Metro remains noncommittal on an expected opening date for when phase two of the Silver Line will begin operations.
The 11.4-mile extension from Reston into Loudoun County is expected to open this fall. However, the $2.8 billion project has repeatedly missed estimated targets for opening, leading the transit agency to take a cautious approach to sharing a timeline for when rail service will officially begin.
“We do not have an anticipated date at this time,” Metro spokesperson Ian Jannetta said.
That’s despite a report from NBC4 that attributes a Halloween target date for opening to multiple “sources.”
The news comes after the extension checked off a key milestone last week. The project was formally handed over to Metro on June 23 after achieving operational readiness.
At a board meeting, officials noted that significant work remains to be done.
“It means we’re progressing and getting to the point of passenger service, which we don’t expect to happen until later this fall,” said interim Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority General Manager and CEO Andy Off.
A spokesperson declined to comment further on the anticipated opening, noting that the next update is expected at the board’s meeting in late July.
Last summer, the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority anticipated a possible completion by March 2022, but ongoing work on safety and testing pushed the “substantial completion” deadline deeper into the year.
Since then, Metro and other stakeholders remained mum about announcing a Silver Line Phase 2 timeline — even when county and regional elected officials pushed for ballpark estimates. The completion date is still years beyond what was initially anticipated when MWAA began courting proposals for the project.
(Updated at 9:25 a.m. on 6/28/2022) Metro has reached a major milestone with its Silver Line Phase 2 project.
The 11.4-mile rail extension from Reston into Loudoun County has achieved its “operational readiness date” and was formally handed over to Metro at 6 a.m. today (Thursday), interim Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority General Manager and CEO Andy Off announced during a board of directors meeting.
Off noted that Metro hasn’t technically accepted the project, as a number of steps remain to get it ready for passenger service. However, WMATA is now responsible for the rail line’s infrastructure and will start testing and training employees to familiarize them with the new facilities.
“This milestone enables our team to test the tracks and systems, train and familiarize our workforce on yard operations, mainline and stations and ensure that we provide safe and reliable service for customers on the extension,” Off said in a news release. “We look forward to opening the new stations soon and delivering high quality rail connections to Dulles Airport and Loudoun County.”
We’re excited about this step, because we can begin testing and training at the six new stations, 11.4 miles of new tracks, and brand-new rail yard. This is exciting news, but there’s a lot of work ahead.
— Metro (@wmata) June 23, 2022
The second phase of the Silver Line has been in the works under the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority for almost a decade now, encountering numerous delays that have frustrated local residents, business owners, and elected officials.
Metro and Fairfax County transportation officials had suggested earlier this month that MWAA was finally almost ready to hand over the project, which will add six stations to the Silver Line from Reston Town Center to Ashburn.
Metro doesn’t expect passenger service to begin until “later this fall,” Off said. (Correction: This story previously said the time frame for the Silver Line extension’s opening was unclear.)
According to Off, it will take “a considerable amount of time” to train the 350 employees working at the new, 90-acre Dulles Airport rail yard facility, but the board of directors will be updated next month, and a launch date will be announced as the schedule gets refined.
“It is a major milestone, and we’re excited to get to this point finally,” said Matt Letourneau, a Virginia representative on the WMATA board.
Hunter Mill District Supervisor Walter Alcorn, who chairs the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors’ transportation committee, expressed relief at the “long-awaited” news.
“Years of investment in infrastructure, development and economic opportunities will soon pay off for residents and businesses in Fairfax County and our neighboring jurisdictions,” Alcorn said in a statement. “We’re all looking forwarding to WMATA’s announcement of when we can open the gates to riders and get these trains rolling!”
Virginia Sens. Mark Warner and Tim Kaine also released a joint statement on the announcement with their counterparts from Maryland, Sens. Ben Cardin and Chris Van Hollen:
Today’s news takes us one big step closer to our shared goal of ensuring that our transportation infrastructure is reliable, convenient, and capable of keeping up with the National Capital Region’s growth. We welcome this development and encourage WMATA to safely and expeditiously put the finishing touches on this project so the Silver Line can fully open for customer service.
