D.C. Metro turns 50 with birthday party, limited-edition merch, coffee table book
Add Axios as your preferred source to
see more of our stories on Google.
It's Metro's golden jubilee — today marks 50 years since the first red line rail carried passengers 4.6 miles and changed how Washington moves.
Why it matters: Metro may not feel a day over 25 with its cool merch and spiffy new trains and buses, but it took half a century to go from a modest subway to a six-line, 130-mile system that's the backbone of D.C.'s commute.
State of play: Metro begins months of celebrations today, including:
- A birthday party at Metro Center this morning (8:30-10:30am) with giveaways and historic photos
- Vintage wrapped trains rolling out today
- Limited-edition 50th merch at the spring pop-up shop (through April 12) — including fresh Randy Clarke-approved quarter zips
- Decade-themed SmarTrip cards.
What's next: Look for a coffee table book — perfect for your fave D.C. transit nerd — and vintage items like signs for sale (Metro carpet tbd).
🚆Stunning stat: Customers have taken over 15 billion trips across rail and bus since 1976 — and 147 million rail trips in 2025 alone.