The Silver Line's long road ahead

Dulles Rail Still Has Miles to Go, Hurdles to Clear - The Post
A lot still needs to happen for the Silver Line to get built and there are a few ways and a number of people who will try to stop it.

Metro, WMATA, Silver Line,Mass Transit, subway, Tyson's Corner, FTA, MWAA, Dulles Airport

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posted by WFY @ 6:12 AM | |

Lazarus Metro line roundup

EDITORIAL - Dulles Rail's Revival - The Post

Its resurrection is a triumph of common sense over dogma and suggests that, contrary to the general impression of the state of governance in Washington, rational outcomes remain possible when grown-ups put their heads together. More specifically, it is a testament to the wisdom and perseverance of officials at Metro, which would operate the 23-mile extension; the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority, which would manage its construction; Sen. John W. Warner (R-Va.), who spearheaded the lobbying with Transportation Secretary Mary Peters to reverse what had seemed like the feds' unequivocal rejection; and Virginia Gov. Timothy M. Kaine (D).

Let us hope this cooperation continues on what may be a bumpy ride on the way to making this Metro line happen.

Metro Extension Plan Revived, But Officials Include Conditions - The Post
Dulles rail project gets federal reprieve - The Wash. Times
Rail decision thrusts Tysons development back to forefront - The Wash. Examiner
The details on how this came together and some information about what still needs to happen for it to keep going. The biggest sticking point will be addressing the current Metro system woes and find the funding to fix them. It is not over yet, not by a long shot and may in fact just be getting started.

After Months of Lobbying, Business Leaders Can Celebrate - The Post
The revival of the Silver Line is a cause for celebration in business circles.

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posted by WFY @ 12:47 PM | |

More details on Dulles Corridor Metro

Dulles Rail Gets Federal Approval - The Post
As expected (since this morning at least), USDOT announced today that it is now supporting the proposal to build the Silver Line along the Dulles Corridor.

In a letter to Kaine and in a 10 a.m. conference call with the governor and Virginia congressional leaders, U.S. Transportation Secretary Mary Peters said the $5 billion project had finally met the Federal Transit Administration's standards for cost efficiency, construction and expected ridership. The project will now move into the final design phase, a major step toward receiving $900 million in federal funding.

"As a result of the collaboration between federal and state officials, the project sponsor and other project stakeholders, the financial stability and oversight of the project has improved," Peters wrote to Kaine in a letter obtained by The Washington Post. "Cost reductions have been verified and mechanisms have been established to enhance inter-organizational cooperation, technical capacity and project management."

Good news, but this isn't fait accompli just yet:

Still, Peters went on, "much work remains" to make the project right. Today's approval comes with conditions that must be met if the project is to receive federal funding. Without that money, state and local officials have said that the project would die, ending the possibility of a long-sought rail connection between the nation's capital and its major international airport. Supporters say the line would ease congestion through Virginia's biggest jobs corridor and keep the economy humming with the transformation of suburban Tysons Corner into a thriving downtown.

Among the conditions, Peters said in her letter, is a sweeping demand that Virginia and the Metro system guarantee the capital investment necessary to maintain and operate Metro. The Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority recently identified $489 million in "urgent unfunded capital needs," Peters said.

Virginia better not drop the ball on this one.

There is a chat about the decision going on right now on washingtonpost.com.

EARLIER: Silver line back on track?!

UPDATE 6:30 a.m. Thursday: I will be posting more about this topic after 12 p.m. today, so check back later.

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posted by WFY @ 12:41 PM | |

Silver line back on track?!

Dulles Rail Set to Get Federal Approval - The Post
Apparently, Virginia and the U.S. Department of Transportation has found a way to make the Dulles Corridor Metro project, tentatively called the Silver Line, meet the "Federal Transit Administration's standards for cost efficiency, construction and expected ridership." It appears U.S. DOT secretary Mary Peters overruled FTA. Good job, Peters that was the correct decision.

This is excellent news, I am glad that we can finally get started on a project that is long overdue.

Now, we get to see the tunnel vs. elevated argument start up again. I would love to see it underground, but I don't see that happening at this point.

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posted by WFY @ 5:16 AM | |

As the Silver Line slowly dies, TysonsTunnel throws in the towel

Tysons Tunnel Supporters Withdraw Lawsuit - WTOP
I have not seen much news about the Silver Line (Ashburn to West Falls Church via Dulles & Tysons) for some time now. Today, the news broke that TysonsTunnel.org has decided to drop its lawsuit against U.S. Department of Transportation because of the expected denial of $900 million of funding.

Gov. Tim Kaine needs to get this project back on track and resubmit it to USDOT next year when a different administration is involved.

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posted by WFY @ 12:52 PM | |

Two Silver Line stories

Dulles Rail faces new bids - The Wash. Examiner
Del. Dave Albo, R-Springfield and Del. Joe May, R-Leesburg inserted language into a budget bill that would force the first leg of the Silver Line to be rebid. Given the shady way the project was put together, that sounds reasonable.

