Why Does a City Known for Its Beltway Have a World-Class Train System?
Washington’s Metro, which turns 50 this year, is something of a miracle. In post–World War II America, highways were the name of the transportation game, as decades of car-centric sprawl made new subway systems an increasingly unattractive option. New York City and Boston had gotten in under the wire—building their subways before widespread automobile ownership, then growing alongside commuter lines in the early 20th century.
Metro, by contrast, was an idealistic, against-the-grain, retro-futuristic project when planners began sketching in the 1960s.
Today, it’s hard to believe Metro’s success: The system, which saw passengers take nearly 147 million trips in 2025, is the second-busiest in America…