# Chillum Road Line

The Chillum Road Line, designated as Route F1 is a daily bus route operated by the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority between Cheverly station of the Orange Line of the Washington Metro and Takoma station of the Red Line. The line operates every 25–38 minutes during peak hours, 60 minutes during weekday off peak hours, and 58–62 minutes on the weekends. Trips roughly take 50–60 minutes.

## Background

Route F1 operates daily service between Cheverly station and Takoma station via Chillum Road, Queens Chapel Road, Eastern Avenue, Bladensburg Road, Annapolis Road, Landover Road, Hospital Drive, and Tuxedo Road.
Route F1 operates out of Landover division.

## History

The Chillum Road Line was simply derived off its predecessor route known as the K6 New Hampshire Avenue–Suburban Line, which began operation in the 1940s as a Capital Transit Company bus route, and operated via New Hampshire Avenue between White Oak and the intersection of New Hampshire Avenue & Eastern Avenue NE in Chillum, Maryland.
During the 1950s, the K6 was converted into a DC Transit Route, renamed as the, New Hampshire Avenue-Chillum Road Line and was extended from its terminus at the intersection of New Hampshire Avenue & Eastern Avenue N.E. in Chillum, Maryland to the intersection of 34th Street & Rhode Island Avenue in Mount Rainier, Maryland, via Eastern Avenue NE, Chillum Road, 19th Avenue, La Salle Road, Carson Circle, Queens Chapel Road, 25th Street, Arundel Road, Russell Avenue, 28th Place, Upshur Street, Rainier Avenue, 34th Street, Eastern Avenue NE, Rhode Island Avenue, and 34th Street.
In 1968, the K6 was rerouted to operate on the New Hampshire Avenue corridor south of the intersection of Eastern Avenue NE towards Federal Triangle alongside the K4 and K9 DC Transit Bus Routes. During this exact time, K6's routing between Mount Rainier and Chillum was replaced by DC Transit's East Riverdale - Cheverly Line Routes B4, B6, and B8 were extended from their original terminus at Mount Rainier to Chillum. Then, eventually during the early 1970's when DC Transit's East Riverdale - Cheverly Line Routes B4, B6, and B8 were discontinued, B2 was extended from its original terminus at Mount Rainier, to Chillum in order to replace their routing between Mount Rainier and Chillum.
On February 4, 1973, both B2 & K6 became Metrobus Routes when WMATA bought DC Transit, which was struggling financially and merged it with three other failing bus companies throughout the Washington D.C. Metropolitan Area, to form its own, "Metrobus" System.
On February 19, 1978, shortly after the Takoma station opened, B2 was truncated to only operate between Mount Rainier, Maryland and Anacostia. The segment of its routing between Mount Rainier and Chillum, was replaced by the F2 Metrobus Route and renamed the Chillum Road Line. F2 operated on the same exact routing as B2 between Mount Rainier and Chillum, only with the exception that it was extended to the Takoma station, via Eastern Avenue NE/NW, and Carroll Street NW. Prior to this time, F2 originally operated as part of the Michigan Avenue Line, alongside Route F4, between the intersection of 29th Street NE & Randolph Street NE (Mount Rainier) (F2)/ Eastern Avenue NE & Michigan Avenue NE (Avondale) (F4) and Archives in Downtown Washington D.C. It was initially a Capital Transit Company Bus Route in 1929, and then later on as a DC Transit Bus Route during the 1950s, well before becoming a WMATA Metrobus Route on February 4, 1973.
On December 3, 1978, route F2 was extended from its terminus at Mount Rainier Terminal, to the newly opened Cheverly station, in order to replace route 88's routing between Mount Rainier and Cheverly, Maryland, via Rhode Island Avenue, 38th Street/38th Avenue, Bladensburg Road, Annapolis Road, Landover Road, Prince George's Hospital, Cheverly Avenue, and Columbia Park Road.
On December 11, 1993, when West Hyattsville station opened, F2 was rerouted to operate on Queens Chapel Road north of 25th Street in Mount Rainier, then via Ager Road to serve the West Hyattsville Metro Station before returning back to Queens Chapel Road in the southbound direction via Ager Road. During this same exact time, F2 was rerouted to operate between Cheverly station and Prince George's Hospital, via Columbia Park Road, Arbor Street, Tuxedo Road, Kenilworth Avenue Service Roadway, Kenilworth Avenue, Lydell Road, Pepsi Place, Hospital Drive, Prince George's Hospital. With the exception of these route changes, F2's routing between the Cheverly and Takoma Metro Stations remained the same. F2's original routing between the Cheverly Metro Station and Prince George's Hospital was replaced by the F8 and F13 Metrobus Routes.
On January 24, 1999, a new route F1 was created to operate alongside the F2 between Takoma and Cheverly stations, only with the exception that it would operate between the intersections of Rhode Island Avenue and Arundel Road in Mount Rainier, Maryland, via Eastern Avenue NE and Varnum Street rather than operating via F2's routing via Eastern Avenue NE, 34th Street, Rainier Avenue, Upshur Street, 28th Place, and Russell Avenue. Route F1 would operate on weekdays and Route F2 would operate during early morning, late night, and weekends when TheBus Route 12 did not operate. F1 had a prior incarnation as the Avondale - Federal Triangle Express Line, which operated between Avondale and Federal Triangle as a DC Transit Route and eventually became a WMATA Metrobus Route on February 4, 1973, which ultimately got discontinued on February 19, 1978.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, route F1 was suspended beginning on March 16, 2020, while route F2 operate on its Saturday schedule. However beginning on March 18, 2020, the route was further reduced to operate on its regular Sunday schedule with the supplemental trips not operating and having weekend service suspended. Route F1 resumed service on August 23, 2020, and route F2 was reverted to its regular operating hours.