

DC metro is pretty awesome. It is pretty clean and pretty on time.
If you are visiting many parts of DC it actually makes sense to take the rail from Regan to your hotel (or wherever you are staying). It is really easy to get to the Metro from Regan airport as the station is less than 500 yards away via a skybridge.
A cab to foggy bottom is 20 bucks without a tip. A metro ride is 3.10. Granted you have to Schleep your luggage but I would rather keep the extra 17 bucks.
This station is in the heart of George Washington University so it is a cool place to actually wonder around as well if classes are in session.

I love how this metro station is only a one minute walk from my building where I have classes. Its very convenient to get on the metro and go anywhere. Its fairly clean and I have no negatives about this metro stop. Its great that the Silver Line will be opening up soon!

One of the biggest drawbacks of this station is that there is only one escalator going down to the platform, and two going up. Half the time, one is broken.
The station is clean, there are a lot of Suits that use the station, and there is a guy that sings pretty badly outside on Thursday (but bless his heart, he tries).

I wish I could remember which Tube station in London this reminds me of, but it does remind me of one… a «retro» one. I use retro as a nice way to say rundown. What lacks in modernity, it certainly has in efficiency. I like the ticket machines are well away from the escalators… nothing like a queue of people to jump over in a dramatic, slow motion way to catch the metro. Lots of space on the platform, although it is a bit «danger Will Robinson» dark.

Weirdly designed; the downward escalators are in one place and the upward ones are in another. It seems to work fine though. The exit puts you right at the entrance to GW’s hospital, which is useful. There’s also several restaurants and stores and the university right there. A good place to get off and walk to Georgetown or Downtown.

2 stars because I got stuck between the doors! arrrghh
The metro is the equivalent to BART, but each has their pros and cons. My biggest issue: metro only allows an average of 10 – 20 seconds (I counted) to board onto the train at each stop, the amount of time you have depends on how popular the stop is (the more popular, the longer you have to board). Problem is, this includes time to allow people to exit the train before you board (common courtesy) and time to shove yourself onto a fully crowded train during commute hour. Metro also has no floor indicators of where the doors will open, so you also have to account for time to run to the doors before you even enter through them. I can see why metro gets from one stop to another in a much shorter time than Bart.
Bart allows more time to board. Plus Bart has cameras to make sure nobody is standing between the doors before they close it. Metro, on the other hand, will shut the doors on you no matter what. They even have a picture that says the door will close on your limbs if you’re too slow. Anyway, thankfully I was not injured and after a LONG time, they finally decided to open the doors again to let the rest of my body into the train. THANKS A LOT. YEESH.
This is one of the busier stations, and like all stations, the lighting is poor. On weekends, the earliest train starts later, and there is a longer gap between trains. Plus, there is often track work on weekends, so expect delays.

Gotta Love WMATA. There’s always an escalator not working or out of order it seems OR they have the escalators going the opposite direction of what makes sense at the Foggy Bottom Metro. Mornings and evenings for rush hour are truly rushed and it often amazes me with the volume of people that utilize this metro. Off the blue/​orange lines you will always find a train during the week however weekends are just terrible (like every other metro station in the city). With Foggy Bottom in particular its hard, because you can’t just walk to the next stop, because its in Rosslyn, Virginia. Otherwise, this station is conveniently located next to GWU, the GW Hospital, and other shops and restaurants.

I’m not sure if this metro’s speakers are actually at a reasonable volume, of if they’re simply a *SIGNIFICANT* improvement from every other station I’ve visited recently (e.g. U street). Whatever the reason, I’m grateful!
That said, there’s some sort of strange bell that rings here consistently — at least for the past month or so — near the escalators. Apparently none of the staff think it’s their job to report or fix it? Have they reported it? Why is no one fixing it?

This place always smells like pee

A clean and reliable metro station with easy access to the heart of Foggy Bottom/​GWU/​Georgetown area, a covered canopy entrance, and an ample amount of turnstiles to both enter and exit the station. This station is very similar to the other non-​transfer underground stations within the DC downtown area. The Blue/​Orange lines provide direct access to most of the city including Reagan National airport, the National Mall, Capitol Hill, and serves as a gateway to NOVA. If you have to transfer lines, Metro Center is only two stops away.
Another plus worth mentioning, there is a free shuttle bus to the Kennedy Center (KC) that picks up right outside the metro entrance (provided by KC), a great transportation option if you are heading to the KC for a show.

This particular stop just began to benefit from a large glass rooftop-​ceiling-​like-​structure that now hangs over the 3 escalators. Built to shield people from the elements, it also does double-​duty by protecting the escalators from weather-​related wear and tear too (and thank goodness — wmata’s metro escalators need ALL the help they can get).
While a great location, it simply gets overpacked during rush hours (to be expected because so many offices are in the Foggy Bottom area). You know, it’s your typical metro station!

One of my least favorite metro stations. Don’t get me wrong I like the location. It’s the closest metro to my office, has some great food options nearby, the Whole Foods market is right on its door step, along with a nearby Trader Joes. However, the metro portion is just awful.
This station is always a zoo. This fact is only massively compounded when George Washington University is in session and then doubled again when tourist season starts. So one would think that there would be an effort to keep this station running at peak efficiency… but who am I kidding, it is run by WMATA after all.
In the past 2 years I don’t think I’ve ever seen all of the escalators working properly. Even when there are two or three out of four working at the same time one is invariably running in the wrong direction for the rush hour traffic (2 going up in the evening and only one going down when everyone is trying to get INTO the metro not OUT). The entrance is usually mobbed by street vendors, college students pitching something, and random other hawkers.
This station is finally putting the finishing touches on a covered entrance and is replacing one of the escalators with regular stairs. So, at least you can spend the long walk up and down the stairs, fighting with the crowd, with some shade over your head