(Updated at 3 p.m.) It’s official: the first train on phase two of the Silver Line extension project will take off at 1:54 p.m. from the Ashburn Metro Station on Nov. 15, Metro announced today.
The train will travel the full 11.4-mile extension from Loudoun County to Downtown Largo in Maryland.
“The start of passenger service will commence following a grand opening celebration and ribbon cutting at the Washington Dulles International Airport Station to recognize this generational infrastructure investment,” Metro announced.
The opening will be preceded by a grand opening celebration that day. Only 100 customers will have a chance to receive a “Silver Ticket” to join Metro General Manager Randy Clarke and other officials for a preview ride before passenger service begins.
Here’s how to enter for the ticket:
Share your favorite memories with us on social media by tagging us on Twitter @wmata, Instagram @metroforward, and on Facebook @Metro Forward and use #YourMetroMemory. Customers can also email us at csvc@wmata.com with the subject line: Silver Ticket Metro Memory. Submissions must be sent by 5 p.m. on Thursday, November 10. Customers will be notified by noon, on Monday, November 14. Metro will select 50 customers plus a guest who will receive a “Silver Ticket” departing Wiehle-Reston East at 1:15 p.m. direct to Ashburn where the train will officially begin passenger service.
Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg is expected to attend that event at 11 a.m.
New: Transportation Sec. Pete Buttigieg will attend the opening of the new Silver Line extension on Nov. 15, WMATA Board Chair Paul Smedberg said at the @NoVaTransit meeting last night.
The opening event at Dulles Airport station will start at 11 a.m. https://t.co/pZYoaZ32uy
— Jordan Pascale🎙️ (@JWPascale) November 4, 2022
The first full-length westbound trip will depart from Downtown Largo at 12:51 p.m. to Wiehle-Reston East and the six new stations. Trains will run every 15 minutes from end-to-end.
Once the Silver Line opens, Metrobus 5A and the Silver Line Express Bus will be discontinued the next day.
While Dulles Airport will get the big ribbon-cutting, Fairfax County is planning to celebrate the Silver Line extension’s long-awaited opening next week in Reston as well.
County officials will gather at the office building at 1950 Opportunity Way, which overlooks the new Reston Town Center station, on Tuesday, Nov. 15 at 3:30 p.m.
“Join elected officials, business leaders and community members to celebrate the long-awaited opening of the Silver Line station at Reston Town Center,” a flyer invite to the event says.
Attendees will also be able to ride the new Reston Town Center shuttle and get information on the new Fairfax Connector bus routes that will start running that day. The new lines will run between the Reston Town Center, Herndon, and Innovation Center Metro stations.
Fatimah Waseem contributed to this report.
Recently completed bus bays near the Herndon Metro Station are officially open and awaiting the start of rail service on Nov. 15.
At a ribbon-cutting ceremony yesterday (Thursday), town and Fairfax County officials gathered to celebrate the opening of the $5.9 million project, designed to give Fairfax Connector buses and cars convenient access to the Metro station.
The project also includes shelters and a neighboring signalized crosswalk.
The bus bay provides drop-off lanes in both directions along Herndon Parkway. The signalized crosswalk also allows pedestrians a “safe crossing of Herndon Parkway,” according to the town.
State Sen. Jennifer Boysko thanked the Northern Virginia Transportation Authority for making the project possible.
“This project accomplishes NVTA’s goal, specifically around traffic congestion, which is our mission,” she said.
Noting that Herndon will be the only town in Virginia to have a Metro station in its town limits, Mayor Sheila Olem said the bus bay project is critical to addressing traffic congestion in the area, which has been an issue for 20 years.
“It’s gonna be great for the…safety of those using the Metro whether they’re walking, bussing or biking to the Metro,” Olem said.
Designed by Clark Nelson and built by Arthur Construction, the project began in August 2021.
The town pitched in $1.2 million for the project, along with an additional $41.5 million through general bonds. A combination of federal, regional and local grants filled the remainder of the price tag.
Phase II of the Silver Line is expected to open on Nov. 15.
Other transportation infrastructure to support the 11.4-mile extension in Loudoun County are also on the way, including changes to Fairfax Connector service.
