UPDATE 4/30: Feds To Approve Dulles Rail Project
Updated 4/30
The breaking news is the lead story in this morning's Washington Post.
Updated 2/11
Yesterday's Metro section featured this article about those critics of the project who are glad to see it floundering; seeing in the possible demise of Metrorail to Dulles opportunities for other transportation solutions.
Updated 2/6
From today's Metro section:
A Federal Transit Administration report issued yesterday left unrated the proposed rail line to Dulles International Airport, which supporters viewed as a sign that the $5 billion project might win federal approval.
The FTA's annual report assessed various transit projects seeking federal funding.
Backers of the 23-mile Dulles extension expected the report to give it a failing grade because of recent warnings from federal regulators that the project was unlikely to qualify for $900 million in U.S. funds.
Several congressional sources, who spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of negotiations, said they were pleasantly surprised with the report.
FTA spokesman Wes Irvin said it would have been "unfair" to give Dulles rail a poor rating in the report, which was assembled in the fall as the agency awaited information from Virginia about the project's cost, management and timeline. "It was a snapshot in time from November," he said.
-- Amy Gardner
Updated 1/29
U.S. Transportation Secretary Mary Peters has said she will wait until she has had time to consult with Gov. Kaine before she issues a final decision on whether to withhold federal funding for the project. That story is here and links to more coverage of the recent developments can be found here.
Updated 1/25
According to today's front page article, federal financing for the project looks increasingly doubtful, effectively scuttling the project, 40 years in the making.
Updated 1/24
Federal and state officials are meeting today to discuss the future of the rail line. Read the news here.
Updated 12/17
A front page Washington Post article on the latest risks to the future of the Metrorail extension to Dulles can be found here.
Updated 8/29
A front page story in this morning's edition of The Washington Post presents a look at the various problems that threaten to squash a Metrorail extension to Dulles International Airport, even before the project begins construction.
Updated 8/22
If the commonwealth doesn't want to lose federal money for Dulles rail it needs to trim $250 million from the first leg of the project according to this article from yesterday's Metro section.
Updated 8/3
Check out this article from today's Metro section for news on the latest wrinkle on the plan to extend rail to Dulles.
Updated 8/1
In this article from today's Metro section, Fairfax County Board of Supervisors Chairman Gerald E. Connolly says that a Bush administration bias against mass transit projects is partly to blame for difficulties in securing federal funding for the Dulles Metrorail project.
Originally posted 7/30
Federal funding to complete a Metrorail extension to Dulles International Airport may be in jeopardy. The cost estimates for the project have grown so in the last three years that the project may no longer qualify. The story was in Saturday's Metro section.
By Focus on Fairfax |
April 30, 2008; 9:43 AM ET
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The cost per user is almost 100 times that of the mixing bowl - congress should kill dulles rail- got roads ?
Posted by: polobserver | August 5, 2007 6:52 AM
I really don't see any problem whatever.
The next voice you hear will be a call for Fairfax County to pay 100% of the cost, whatever it might be.
Posted by: jimfoster22152 | January 27, 2008 4:42 PM
It amazes me how the rail supporters insist on ignoring or at least minimizing the cost of this project.
How can ANYONE justify spending $5.2 billion for a rail project to benefit only 16,000 daily riders and a handful of developers while millions of others are left to stew in congestion on an inadequate road network?
When it comes to roads, schools, public safety, and other services, there never seems to be enough money and what DOES get spent is dickered over and begrudged. But when it comes to expensive, deficit-producing, heavily-subsidized rail transit, it MUST be built at any cost. There's something VERY wrong with that picture.
Posted by: ceefer66 | February 11, 2008 12:43 PM
i've been searching all over this morning and i can't seem to find the *actual* rail plan that's being approved anywhere. even in the timeline - what happened with the above/below ground debate? where will the stops actually be? what is the scheduled completion date of the first phase?
it's tough to comment on some of these things or even form an opinion without the details ... if the plan is being approved, where can i see the plan?
Posted by: | April 30, 2008 12:27 PM
PS - I can understand why a lot of people don't like the expense, and as I said before I can't comment too much since I don't know the plan or anything about how much well-planned rail should cost, but ...
everyone always talks about how easy it is to get to reagan and how the parking is so much better and how everyone would rather fly out of there than dulles ... even if the average daily ridership is low, won't many more people benefit from easier access to dulles - b/c even those who still drive won't have to drive around looking for parking, and maybe if some of the employees take rail to work they can open up the employee lots to passengers??
not sure, but as someone who is all too familiar with the blue/green/gold/purple lots, i'm for anything that makes them easier to handle. i'll def be one of the people using metro and leaving one more parking spot available for the rest of you.
i guess the same goes for tysons corner, esp during the holiday shopping season.
anyway the way i see it, 16,000 riders = 16,000 more parking spots and lots of saved time looking for spots and burning gas, which means 32,000 people benefit every day. not to mention 16,000 fewer cars in the way of those additional thousands of people taking route 7 and the toll road for other reasons.
maybe it's still not enough ... but rail has done so much good for reagan that i just can't help but think it would be good for dulles.
and not to get ahead of myself but i spent 2.5 hours last month trying to go 15 miles around 495 to get to BWI (no accidents, nothing, just traffic). talk about a waste of time and gas, why not extend metro up that way too?? 16,000 fewer cars on the beltway that day (including mine) would have saved everyone else a lot of pain.
or for the anti-rail crowd, is there any data on how much more highways would cost to build? and how long? has anyone explained why we haven't done that also/instead/etc?
Posted by: | April 30, 2008 12:43 PM
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