WASHINGTON DC’s single 3.5km light rail line closed on March 31 after 10 years of operation.
The line was owned by the city and operated by the DC Department of Transportation (DDOT), rather than the Washington Area Metropolitan Transit Authority (WMATA) which operates the city's metro and bus networks.
A fleet of six three-section 750V dc LRVs operated services calling at eight stops between H Street and Benning Road in the city’s northeast quadrant from the line’s opening in 2016. Ridership hit a peak of around 1.2 million passengers in 2017 and dipped slightly during the next two years, then fell significantly during the Covid-19 pandemic, before recovering to 836,438 in 2025.
However, last October it was announced that the line would be forced to shut in March due to budget cuts. The LRVs and some infrastructure are to be auctioned off, with the LRVs expected to move to another light rail network elsewhere in the United States.