Fairfax County officials are preparing for the launch of new bus services in the Reston and Herndon area through the Fairfax Connector.
The changes — which were approved by the Board of Supervisors in February — will connect commuters to the Herndon, Reston Town Center and Innovation Center Metro stations, which are set to open on Nov. 15.
“With the realigned service, buses will operate more frequently to link customers to new Metrorail Silver Line Stations, including new connections to employment, education, hospitals and key activity centers,” the county wrote in a news release.
Four new routes will be offered. One route will connect the Reston Town Center Transit Station to Inova Fair Oaks Hospital, Fairfax County Government Center, Fair Oaks Mall, Fair Lakes and Greenbriar Center.
The Reston Town Center station will also have new Capital Bikeshare stations.
Look!👀 @bikeshare🚲 stations at the Reston Town Center Metro are all set for the opening on Nov. 15. There are 34 other #CaBi stations in Reston to ride to and from the new Metro station. #CapitalBikeshare #SilverLine #Reston #FairfaxCounty https://t.co/mcnlBUNun0 pic.twitter.com/Uvrh6IEZOO
— Fairfax Connector (@ffxconnector) November 2, 2022
A second route will connect the Herndon Metro Station, Centerville Road, and the park and rides at Sully Station, Centerville and Centreville-UMC.
The third route — known as the Herndon Circulator — will provide connections between the Herndon Metro Station, Spring Street, downtown Herndon, Elden Street, Archer Avenue and Worldgate Drive.
The final route provides connections between Sterling Plaza, Crest View Drive, Herndon Parkway and the Herndon station.
A dozen other routes were also tweaked to provide replacement services. A breakdown of all bus service changes is available online.
Local transportation officials are set to discuss the Connector changes at a meeting tomorrow at 11 a.m.
Interested participants can join the meeting online through Microsoft Teams or by phone, calling 571-429-5982 with the passcode 795 911 947#.
(Updated at 2:20 p.m.) Phase two of the Silver Line will officially open on Tuesday, Nov. 15, Metro announced today.
The long-delayed, 11.4-mile extension will bring six stations from Reston through Loudoun County. An opening date has been anticipated for months.
Shared in a video featuring Metro employees, the announcement comes after a kerfuffle between Metro and the Washington Metropolitan Safety Commission (WMSC) on safety approvals and related logistics. Earlier this month, Metro officials said the opening could be hung up by lack of trains needed to service the project.
However, those issues were evidently settled last week after Metro submitted a new safety plan and the commission agreed to let more trains return to the tracks.
“We appreciate our partners at [the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority, Federal Transit Administration], WMSC, Fairfax and Loudoun Counties who have worked collaboratively with us for several years to reach this moment,” Metro General Manager/CEO Randy Clarke said in the news release.
To mark opening day, Metro employees will hand out commemorative pennants, a “tradition that started when the first station opened in 1976,” the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority said.
Information about additional opening day festivities will be released in the coming days. There will be a ribbon-cutting at the Dulles International Airport station and a community event at the Reston Town Center station, according to Hunter Mill District Supervisor Walter Alcorn’s office.
“This day has been decades in the making, and marks the completion of the core transit infrastructure that will connect the Dulles Corridor for generations to come,” said Alcorn, who chairs the Fairfax County board’s transportation committee. “Thank you to all who made this happen, especially the commercial property owners and drivers on the Dulles Toll Road that are paying for construction of this new rail line.”
With the opening of the new stations, the Silver Line will be 23 miles long, running from downtown Largo in Prince George’s County, through D.C. and into Northern Virginia. The line’s first phase, including five new stations in Tysons and at Wiehle-Reston East, opened in July 2014.
The new stations are located in Reston Town Center, Herndon, Innovation Center, Washington Dulles International Airport, Loudoun Gateway and Ashburn.
Under construction since 2014, the Silver Line extension project also includes a new rail maintenance and service yard the Dulles airport property. The Dulles Rail Yard is the system’s largest rail yard and employs nearly 700 people, WMATA says.
All of the stations — except the station in Reston Town Center and Dulles International Airport — will have commuter parking.
Metro’s Trip Planner will provide updated travel times to and from the six new stations.
