The LEAST USED Station on the Washington DC Metro! - Loudoun Gateway!

Let's explore the least used station on the DC metro, Loudoun Gateway with @OneOneTwo!
Filmed on January 26th, 2024.
Rider data from: bit.ly/3u44y08
Script: bit.ly/4agCTsx
Music Used:
• Like the Wind (AKA The...
• Bensound: "The Elevato...
Music by: www.bensound.com
License code: EJOFXORNHEIUVCXR
Inspired by Geoff Marshall's Least Used Series:
• Royal Wharf - The Leas...
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This video was filmed after checking WMATA's website and making sure I was following all regulations regarding non-commercial, personal video production, such as recording during low ridership hours, not disturbing other riders, and making sure WMATA's mission of moving people was upheld.
(COPPA notice) My content is directed towards people 13 years of age and above, if you’re under 13 years of age please reconsider your viewing habits.

[@PiplupJames]

I knew that London Gateway was not gonna have good ridership even before it opened. It’s more of a zen station.

[@BRHSpartans]

Great place to watch planes land; That's about it!

[@ricardo4943-k6b]

I understand that since the silver line was supposed to be extended to dulles, so they might aswell extend it to loudoun county, but I feel like there would have been way more ride ship if in an alternate universe, WMATA extended the blue line to woodbridge. Plus, if there wasn't budget constraints, there should have been a 3rd track for express service.

[@sammymarrco47]

I mean yeah there's more ppl in and on the way to Woodbridge then between Dulles and Ashburn. I'd be cool if one day in the far far future we get Orange to Manassas and blue to Woodbridge.

[@robertprunty456]

My dad, Who used to work on designing roads for I 66, told me that eventually in 30 to 40 years the orange line will get extended to out to Manassas

[@garrettmillard525]

$100-200 million station for 250 daily riders who would almost certainly go to another station anyway. Thanks DC! You've successfully built overflow parking for Dulles.

[@living757]

They ban overnight parking, but yeah, the metro doesn't make sense past Tysons, BRT to the airport using the dedicated airport lanes would have skinned the same cat for way less money.

[@sammymarrco47]

yeah as a somewhat fiscally conservative person im not a fan of the waste, the rumor is that Loudoun said they'd need 2 stations if they were gonna pay for it but I can't find a source.

[@dctraining407]

If you walk just outside the station there is an out-of-use bus park and ride station from before the silver line extension!

[@sammymarrco47]

indeed!

[@CameronLandels]

Thank you for the video Sammy! I had a feeling the least used station was on the Silver Line. I'm perplexed that Loudoun Gateway has a huge parking garage for very little usage. It's good to see Dulles Airport connected to DC with metro. Looking forward to your next video!

[@sammymarrco47]

thanks cam! - pre-covid projections were around double the ridership we get these days, so that's part of it, also w/ high gas and life prices more people are carpooling and the parkade is never full.

[@CaradhrasAiguo49]

LC 381 and 382 do run weekdays late evening from Loudoun Gateway (no mid-day or weekend service though). LC 382 does serve the Stone Springs Hospital, but it's not useful if someone's shift begins or ends mid-day

[@acesbazaarhealth2246]

Amazingly enough, I am visiting DC this weekend and rode the silver line out to Ashburn today out of curiosity. There are a lot of factories, data centers and warehouse out past Tysons but only a few riders rode past Dulles on the way out or back in.

[@sammymarrco47]

yeah most riders from that far out are commuters, and even then its still slim pickings!

[@glowingfish]

I actually made the same comment in a DJ Petesake video: there is something weirdly comforting about big brutalist transit architecture in the dark.

[@sammymarrco47]

yeah its a cool vibe

[@history_leisure]

Maybe a bunch of foamers are making least used station videos, actually has reverse commuting to *data centers*, people are getting picked up there, or maybe they are counting just cars as unit and there are larger parties in said cars on higher ridership days than the 1-1.whatever average

[@sammymarrco47]

people finding carpoolers is prob the most likely reason.

[@glowingfish]

@@sammymarrco47 I was thinking the same thing, as well as private shuttle services of some sort?

[@jetfan925]

I stopped by this station just to take a bus ride to and from Cracker Barrel last November.

[@sammymarrco47]

quick google search tells me that it is indeed the most transit accessible CB in the DC area, was it worth it? did the bus have many ppl on it ?

[@captainkeyboard1007]

There are some landsites in Northern Virginia that are underdeveloped to resemble suburban towns and may be desolate during much of daytime. Thank you for showing us the looks of Loudoun Gateway station site.

[@29downtheline]

I’ve been to Loudoun Gateway multiple times during rush hour. My first time there, there were only 7 people waiting for the train. That is still the highest number I’ve seen waiting on the platform. Also, if there’s a bad way to design a park & ride, Loudoun Gateway is it. While it’s not too far off Route 28, driving to it makes less sense than going to Innovation Center, as you then have fewer stops when going eastbound from Innovation. There’s no free parking on weekends at Loudoun Gateway or Ashburn, which further incentivizes going to Innovation Center. Driving to this station from the west, where many people live, is difficult without paying the Greenway Toll, and, if you do that, you might as well just drive to the end and get on the Metro at Innovation Center. If not, you might as well get on at Ashburn. It’s been said before, and I know it’s much further, but this station would have been much more useful in Leesburg. I really do like this station, but I wonder why it was built at all, especially with pretty bad road connections to points west.