The first phase of the Silver Line, which runs through Tysons to the Wiehle-Reston East Metro station, opened in 2014.
(Updated at 4:30 p.m.) Officials say it’s just a matter of weeks before the long-anticipated opening date of phase two of the Silver Line will be known.
At a Fairfax County transportation committee meeting yesterday (Tuesday), Fairfax County Executive Bryan Hill said he expects to find out about a date for operational readiness within two weeks.
“If we don’t hear back as a board and as a region that operational readiness is not completed or available no more than two weeks from now, I would be very surprised,” Hill said at the meeting.
Still, it’s unclear exactly when that could be. Interim Metro Head Andy Off has previously stated that Metro expects to declare operational readiness within the “next several weeks.”
The 11.4-mile extension, which would bring six stations through Loudoun County, has been besieged with delays for years. The Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority has remained tight-lipped about an expected opening date, which would be determined once operational readiness is formally declared.
Metro’s board will establish a service date after identified deficiencies are resolved to meet acceptance standards.
Martha Coello, who works with the Fairfax County Department of Transportation’s special projects division, said that the county’s portion of the punch list is 99% complete. The county just faces a small hang-up with a contractor that “won’t impact operational readiness or opening.”
Coello said discussions with stakeholders on opening days are ongoing. FCDOT is also seeking the board’s suggestions on how to best proceed with launch-day festivities. The project was substantially completed in November.
Updated at 9:40 a.m. on 6/9/2022 — Metro could announce an operational readiness date for the Silver Line extension “within the next several weeks,” interim CEO and General Manager Andy Off told the Board of Directors’ safety and operations committee today (Thursday).
Earlier: Capital Rail Constructors — the builder of phase two of the Silver Line — estimated that the long-delayed project could be handed over to Metro by July 29.
The forecast — which is simply an estimate and would still ultimately be determined by Metro — was provided in a monthly report with data from May 1.
The estimate comes as Metro declines to provide a date for when service of the 11.4-mile extension into Loudoun County will begin.
The Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority, which is managing the project before it is accepted by Metro, announced that the project was substantially complete in November.
Before a service date is announced, the project has to clear rounds of testing. A date of operational readiness and final acceptance of the project is ultimately in the hands of the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority’s board.
The latest monthly report forecasts a final acceptance date of July 29. But it’s unclear if that is the current target.
A WMATA spokesperson told FFXnow that the date of operational readiness is “declared solely by Metro.”
“We do not have an estimated date at this time,” said Ian Jannetta, a spokesperson for WMATA.
CRCis responsible for the design-to-build aspect of the stations and the tracks while Hence Phelps is managing the rail yard. Six stations are planned as part of the extension into Loudoun County.
MWAA’s hesitance in providing an estimate for when phase two will be completed departs from its past practice of providing general estimates.
The authority had hoped that trains would begin running this spring, but a county transportation official later shared that a summer opening was anticipated for the project, which has been besieged by missed completion dates.
WMATA’s safety and operations committee is expected to discuss the issue at a 9 a.m. meeting tomorrow (Thursday).
A report by the committee states that Metro is working with MWAA to “reach mutual agreement on a path forward and schedule towards resolution” of issues flagged by both parties.
Items that remain include training, labor arrangements and contractor work. WMATA is also working on the failure of heat tape, which prevents ice buildup on the rail during precipitation.
MWAA is working on a remediation plan for the heat tape issue, and WMATA might have to step in to implement the strategy.
Another logistical piece to formally open phase two of the Silver Line has been completed, but the opening date remains entirely unclear.
At meeting on Tuesday (May 24), the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors unanimously approved a motion to formally accept maintenance responsibilities of county-owned transit facilities related to the 11.4-mile Metrorail extension in Loudoun County.
