Shady Grove Station - DC Metro
Red Line - station in Rockville, MD.
About Shady Grove station
The end of the Red Line in Montgomery County, Shady Grove is above all a place to leave your car – close to 5,700 spaces make it the largest park-and-ride in the system by a wide margin. Commuters drive in from Gaithersburg, Germantown and further up the I-270 corridor, and a substantial bus network feeds the station from the surrounding suburbs. Trains terminate and turn here, which means you can usually get a seat heading inbound in the morning. There is very little around the station itself: it sits among office parks and county facilities rather than a town center, and the useful destinations are all a bus ride or a drive away.
The area around Shady Grove
Outer Montgomery County – office and research parks, county service facilities, and low-density development along Shady Grove Road, with the residential neighborhoods of Rockville and Gaithersburg spread out beyond. Nothing about the immediate area invites walking. The station’s role is purely to gather drivers and bus riders from a wide catchment and put them on a train.
What is near Shady Grove station?
The corporate and county facilities along Shady Grove Road that account for the station's limited walk-up traffic.
12 min walkExtensive bus bays connecting to Gaithersburg, Germantown and the wider county network, doing much of the station's real work.
2 min walkFirst and last trains at Shady Grove
Departure times by direction. Which way you are traveling matters – the last train toward one terminal can be an hour before the last train the other way.
| Day | Toward | First | Last |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mon-Thu | Glenmont | 5:00 am | 11:31 pm |
| Fri | Glenmont | 5:00 am | 1:31 am |
| Sat | Glenmont | 6:00 am | 1:31 am |
| Sun | Glenmont | 6:00 am | 11:31 pm |
Travel times and fares from Shady Grove
| To | Time | Weekday to 9:30pm | Late night & weekend |
|---|---|---|---|
| Metro Center | 36 min | $6.75 | $2.50 |
| Gallery Pl-Chinatown | 38 min | $6.75 | $2.50 |
| L'Enfant Plaza | 46 min | $6.75 | $2.50 |
| Union Station | 42 min | $6.75 | $2.50 |
| Smithsonian | 44 min | $6.75 | $2.50 |
| Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport | 56 min | $6.75 | $2.50 |
| Washington Dulles International Airport | 94 min | $6.75 | $2.50 |
| Pentagon | 51 min | $6.75 | $2.50 |
| Glenmont | 67 min | $6.75 | $2.50 |
Travel times and fares published by WMATA. Fares valid July 2026.
Changing lines at Shady Grove
Shady Grove is served by the Red Line only.
Parking at Shady Grove
Tips for using Shady Grove
- With around 5,700 spaces this is the most reliable park-and-ride in the system, even on busy weekdays.
- Trains terminate here, so you can usually board an empty train and get a seat for the ride in.
- Not all Red Line trains run the full length of the line at all times – check the destination on the train and on wmata.com.
Shady Grove station FAQ
Roughly 5,745 spaces across garages and surface lots, which makes it comfortably the largest park-and-ride on the system. It is the most dependable option in the region for drivers who want to leave the car and ride in, and spaces are almost always available.
Yes, it is the northwestern terminus. Trains terminate and reverse here, which is why boarding passengers often find an empty train. Glenmont in Montgomery County is the terminus at the other end of the line.
Very little, and it is worth being upfront about that. The station sits among office and research parks along Shady Grove Road rather than in a town center. Almost all riders arrive by car or by connecting bus, and the useful destinations are a ride away.
By connecting bus from the bays beside the station – a substantial network feeds the upper I-270 corridor from here. MARC Brunswick Line trains also serve Gaithersburg and Germantown from their own stations. Check current bus routes and times on wmata.com and the county’s transit site.