[@sammymarrco47]

the rumor is that Loudoun said they would need two stations if they were to agree to pay for it. I think the most people outside of opening that that I've seen was like 6 ppl including me and the guest.

[@LtexprsGaming]

For me Loudoun Gateway, Dulles, and Innovation Center are all about a 15-20 minute drive from me. Gateway is too west for ne when i want to go into DC, and id have to deal with all the airport riders if i used Dulles so thats why when i do use the netro id prefer to use Innovation.

[@sammymarrco47]

yep my friend used innovation too!

[@Geotpf]

It seems like a waste of money to build such a huge parking garage that is going to be underused. I'm sure they had ridership projections that could have told them the huge garage was never going to be needed. They could have just built the station with just a surface parking lot and built the garage later if they ever needed it. Or maybe they could have skipped the whole thing. It's near nothing and the previous and next stations aren't that far away. It might be difficult to park and ride at an actual airport, dunno, so it might work better for some people doing that, although they could go the station before Dulles, Innovation Center, which also has poor ridership. Edit: They could always set aside an area for the station and build it later if any transit related development plans were proposed. Right now, it doesn't look like anything is going to be built nearby. I'm sure some low to medium density buildings could be built if not 10+ stories due to Dulles. The parking garage is, five stories or so? If you can build that you can build apartments or offices that high.

[@mymoustache]

Good transit is built where things will be, not just where they already are.

[@Geotpf]

​@@mymoustacheTrue, but it doesn't look like anything will ever be near this station.

[@mymoustache]

@@Geotpf idk, it’s adjacent to a lot of undeveloped land under the Dulles flight path, and it’s very accessible via the highway to anyone living in the many residential areas along 606 or the Loudoun County parkway. It seems very well-positioned to collect commuters heading into DC - it just seems like there aren’t many in this area… yet.

[@sammymarrco47]

pre-covid projections were around double the ridership we get these days, so thats part of it, also w/ high gas and life prices more people are carpooling.

[@princestevenii.772]

Kyu-Shirataki station in Japan was going to be closed, but they kept it open so one person could use it to go to school. They only closed it after they graduated. So yes, this station should exist.

[@sammymarrco47]

the thing is that was prob the only link within walking distance to that person's house, but this station has 2 alternatives not far away esp because no one is walking home from this station, Im sure its useful for someone tho

[@princestevenii.772]

@@sammymarrco47 fair enough. I just think people are always trying to find excuses to downgrade and shut down transit, feels like we need to constantly be on the defense and offence.

[@sammymarrco47]

I understand your POV, however sometimes the powers that be do stupid things that make transit look dumb and they should be called on it IMO.

[@Fantech0104]

It seems that this stop should have been skipped since it's not a profitable location between its isolation to development and being so close to Dulles Airport. The line probably would have been better if it ended at Dulles Airport or left this Station out entirely and headed straight to Ashburn. And it's pretty much only accessible by car and not by foot. It's too bad cause it does look like a nice Station. On the flip side, it should hopefully be a safe Station to be at if nobody is using it.

[@sammymarrco47]

yeah I haven't heard about anything sus happening there yet.

[@TheEpicDiamondMiner]

I don’t even get why they even built the station in the first place.

[@PaulClipMaster]

For future development. Transit comes first.. then development later. There are stations getting new development now that were built back in the 1980's.

[@sammymarrco47]

the rumor is that Loudoun said they would need two stations if they were to agree to pay for it, also they may develop something around it at some point.

[@swedneck]

@@PaulClipMaster but then it doesn't really make sense to build a big parking facility, just have some surface parking until there's more than 10 people using it also like you can build an apartment building or two to start with, that's a fairly common thing since housing is in such high demand.

[@PaulClipMaster]

@@swedneck Hotels and motels would be great for travelers who have an overnight layover at Dulles Airport.

[@TheGAMWolferz]

Bueno Español en el fin del video. I still give the station hope despite its limitations due to Dulles. Maybe some cool and “non-data center-y” will be developed.

[@sammymarrco47]

muchas gracias! - maybe something, cheaper apartments and townhomes maybe?

[@ClassyWhale]

I like the video! Great tour, and really makes you wonder if they would benefit by closing it.

[@sammymarrco47]

thanks for watching Caleb! I dont think they're gonna close it but id prob be a net positive bc back of napkin math says riders only pay less than 700k in fares at this station (365 days *300 entries*$6) and im going to assume it costs more than that much to run the station. Also the time cost of stopping and leaving.

[@AirrickR]

Dulles is basically the only busy and most used station on the silver line expansion

[@sammymarrco47]

indeed, Tysons can be similar deepening on the day.

[@fairlightflat]

great vid as always! thx for the cameo :3

[@sammymarrco47]

haha, andy and I want to go to Baltimore sometime this summer you should join us!