“This is an important step as we move forward with phase two opening,” Hunter Mill District Supervisor Walter Alcorn said.
But the vote didn’t bring any updates on an opening date for the long-anticipated project, which has already faced significant delays.
At the meeting, county transportation staff noted they hope to receive a schedule from the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority soon.
Just as it did for the first phase of the Silver Line, the county formally adopted a maintenance and operations agreement.
The agreement includes property conveyances between different stakeholders, along with with maps covering ownership and maintenance responsibilities.
The county will own and maintain the Reston Town Center North and South Kiss and Ride lots and bus bays, the Herndon Station South stair tower and pedestrian bridge between the parking garage and the pavilion, and the Innovation North Kiss and Ride lot.
The county’s transportation department is working with MWAA to resolve several items related to this aspect of the project.
After brief hopes of a potential May opening, county officials acknowledged on the record in March that the extension had been delayed until the summer. MWAA has declined to provide a specific date or estimate.
“Metro has not set an opening date and will not do so until after operational readiness is declared,” said Metro spokesperson Ian Janetta in a May 11 statement to FFXnow.
When Metro riders get off the future Herndon-Monroe Metro Station, town planners want the first impression of the town to be a unique experience.
That’s part of the reason why town officials are working on the Herndon Metrorail Promenade, a 500-foot-long and nearly 70-foot-wide gateway plaza that will connect the Metro station to Herndon Parkway.
It’s designed to be the first introduction to the town, offering a “gateway experience…unlike all other major entrances to the town,” staff said in planning documents.
Up to $200,000 is up for consideration for the project as part of the town’s Capital Improvement Plan, a long-range planning tool that will be discussed by the Herndon Town Council tonight (Tuesday).
While it’s too early to know what the promenade will look like, town planners hope the “quality, form, scale and aesthetic design of the whole and its components will create a lasting impression” of the town on pedestrians.
A walkway along the center of the future promenade will serve Metro riders once the station opens. Another public walkway that’s currently under construction will run from Metro’s pavilion to the sidewalk of Herndon Parkway and two land bays.
Strategically, the gateway is intended to boost the success of the Herndon Transit-Oriented Core. It will feature a mix of plaza spaces and planted areas with sculptural elements and seating to welcome visitors into town.
It’s not yet clear how the promenade will match up with the proposed Parkview development, which will open up directly to the plaza at 593 Herndon Parkway from the Metro station door. Lerner Enterprises’ mixed-use project went to the town’s planning commission for a discussion last night (Monday).
It will be a while before the town’s vision for the promenade comes to fruition. Currently, the project has no timeline, as only design and engineering funding the project has been allocated.
Town spokesperson Anne Curtis tells FFXnow that the land for the future promenade is currently owned by three different entities.
“The town owns the center portion, where the existing walkway is located; private property owners own the land adjacent to the walkway. These owners will be providing improvements when redevelopment occurs,” Curtis wrote in a statement.
Design and engineering will also be necessary to make sure that the current walkway is redesigned to become a “seamless” part of the promenade, Curtis said.
Developer contributions for the project are expected, along with other funding sources.
While much remains unknown about the promenade design itself, the opening date of the Metro station also remains a mystery. There currently isn’t even an estimated timeline for opening the Silver Line’s long-anticipated second phase, even as crews complete final testing and pre-revenue service activities.
No one raised even the semblance of a timeframe for opening the long-delayed extension of the Silver Line into Loudoun County during a Metro board discussion on the issue yesterday morning (Thursday).
Officials provided no specific date for when the 11.4-mile extension could begin operations. A late summer opening was anticipated after a series of previous delays, but even that appears tentative at best.
Instead, officials say they’re focusing on reaching a long-anticipated milestone: operational readiness. A major condition of this step is testing conducted by Metro.
