Finally, travelers arriving at the largest international airport in the Washington, D.C., area will have a direct rail connection to the city.
The much-anticipated extension of the Metrorail system into Dulles International Airport (IAD) is scheduled to open on Nov. 15, according to the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority, with just a few weeks until the start of the Thanksgiving travel season.
Through the Silver Line development, Dulles, which serves as a hub for United Airlines and has seen its neighborhood develop into a significant tech sector in recent years, will have direct access to Washington.
The airport's baggage claim area, which is open to all incoming and leaving travelers, will be connected to an underground tunnel through which passengers can access the trains.
In the past, expensive automobile services from Dulles to downtown Washington encountered crippling traffic during rush hours and might cost as much as $60.
Dulles is located about 28 miles from the center of Washington, D.C., and is straddled by the counties of Fairfax and Loudoun in Virginia.
The 23-mile expansion project began in 2009, and the 11 1/2-mile, $3 billion extension will add six additional Silver Line stations to the Northern Virginia suburbs.
These stations include Reston Town Center, Herndon, Innovation Center, Loudoun Gateway, and Ashburn in addition to Dulles.
Public rail service has long provided access to Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport (DCA), but this close-by airport only handles brief domestic flights.
Even at Baltimore/Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport (BWI), which is frequently listed as one of the metro area's three airports, travelers can use an airport shuttle bus to board an Amtrak train or commuter rail service into downtown Washington.
Baltimore's city center may be reached from BWI via light rail as well.
But Dulles is the airport where the Silver Line extension will have the biggest impact on the region's public transportation system, giving travelers a new downtown rail alternative at the airport that handles the majority of the region's international and domestic flights.
After years of delays, the Silver Line expansion into Dulles will finally open, as was long anticipated.
The final phase of the expansion into Dulles, which was initially scheduled to open in 2018, had been hampered by years of cost overruns and legal action against contractors who allegedly fabricated records about faulty concrete panels.
A $1 million settlement was reached in the federal civil case against the firm responsible for the tragedy.
The Washington Metrorail Safety Commission rejected Metro's request to bring back more 7000-series trains, a newer model, to service even in October, just weeks before Metro announced an opening date for the final stretch of the expansion, according to The Washington Post. This led to a dispute between the two organizations.
The 7000 series trains had previously been suspended for a year due to safety issues, according to the commission, after one of these vehicles derailed on the Blue Line close to Arlington Cemetery in October 2021.
Following the stoppage, Metro was forced to deal with a train deficit that had been aggravated by rising travel demand.
Since then, according to The Washington Post, Metro has been working hard to fully recover its fleet.
Executives at Metro were concerned that there wouldn't be enough trains available to meet demand for the planned Silver Line expansion into Dulles in time for Thanksgiving travel.
In the end, a deal between the commission and Metro was made to gradually bring back more of the more modern trains.
The safety committee has not yet certified the Silver Line, though.
Metro stated that it was still working on a small list of matters with the safety commission on a regular basis.
We value their cooperation and anticipate finishing the safety certification prior to starting passenger service.
This project's initial phase, which introduced new stations to Fairfax County, was finished in 2014.
The second phase added more stations here as well as brand-new ones in Loudoun County, Metrorail's entry into another another of Virginia's most populous regions.
Dulles will now join the ranks of significant U.S. airports with a direct train connection, which whisks travelers directly to downtown regions without the stress of traffic, with the Nov. 15 opening.
Some of these direct rail links have been operational for the previous ten years, such as The A Line, which was launched in 2016 and runs from Denver International Airport (DEN) to downtown Denver.
Many airports have long-standing problems with a lack of direct public transportation connection to cities; LaGuardia Airport (LGA) is one such location.
An alternative is for travelers to take a bus from the airport, then connect to a metro or another bus.
On Nov. 15, Metro employees will carry on a tradition that began in 1976 when the first Metro station opened by giving out commemorative pennants to train passengers leaving Dulles and the other new stations in Northern Virginia.
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