The Yellow Line Just Changed - Here's What the Greenbelt Extension Means

The Yellow Line has historically run a shorter route than its neighbors - from Huntington in Fairfax County, through Alexandria, across the Potomac, and terminating around Mt Vernon Sq in downtown DC. That changed as of December 2025: every other Yellow Line train now continues north past Mt Vernon Sq, sharing track with the Green Line up to Greenbelt in Prince George's County.

Cities this line serves

• Alexandria - Huntington is the line's southern terminus, with Eisenhower Avenue and King St-Old Town also on the route through the city.

Springfield is not directly on the Yellow Line - Franconia-Springfield is served by the Blue Line - so don't assume Yellow Line service reaches that far south.

What the Greenbelt extension changes in practice

A family checking on a relative near Alexandria and needing to reach College Park or Hyattsville in a single trip may now be able to do it on one train, roughly every other headway, rather than transferring. Check WMATA's current service alerts before counting on it for a specific trip, since the every-other-train pattern means timing matters more than it would on a line with uniform service.

Why this line matters for Alexandria specifically

Alexandria is unusual in being served by both the Blue and Yellow lines along an overlapping stretch (Huntington through King St-Old Town), which means more frequent combined service through the city's core stations than a single-line town gets - a genuine advantage for coordinating frequent visits.