This was from Saturday:

2 Top Republicans Try to Jump-Start Dulles Rail Plan, Raising Some Hopes - The Post
An encouraging sign:

Minority Whip Roy Blunt (Mo.) and Deputy Whip Eric Cantor (Va.) sent Transportation Secretary Mary Peters a letter this week, saying: "It is vitally important that this project move forward. Open dialogue between Virginia and the Department of Transportation will make certain that lawmakers are best able to alleviate the burden of increasing traffic congestion and transportation demands across the entire national capital region."

It is good to see someone from outside of Virginia getting involved too.

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posted by WFY @ 12:39 PM | |

Chat transcript: Pearlstein on Silver Line

Somehow I missed a chat hosted by Post business columnist Steven Pearlstein about the Dulles Corridor Metro project. It is quite an interesting and presents several points of view, though Pearlstein favors building it through a Metro line above other modes and wants it to go through Tysons. Pearlstein also outlines how he wants the project saved in his Wednesday column.

You may recall he wrote a column in 2006 praising Tysons' Messy Vitality that I thought was silly and so did Robert K. Lewis.

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posted by WFY @ 5:50 AM | |

Is the Purple Line in trouble too?

Dulles Rail Problems With FTA Worry Md. - The Post
With the FTA showing reluctance to fund Virginia's Silver Line, Maryland officials are concerned that mass transit projects like the Purple Line won't be funded either.

As for the Silver Line, proposed to connect West Falls Church to Ashburn, it isn't dead yet, according to Dr. Gridlock's Get There blog.

Also, the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority took issue with the FTA's suggestion (WTOP) that it couldn't handle building the Silver Line.

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posted by WFY @ 5:58 AM | |

Kaine wants specifics from FTA

U.S. Input Sought to Save Rail To Dulles - The Post
Gov. Tim Kaine, in an open letter (PDF), has asked the Federal Transit Administration to identify specifics on how to get the $900 million funding. He should have asked for this days ago.

WMATA head John Catoe disagrees with FTA's assessment that Metro can't handle another line.

House of Delegates speaker William Howell wants to start the project over from scratch. He is a proponent of bus rapid transit.

Kaine presses for Dulles rail project - The Wash. Times

Kaine: Changes could save Dulles Rail - The Wash. Examiner

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posted by WFY @ 8:43 AM | |

Friday's Silver Line stories

Would it surprise you to learn a source close to Governor Tim Kaine has told WTOP that the governor knew the were storm clouds over the Dulles corridor rail project last summer? Perhaps the governor has been playing politics since the FTA voiced no confidence in the project recently. Shocking.

The Wash. Examiner says there is pessimism that the current project can be salvaged enough to get $900 million in federal funding.

WMATA reaffirmed that it still supports the project too.

The state needs to get its act together and push hard with the next administration for some federal funding. It seems pretty clear this isn't going to happen until then.

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posted by WFY @ 12:25 PM | |

Not too much Silver Line news

Governor at center of two transit disputes - The Wash. Times
Speaker of the House William J. Howell claims to have been ignored when he warned the the Dulles Corridor Metro project was flawed. He was opposed to involving the Metropolitan Washington Aiports Authority in the project and in favor of private financing that may have included "selling the rights" to collect tolls on the Dulles Toll Road. Howell wants "the General Assembly should push for the oversight authority to investigate how the state got in this position" which sounds like a good idea, provided its mandate is to figure out how to get the project back on track, not to merely place blame.

Anti-Transit Bias May Be Hurting Dulles Rail - AP/WTOP
This is a pretty good summary of where the Tysons-Dulles Corridor situation is right now and how it got here.

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posted by WFY @ 6:00 AM | |

More Silver Line news

The Dulles Regional Chamber of Commerce has set up a petition Web site -- www.dullesmetrorailnow.org

The Wash. Examiner editorializes against the project.

Jim Moran probably didn't help matters (WTOP) by acting like, well Jim Moran.

Times Community Newspapers coverage:

Rumors and uncertainty fill the void left by teetering Metro project

Northern Virginia's future hinges on rail talks

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posted by WFY @ 12:03 PM | |

Wednesday's Silver Line update

Kaine Raises The Specter Of Higher Dulles Tolls - The Post
If the Federal Transit Administration denies $900 million for the Dulles-Tysons Metro expansion, increased tolls on the Dulles Toll Road could be one way of making up the shortfall. Governor Tim Kaine says he doesn't want to support that though.

Kaine thought Dulles was deal on track - The Wash. Times
Yet another article about how Gov. Kaine feels blindsided by the FTA. We know, stop taking about it and figure out how to get this done.

Metro official accuses project heads of failure to fix flaws, letters show - Th Wash. Examiner
A WMATA official expressed concerns about the Silver Line twice since November.

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posted by WFY @ 5:50 AM | |