The Orange Line Connects Arlington's Corridor to Fairfax's County Seat - With a Shared Track in Between

The Orange Line runs from Vienna/Fairfax-GMU in the west, through Falls Church, Arlington's Ballston-Rosslyn corridor, downtown DC, and out to New Carrollton in Maryland. For most of its Virginia stretch it shares track with the Silver Line, so trains on either line stop at the same platforms from East Falls Church through Rosslyn.

Cities this line serves

• Fairfax - Vienna/Fairfax-GMU is the line's western terminus, close to Fairfax City and Fairfax County's government center.
• Falls Church - both East Falls Church and West Falls Church sit on this line, bracketing the small independent city.
• Arlington - Dunn Loring lies just east of Falls Church, then Ballston-MU, Virginia Square-GMU, Clarendon, Court House, and Rosslyn carry the line through Arlington's densest corridor.

Why the shared track matters

Because Orange and Silver share platforms for a long stretch, a family checking a real-time arrival board at Ballston or Virginia Square will see both lines' trains - useful to know so you're not confused when a Silver Line train pulls into what you expected to be an Orange Line stop. Either one will get you through this corridor.

Practical use

A hospice nurse or home-care aide working a multi-stop day across Arlington and Fairfax can often plan an entire route around this one line without a car, which matters for agencies staffing visits across both jurisdictions.