[@fairlightflat]

@@sammymarrco47 I'm always around! make sure to let me know when you do come up

[@dm4uz3]

i like this video im glad youtube recommended me it :D

[@sammymarrco47]

thanks, theres way more on the way!

[@dreadhead5719]

I like going to the Loudon Silver Line stations to admire the hills

[@sammymarrco47]

you can see the shenendoah mountains from Ashburn!

[@chrispontani6059]

It’s not built for today. It’s for the future, whatever that may bring. If there’s a huge shift to 4 or 5 days mandated per week in the office, ridership will increase. It’s designed as a park-and-ride station, so development of the immediate area is not necessary.

[@sammymarrco47]

but there are two othe park and rides that are closer to people's homes then can be used, this one is just so far...from everything. Thanks for the comment!

[@chrispontani7637]

@@sammymarrco47 I agree with you. I think it can also be used for overflow demand from other stations. If you're already driving to the Metro, why fight, hunt, and search for one of the last available spots when you can drive to another stop that has plenty of parking? Also, it would be easier to get out after a train, if fewer people use it.

[@sammymarrco47]

both innovation center and Ashburn are not even close to being full, IC even has the lowest % of spaces to parks on weekdays, its only like 4% used.

[@chrispontani7637]

@@sammymarrco47 Yes, and this was all designed before the pandemic and commuting/work-from-home rations were up-ended.

[@srdamodaran]

I've seen ppl use rideshare and family/friends to get dropped off and picked up at the station...that's where the ridership is coming from who don't drive themselves to the station.

[@sammymarrco47]

makes sense, I always forget about ride share. It's funny though because innovation center and Ashburn stations are a lot closer to where people actually live.

[@rf11404]

I've never stopped there. This video is right that station is pointless. I've been to every other station on the Silver Line.. I've tried looking for a reason to go there but that would be a waste of time.

[@sammymarrco47]

there really is none, unless you make least used station videos

[@maranisha.]

Oh cool it came lol.

[@deancostello001]

Hi sammy! I love your content and I hate to contradict you... but I know multiple people who commute from there lol :)

[@sammymarrco47]

Thanks! - did I say no one uses it? I just said its very underutilized.

[@deancostello001]

@@sammymarrco47 Yeah. I get it. It is. There are many underutilized stations and sections of lines.

[@jpthompson09]

Since it is located in the middle of the forest, there is the potential for future development around it but now? Nothing.

[@sammymarrco47]

the IAD flight path and highway makes that hard, but its an option for the future!

[@jackbates7467]

Watching this on the Silver Line...

[@sammymarrco47]

best place to watch it obviously 😉🚃🚉

[@theunknown0887]

Why doesn't the silver line just terminate at Dulles having stations past that feels like a redundancy more than anything

[@DCAdamB]

When the route was being planned in the late 90s, projections expected a large population increase in Loudoun County (which was broadly accurate), and expected sufficient demand for a park and ride station along the Dulles Greenway. Additionally, the extension necessitated a new rail yard north of Dulles Airport, so some of the track would have been built regardless. This doesn’t justify Loudoun Gateway IMO, but I think a single station at Ashburn would have been better

[@Hypnosniper]

I feel a stop at Loudoun Gateway is definitely not needed, but the ashburn terminus I feel is definitely important and has had much increased ridership. I take the silver line from ashburn into DC very often and I have noticed that the number of people who get on and off at ashburn is way more.

[@BRHSpartans]

Because I live walking distance from the Ashburn station

[@sammymarrco47]

the rumor is that Loudoun said they would need two stations if they were to agree to pay for it

[@theunknown0887]

@@sammymarrco47 sounds reasonable

[@qjtvaddict]

Why was this even built?

[@sammymarrco47]

the rumor is that Loudoun said they would need two stations if they were to agree to pay part of it, but i cant find any sources for that!

[@scottydude456]

Loudoun Gateway > London Gatwick

[@sammymarrco47]

they're ab the same amount of miles from center city!

[@louiszhang3050]

Can't believe they decided to build this absolute joke of a station instead of Wolf Trap which is what everyone was demanding instead. Sure, there's nothing really at Wolf Trap other than... Wolf Trap. But at least it would be used on SOME DAYS and serve a bit of a recreational purpose. Loudoun Gateway is just pointless.

[@sammymarrco47]

yeah Fairfax connector does run a wolf trap bus during events but not many people use that

[@oogie493]

WMATA neglects proper modernization and cleaning of stations that reek of piss and drugs, but throws money at building these useless stations. Such a waste of labor and resources.

[@Geotpf]

Often, it is easier for a government agency to find money to build a thing than to operate said thing (via bond money and state and Federal grants). This applies outside of transit as well. It is not unheard of for a local government to build things like a school or prison and then not open it for several years because they had the capital funds to build it but not the operating funds to actually open it.

[@sammymarrco47]

personally ive never seen piss on the metro and ive only smelled weed a couple times, from what I hear DC is one of the cleanest in the US but ofc we could always do better!