Martedì 15 novembre si inaugura l'estensione della Silver Line della metropolitana di Washington che collegherà l'aeroporto internazionale di Dulles con il centro città e il resto della rete di trasporto urbano della capitale americana.
Il progetto è costato 3 miliardi di dollari e vedrà l'apertura di sei nuove stazioni lungo l'estensione di 11,5 miglia completata dopo anni di ritardi.
In 53 minuti ora i passeggeri e lo staff dell'aeroporto potranno andare dal centro di Washington all'aeroporto che rappresenta uno dei principali hub di United Airlines.
La metropolitana di Washington già serviva l'altro aeroporto della capitale, il Ronald Reagan National Airport, molto più vicino al centro cittadino ma per questo soggetto a parecchie restrizioni sia a livello di sentieri di avvicinamento sia per quel che riguarda le destinazioni servite. Innanzitutto il National Airport non può accogliere voli internazionali in quanto non è provvisto di immigrazione e dogana: di conseguenza solamente i voli internazionali provenienti da aeroporti con PreClearance potevano atterrare in questo scalo. Inoltre l'aeroporto era soggetto a una "perimeter rule" che impediva voli commerciali verso destinazioni a più di 1250 miglia nautiche di distanza, con l'eccezione di Denver e con varie eccezioni concesse singolarmente alle varie linee aeree per un numero limitato di frequenze.
Silver Line extension opening Tuesday afternoon with link to Dulles
The 11.5-mile Metrorail extension will include six new stations and extend rail into Loudoun County for the first time
By Justin George - Washington Post
November 15, 2022 at 5:00 a.m. EST
Metrorail service to Dulles International Airport and Loudoun County will begin Tuesday afternoon with the opening of the long-awaited Silver Line extension, a transit expansion decades in the making that will open after years of construction delays.
The $3 billion, 11.5-mile second phase will add six Metro stations, including three in Fairfax County, an airport station in time for the Thanksgiving holiday and two others in Loudoun. A Dulles station has been sought since the airport opened and coincides with the its 60th anniversary this week.
The segment, which begins at Wiehle-Reston East — the current terminus of the Silver Line — and extends west to Ashburn, will complete the 23-mile Silver Line. Phase 1 of the project, which stretches west from East Falls Church in Fairfax County, opened eight years ago, the same year the extension broke ground.
The debut train — filled with passengers who received special “Silver” tickets through a Metro promotion — is scheduled to leave Wiehle-Reston East at 1:15 p.m. on a special westbound express ride to Ashburn. A total of four ceremonies are being held in Fairfax and Loudoun counties Tuesday to commemorate the opening, including a private event for government officials at the Dulles station, which will include Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg and members of Congress.
Loudoun County officials say the extension will further transform the suburb 25 miles west of Washington into a destination for tourists and companies looking to relocate. Airport officials expect thousands of people to use the Dulles station daily, while other stations along the tech corridor have become magnets for development. The line was designed with commuters in mind, raising uncertainty about ridership numbers with many workers commuting less frequently in favor of pandemic-era telework.
Metro leaders expect the extension to draw new transit users as thousands of apartments and condominiums come online around the six stations.
For Metro, the opening is a shot of good news after a year filled with challenges, including a train shortage caused by the October 2021 suspension of about 60 percent of Metro’s rail cars. The suspension came after a wheel safety defect was found amid a federal derailment investigation. Metrorail’s regulator, the Washington Metrorail Safety Commission, suspended the cars but has allowed Metro to slowly phase them in under a plan that includes frequent wheel inspections.
Regular passenger service on the Silver Line extension is scheduled to start at 1:54 p.m. Tuesday, when an eastbound train will leave Ashburn toward the Downtown Largo station in Prince George’s County, making stops along the way. A westbound trip will depart Downtown Largo at 12:51 p.m., reaching Wiehle-Reston East at 2:02 p.m. before continuing along the new set of tracks. It also will stop at the six new stations: Reston Town Center, Herndon, Innovation Center, Dulles, Loudoun Gateway and Ashburn.
A ride along the length of the new segment from the Ashburn station to the existing Wiehle-Reston East station will take 22 minutes. The ride from Metro Center in downtown Washington to Dulles will take 53 minutes. A ride without transfers that spans the length of the Silver Line, from Ashburn to Downtown Largo, will take about 93 minutes.