Andrew Off, the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority’s executive vice president of capital delivery. told WMATA’s Safety and Operations Committee that the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority has not made significant progress on safety certifications for the Dulles International Airport rail yard, noting that the process seems to be “taking more time than usual.”
MWAA has also not determined the root cause of a problem related to heat tape, which prevents ice build-up on the rail when it rains or snow.
“We’re trying to figure out what the real problem is,” Off said.
Before operational readiness is declared, MWAA must resolve critical operational issues. If Metro accepts the project from MWAA, the entity will continue a nearly three-month period of broadly defined “pre-revenue activities” before trains start running.
That date has already been delayed several times, resulting in some mounting frustration from Fairfax County officials.
At the meeting, officials emphasized that there is not fixed duration for Metro to declare operational readiness, because it depends entirely on the progress of testing.
Overall, punch list progress is nearly complete. Roughly 85% of the punch list for Package A — the main line and stations — has been complete, along with 97% for Package B — which covers the Dulles rail yard.
Lastly, work has proceeded on the three Silver Line items we discussed at last month’s Board meeting. While progress on the mainline tracks has been promising, there are still several pieces to work out on the rail yard side.
— Metro (@wmata) April 28, 2022
County Libraries to Resume Standard Hours — Fairfax County Public Library will once again open its eight regional branches seven days a week, and its 14 community branches on Mondays, effective this Sunday (April 3). The system truncated its hours starting in January due to the surge in COVID-19 cases and high staff vacancies. [FCPL]
Omicron Subvariant Identified in Fairfax County Patients — “BA.2 is now estimated to be responsible for about one in three COVID-19 infections in the country and one in five COVID-19 infections in Virginia. While BA.2 appears to be more contagious and can spread faster, it is not known to make people sicker.” [Fairfax County Health Department]
County Commonwealth’s Attorney Responds to Miyares Criticism — “The two powerful men have been in a feud for months. Attorney General Jason Miyares is pushing for tough-on-crime policies, while [Steve] Descano campaigned on ending mass incarceration and reforming the criminal justice system.” [ABC7]
“Coming to America” Restaurant Planned for Springfield — “Starting in May, shoppers at the Springfield Town Center can stride through the golden arcs of McDowell’s and order a Big Mick — a burger that is totally different from that other sandwich, thank you very much, because the buns don’t have seeds.” [Washingtonian]
Falls Church Approves Founders Row Part II — “The Falls Church City Council approved yet another large scale mixed use project for its downtown corridor Monday night, by a 5-2 vote giving a final OK to what has become known as the ‘Founders Row 2‘ project that will fill the space at the now vacant Rite Aid and the carpet store at the corner of W. Broad and S. West St.” [Falls Church News-Press]
Congress Members Concerned about Silver Line Phase 2 Delays — “U.S. Reps. Jennifer Wexton (D), Don Beyer (D) and Gerry Connolly’s letter to MWAA came a day after Paul Wiedefeld, the CEO and general manager of the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority, said unresolved issues…are preventing a declaration of operational readiness.” [Patch]
Capital One Partners with MLB — “McLean’s Capital One Financial Corp. is Major League Baseball’s new official banking and credit card partner. Capital One announced the multiyear deal Monday…Terms were not disclosed, but reports have pegged it as a $125 million deal for MLB over five years.” [Washington Business Journal]
Reston Library to Host First Responders on Saturday — “Join us as we celebrate the brave men and women who rush to emergency situations every day to take action when disaster strikes. Meet our local firefighters as they showcase the equiptment used for respond to emergencies. 11am-2pm at Reston Library.” [FCPL]
Local Students Compete in Special Olympics — “Congratulations to the Madison Special Olympics Unified Basketball Team who competed in their first Special Olympics this weekend at Marshall HS.” [James Madison High School/Twitter]
It’s Wednesday — Mostly cloudy throughout the day. High of 56 and low of 36. Sunrise at 6:57 a.m. and sunset at 7:31 p.m. [Weather.gov]