Metro hasn’t officially received safety certifications for the Phase II stations, since it has “a short list of items” that need to be finalized before opening.
“Metro continues to work on a short list of items that we are coordinating daily with the WMSC,” the transit agency said. “We appreciate their collaboration and expect to finalize safety certification before we open for passenger service. We’re working hard to get everything ready and look forward to welcoming you on opening day.”
Town of Herndon officials are mulling the town’s first rebranding effort in ten years.
The move — last discussed at a Herndon Town Council meeting earlier this month — comes as phase two of the Silver Line opens by Thanksgiving.
The rebranding package characterized the town as a “next generation small town.”
Mayor Sheila Olem said the placemaking nature of the new Herndon Metro Station provides an opportunity for the town to position itself as a rivaling area to others in the Commonwealth.
“With Metro coming in, it’s the perfect time,” Olem said at the Oct. 19 meeting.
Anne Curtis, the town’s director of communications, said distilling the town’d “distinctive attributes” was key in developing its brand strategy.
Curtis offered the following brand positioning statement:
A next generation small town pulses on the edge of Fairfax County. Turn off the highway and find yourself in a place that welcomes innovators, risk-takers, history seekers and family-keepers. This is where the roots of history help to grow the ideas of tomorrow.
The town’s logo also emphasizes “on” in the visualization of Herndon, with the font connecting “o” to “n.”
But council members concurred that more discussion and research is needed before any changes occur. The proposal was presented in response to the council’s strategy initiatives planning meeting earlier this year.
Vice Mayor Cesar del Aguila suggested that the brand strategy move out of relying on the town’s reputation as a small town.
“There are dollars out there to be had that we should position ourselves to grab,” del Aguila said, noting that the town must put itself on the regional map and move out of a “small town charm mentality.”
The town launched a brand identity development effort in 2012. Consultant Trialogue Studio worked with the town to launch the strategy.
In the most recent effort, the town held five focus groups, more than 20 interviews with key community and corporate leaders, and launched an online survey that yielded 400 responses.
From that effort, town features like “great location, “small town” and “Hispanic,” were salient.
Staff will continue to work on the proposal. A visualization exercise is planned for early next year.
As the county officially approves paying an additional $40 million to finish the Silver Line Phase II, fare evasion continues to irk supervisors.
At yesterday’s Board of Supervisors meeting, the county followed through on the transportation committee’s recommendation last month to pay an additional $40.25 million to the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority (MWAA) for the completion of the Silver Line Phase II.
As noted at the Sept. transportation committee meeting, the board didn’t have much choice in the matter. In July, MWAA agreed to increase the budget for the extension by $250 million which will be largely shouldered by Dulles Toll Road users. Because the original project agreement calls for Fairfax County to pay about 16% of the overage, the county owed an additional $40.25 million.
Last month, Board Chair Jeff McKay expressed his frustration about paying even more money for the much-delayed project but noted that it was a “requirement” and the county didn’t have the flexibility to not pay it “without significant negative consequences.”
At yesterday’s meeting, though, McKay struck a slightly different tone by focusing on the Silver Line Phase II’s potential to be a “game-changer” for the region.
“We can’t understate the importance of this project to the long-term success of Fairfax County,” McKay said. “It’s a major milestone.”
There remains no set date for when the line will be ready for riders, though Metro confirmed to FFXnow yesterday that it’s on track to open by Thanksgiving with the go-ahead to add more trains.
The supervisors also took a few moments at this week’s meeting to discuss Metro’s plans to stop fare evasion. Earlier this month, Metro announced it was ramping up enforcement and will be testing new station fare gates that are more difficult to jump over.
Metro estimates that fare evasion has cost the agency about $40 million this year, or nearly a quarter of its budget gap.
Several supervisors noted that they were pleased there was finally movement on better enforcement of fare evasion. Hunter Mill District Supervisor Walter Alcorn said there are certainly “equity issues” when it comes to enforcement, but “it has to be a level playing field.”
However, Dranesville District Supervisor John Foust called fare evasion the “least of [Metro’s] challenges” in terms of securing long-term funding for a system that could be facing a $500 million funding gap next year.
“They need a plan that goes way beyond [dealing] with fare evasion,” said Foust.