Il progetto è costato 3 miliardi di dollari e vedrà l'apertura di sei nuove stazioni lungo l'estensione di 11,5 miglia completata dopo anni di ritardi.
In 53 minuti ora i passeggeri e lo staff dell'aeroporto potranno andare dal centro di Washington all'aeroporto che rappresenta uno dei principali hub di United Airlines.
La metropolitana di Washington già serviva l'altro aeroporto della capitale, il Ronald Reagan National Airport, molto più vicino al centro cittadino ma per questo soggetto a parecchie restrizioni sia a livello di sentieri di avvicinamento sia per quel che riguarda le destinazioni servite. Innanzitutto il National Airport non può accogliere voli internazionali in quanto non è provvisto di immigrazione e dogana: di conseguenza solamente i voli internazionali provenienti da aeroporti con PreClearance potevano atterrare in questo scalo. Inoltre l'aeroporto era soggetto a una "perimeter rule" che impediva voli commerciali verso destinazioni a più di 1250 miglia nautiche di distanza, con l'eccezione di Denver e con varie eccezioni concesse singolarmente alle varie linee aeree per un numero limitato di frequenze.
Silver Line extension opening Tuesday afternoon with link to Dulles
The 11.5-mile Metrorail extension will include six new stations and extend rail into Loudoun County for the first time
By Justin George - Washington Post
November 15, 2022 at 5:00 a.m. EST
Metrorail service to Dulles International Airport and Loudoun County will begin Tuesday afternoon with the opening of the long-awaited Silver Line extension, a transit expansion decades in the making that will open after years of construction delays.
The $3 billion, 11.5-mile second phase will add six Metro stations, including three in Fairfax County, an airport station in time for the Thanksgiving holiday and two others in Loudoun. A Dulles station has been sought since the airport opened and coincides with the its 60th anniversary this week.
The segment, which begins at Wiehle-Reston East — the current terminus of the Silver Line — and extends west to Ashburn, will complete the 23-mile Silver Line. Phase 1 of the project, which stretches west from East Falls Church in Fairfax County, opened eight years ago, the same year the extension broke ground.
The debut train — filled with passengers who received special “Silver” tickets through a Metro promotion — is scheduled to leave Wiehle-Reston East at 1:15 p.m. on a special westbound express ride to Ashburn. A total of four ceremonies are being held in Fairfax and Loudoun counties Tuesday to commemorate the opening, including a private event for government officials at the Dulles station, which will include Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg and members of Congress.
Loudoun County officials say the extension will further transform the suburb 25 miles west of Washington into a destination for tourists and companies looking to relocate. Airport officials expect thousands of people to use the Dulles station daily, while other stations along the tech corridor have become magnets for development. The line was designed with commuters in mind, raising uncertainty about ridership numbers with many workers commuting less frequently in favor of pandemic-era telework.
Metro leaders expect the extension to draw new transit users as thousands of apartments and condominiums come online around the six stations.
For Metro, the opening is a shot of good news after a year filled with challenges, including a train shortage caused by the October 2021 suspension of about 60 percent of Metro’s rail cars. The suspension came after a wheel safety defect was found amid a federal derailment investigation. Metrorail’s regulator, the Washington Metrorail Safety Commission, suspended the cars but has allowed Metro to slowly phase them in under a plan that includes frequent wheel inspections.
Regular passenger service on the Silver Line extension is scheduled to start at 1:54 p.m. Tuesday, when an eastbound train will leave Ashburn toward the Downtown Largo station in Prince George’s County, making stops along the way. A westbound trip will depart Downtown Largo at 12:51 p.m., reaching Wiehle-Reston East at 2:02 p.m. before continuing along the new set of tracks. It also will stop at the six new stations: Reston Town Center, Herndon, Innovation Center, Dulles, Loudoun Gateway and Ashburn.
A ride along the length of the new segment from the Ashburn station to the existing Wiehle-Reston East station will take 22 minutes. The ride from Metro Center in downtown Washington to Dulles will take 53 minutes. A ride without transfers that spans the length of the Silver Line, from Ashburn to Downtown Largo, will take about 93 minutes.
