‘B&W Train Tunnel’
courtesy of ‘MikaAltskan’

What a year it has been for Metro, and the first month isn’t over yet. Service on the rails has been particularly messy this January, and just when it looked like Metro had decided to take the fight to the people, its general manager calls it quits. Despite last year’s tragedies and this year’s very rocky start, there’s still a magic about the system. Architect Harry Weese‘s vision for the Metrorail stations is iconic, modern, and yet still brutalist in nature.

For me, the best part of the system is the interface between the public parts of the station — the platforms, mezzanines, and escalators — and the inaccessible areas, especially the tunnels and the rail bed. Teenage photographer MikaAltskan managed to snap this shot looking into the tunnel from one of the stations. It shows off the curves of the concrete and rails, and the lights punctuating the distance before veering into an unknown, yet familiar place.

The next time you are waiting for the train that seems to never want to arrive, take a look around you and notice the cathedral-like look of the station where you happen to be waiting.

Samer Farha

Born in Lebanon, Samer moved to DC to go to college. A lot of good that did him. Twenty-two years later, he still lives in the area. When he’s not writing for a blog or tweeting incessantly, he wanders the streets (and the globe) photographing whatever gets in his way.