Phase II of the Silver Line is still on track for opening by Thanksgiving, according to a Metro spokesperson.
The news comes after a key hang-up for the opening of nearly 11-mile extension — the need for more trains — was resolved today (Tuesday) after the Washington Metrorail Safety Commission announced its approval of Metro’s plan to bring back more its 7000-series trains.
Metro’s General Manager and Chief Executive Officer Randy Clarke welcome the approval of its plan — although an exact opening date still remains elusive. Last week, Metro announced it hoped to open the extension to Dulles International Airport in time for Thanksgiving travel.
“With this approval and close collaboration on the Silver Line extension safety report, Metro will be able to set an opening date in the near future,” Clarke wrote in a statement.
Several safety issues and approvals are still needed.
In a statement last week, Metro said it was awaiting the WMSC’s approval of its return to service plan and disagreed with the commission’s methodology to determine the safety of the trains. At the time, Metro anticipated opening in time for Thanksgiving travel.
In an Oct. 17 letter to Metro, WMSC’s deputy CEO and Sharmila Samarasinghe said that its previous plan was not supported by “available safety information.” Those issues have now been largely resolved.
But the WMSC still needs to complete its concurrence of the project. Metro is still working through a number of open items to obtain WMSC’s concurrence the project, a WMSC spokesperson said.
Final approvals from the Federal Transit Administration are also needed.
More from WMSC on the technicalities of the approval to the overall return to service plan, after the jump:
(Updated at 12:05 p.m.) The second phase of the Silver Line may finally be ready to begin in time for the start of busy Thanksgiving travel, Metro announced today.
But the opening of the long-anticipated and long-delayed extension into Loudoun County is pending security certifications from the Washington Metrorail Safety Commission. Metro says it also still needs more trains to officially support the extension.
“We committed for the Silver Line extension to being operationally ready for the Silver Line extension in October, and we have met our deadline,” Metro General Manager and CEO Randy Clarke said. “Since control of the extension was turned over to Metro, we and our partners at the Airports Authority, Fairfax, and Loudoun have worked diligently to complete all of the steps needed for Metro to offer safe and reliable service for rail travel to Dulles Airport and Loudoun County, and we are just awaiting concurrence from our Safety Commission partners.”
The WMSC still needs to provide approvals of two submissions: a return-to-service plan for 7000-series railcars and a safety certification report on the extension project. The commission formally rejected Metro’s new return-to-service plan for its 7000-series rail cars.
“Metro does not view the final Silver Line safety certification report as a barrier to preparing for the opening of passenger service before Thanksgiving holiday travel,” Metro said in a statement.
Last month, Metro’s senior safety and operations officials said they were concerned about the safety of moving cars from other crowded lines for new service, citing the need for more trains.
Metro says that it’s confused by WMSC’s rejection of its plan, noting the following:
The letter indicates that there are differences in the track interface with trains on Blue/Orange/Silver lines that require monitoring, then indicates permission to run on those lines temporarily, but offers no metrics for successful completion;
The letter implies that Metro could swap axles to increase the fleet; however, that is operationally infeasible and would impact Metro’s ability to safely and efficiently manage its fleet, as well as changes many variables at once;
WMSC approved in December 2021 the use of the 7K fleet on all rail lines, and is now using the same data analysis to justify fleet restrictions, with no definitive root cause identified in the NTSB investigation.
Metro took control of the project from the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority in June. The project’s completion has been delayed several times over the last two years.
In a statement, WMSC spokesperson Max Smith said the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority has “not yet” submitted any documentation to get the necessary safety certification for the Silver Line extension:
Metrorail has since been conducting the additional work needed to prepare for a safe opening of the line. Metrorail is responsible for completing its safety certification of the project in accordance with its safety procedures. Metrorail still has open items in this process, and has not completed its safety certification of Silver Line Phase 2. After Metrorail completes its process, it will submit that information to the WMSC for our concurrence – based on our spot checks, regular meetings and other work over the last three years – that Metrorail has carried out this safety process in accordance with its procedures. As Metrorail has not yet completed all open items, Metrorail has not yet submitted this documentation and request. There is nothing pending before the WMSC.
Smith added that Metro hasn’t submitted any revisions to its return-to-service plan for the 7000 series trains that have mostly been offline since a Blue Line derailment last October.
WMSC says it sent Metro a letter on Monday (Oct. 17) explaining that a plan it submitted on Sept. 28, and then again without revision last Thursday (Oct. 13), “is not supported by all available safety data.”
“The letter also reiterates specific examples of options for Metrorail that are supported by the available data,” Smith said. Read More
A new circulator through the Town of Herndon is set to open when service for phase two of the Silver Line officially begins.
The Herndon Circulator — run through the Fairfax Connector — will include weekday and weekend service through the Herndon Metro station, Spring Street, Downtown Herndon, Elden Street, Parcher Avenue and Worldgate Drive.
“The route was developed in response to community input and to increase connectivity between downtown and the north side Herndon bus bays,” Robin Geiger, a spokesperson for the Fairfax County Department of Transportation, said.
Service is expected to begin when trains start running for phase two, according to the county. It’s unclear that will begin.
Most recently, Metro’s general manager stated that Metro may be operationally prepared to seek safety certification from the Washington Metrorail Safety Commission and Federal Transit Administration sometime this month.
An opening date has not yet been set, although a fall date is anticipated.
The route is one of several approved recently for Fairfax Connector. Other service changes include a new route between Tysons and Centreville that will take effect next year.
The route comes after the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors approved several new routes and changes to the Fairfax Connector in February.
Under the plan, the county added four new routes, altered 19 existing bus routes, and eliminated 12 bus routes.
With the Silver Line Phase II opening still in flux, Fairfax County is being asked to pay another $40 million.
At its transportation committee meeting on Friday (Sept. 30), the Board of Supervisors got an update on the ramifications of the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority (MWAA) agreeing in July to increase the budget for the Silver Line extension by $250 million.
The original project agreement calls for Fairfax County to pay about 16% of the asked-for overage, so with the quarter of a billion dollar budget increase, the county owes an additional $40.25 million.
All told, the county will have spent nearly a billion dollars — $960 million — on the second phase of the Silver Line, which will add six stations from Reston to Ashburn in Loudoun County.
In total, the project has cost just over $3 billion. The board is set to vote on the payment later this month.
While likely to approve the additional payment, several supervisors expressed frustration and annoyance with the need to throw even more dollars at a project that has been besieged by constant delays.
“I don’t think it’s a shock and it’s a tiny portion of the overall project,” Chairman Jeff McKay said. “But [the extra $40 million] has rightly angered a lot of folks given all the delays.”
Dranesville District Supervisor John Foust also made clear he was not happy that the county is being asked to pay more.
“Have we asked ourselves if this is a good deal and the Airports Authority is not just…spending a lot of money to make a problem go away? And it’s our money that they are spending,” Foust asked staff.
He also asked if $960 million will be the final amount. However, county staff couldn’t guarantee that there won’t be any further costs, considering Phase 1 is still undergoing repairs after opening in 2014.
“We still have to reconcile Phase 1 and Phase 2…All parties have to be reconciled at the end of the project,” said Martha Elena Coello, head of special projects for the Fairfax County Department of Transporation. “We are still doing some work on Phase 1 and that needs to be completed. At the end, there will be a reconciliation of both those phases.”
McKay asked, seemingly rhetorically, what would happen if the county didn’t pay the extra money. Staff responded that it might become a “legal matter” since the payment is required by the signed project agreement.
“According to the funding agreement, this is not a ‘might be’ or ‘may be,'” he said. “It’s a requirement for the county. We don’t have the flexibility…without significant negative consequences.”
Still relatively new Metro General Manager Randy Clarke was given authority by the Board of Directors last month to set an opening date for the Silver Line extension. While no exact date has been announced, Clarke said safety certifications are expected this October, and Metro has updated its maps to feature the new stations.
At the same time, Clarke warned that opening the Silver Line could force service reductions due to a deficit in trains when currently shuttered Blue and Yellow Line stations south of Washington National Airport reopen.
That headache will be put off a little longer by an entirely different Metro problem. Last week, the transit agency announced that its new Potomac Yard station won’t open until 2023. As a result, the Yellow and Blue stations will be closed for another two weeks, until Nov. 5.
