Shawn Ryu
Conductor
This is Berlin Brandenburg Airport fiasco all over again.
WMATA Silver Line Phase I to open 26 July (was: Delayed Indefinitely)
- Thread starter Ryan
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jis
Permanent Way Inspector
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Service start will need to be delayed by another few years on the Silver Line for it to catch up with Berlin Brandenburg
Ryan
Court Jester
Plan on being able to ride in October,it's WMATA!!!(but don't be shocked if its later!)
Shawn Ryu
Conductor
At this point any time before June 2015 will be acceptable
The Davy Crockett
Engineer
Didn't rule out or in it running by the end of the summer but Which Summer??? LOL
Ryan
Court Jester
Yes, at long last. there is an announced start of service date for Phase 1 of the Silver Line! It has only taken 46 years from the original 1968 proposed DC Metro map which had the line out to Dulles Airport as a proposed future line to built the line half way to Dulles from East Falls Church. Phase 2 is scheduled to open in mid to late 2018 so it will be 42 years after the first Metro stations opened in 1976 for Dulles service. America, where we take our time with mass transit projects! Decades of plans and studies before we actually do anything.
Service won't actually start until 12 Noon on July 26. WMATA press release: Metro announces Silver Line opening date. I expect there will be a big media event with a large gathering of political types at the Weihle - Reston East station late that morning prior to the Noon departure of the first train inbound. Or maybe they will have the dog and pony show at the Tysons Corner stop.
So SL Phase 1 will beat the DC H St streetcar to service, the Viewliner II to revenue service (by a lot), and the No. 7 extension in NYC (which is apparently slipping to early 2015). But Amtrak service to SPUD got there first!
Service won't actually start until 12 Noon on July 26. WMATA press release: Metro announces Silver Line opening date. I expect there will be a big media event with a large gathering of political types at the Weihle - Reston East station late that morning prior to the Noon departure of the first train inbound. Or maybe they will have the dog and pony show at the Tysons Corner stop.
So SL Phase 1 will beat the DC H St streetcar to service, the Viewliner II to revenue service (by a lot), and the No. 7 extension in NYC (which is apparently slipping to early 2015). But Amtrak service to SPUD got there first!
Shawn Ryu
Conductor
So the delay news have been greatly exaggerated?
Ryan
Court Jester
No.
The construction of the Phase 1 was originally scheduled to be completed by end of September, 2013 and start of revenue service by the end of 2013. So July 26, 2014 is about 7 months late. What made the delay more frustrating to the public was that the main contractor claimed they were more or less close to on schedule until mid-2013 and then started making noises about they might not make the schedule. The MWAA and the contractor were very opaque about how long the delay might be and what the problems were for months. Lot of CYA and finger pointing going on behind the scenes. So the project kept slipping with neither MWAA or WMATA stepping up and saying when they really expected it to be completed.
So it is opening 7 months late. For a large multi-billion dollar project, as these go, that is not that bad. Doing a lot better than the East Side Access (the Big Dig for our time), No. 7 extension, and the DC Streetcar.
Shawn Ryu
Conductor
7 month is nothing, the usual. There are always delays for massive infrastructure projects.
They are lucky its not a year plus.
They are lucky its not a year plus.
jis
Permanent Way Inspector
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This will present an opportunity to me to exercise my two free Acela trips
Shawn Ryu
Conductor
They need to extend it to Dulles soon though.
Ryan
Court Jester
Construction has already started.
The primary final design & construction contract for Phase 2 was awarded last year with a scheduled completion date of July, 2018. The contractor has been doing the design and has started preliminary construction tests and work on the route through Dulles airport. This is a different contractor team than the Phase 1 Dulles Transit Partners so perhaps they will complete Phase 2 on or close to the schedule.
Getting to Dulles and for that matter the Smithsonian Air & Space Udvar-Hazy Annex at Dulles will be simpler with the Phase 1 end station at Weihle - Reston East. The Dulles Washington Flyer bus will become the Silver Line Express ($5 fee) and will run between Dulles and the Weihle Reston East stop.
For those visiting DC without a car, for example those arriving on Amtrak, getting to the Udvar-Hazy annex will be easier. it was announced last week that the Fairfax Connector 983 bus will run from the Weihle Reston East station to Dulles to the Udvar-Hazy center during the day. Washington Post article: New bus to the air and space museum in Virginia. it won't be that fast a way to get to Udvar-Hazy from downtown, but then again Dulles is pretty far from downtown. ~44 minutes on the Metro from the Smithsonian stop to Weihle Reston East on the Silver Line. Then another 40+ minutes on the bus from the Metro station through Reston, the airport and then to the annex. But the bus will cost only $1.25 if you have a SmarTrip card and are transferring from Metro. The Washington Post article has a link to the 983/981 bus schedule. I thought I should mention it here as the Udvar-Hazy annex is one impressive air and space craft museum annex and those visiting DC might be interested in seeing it.
Of course, when Silver Line Phase 2 opens, the Fairfax Connector 983/981 bus either goes away or gets revamped.
As opening day approaches for Silver Line Phase 1, WMATA will be running simulated service starting on Sunday, July 20. Trains with an Orange line label will be running the SL schedule from Wiehle Reston East to Largo. But people will only be able to take the trains as far west as East Falls Church where the public will have to get off before the train continues to the Tysons Corner stops. Details on the WMATA website: Silver Line simulated service begins Sunday, July 20.
The simulated service will be running Saturday morning on July 26 with the Silver Line officially opening at 12 Noon. Interesting way to roll-out the new line service.
The simulated service will be running Saturday morning on July 26 with the Silver Line officially opening at 12 Noon. Interesting way to roll-out the new line service.
Shawn Ryu
Conductor
OT but how big is Washington DC? Is the length if average WMATA line similar to NYC?
It's my understanding (and please correct me if I'm wrong) that the 5A express MetroBus will remain as-is, without stopping at Reston East. There had been talk of discontinuing the 5A entirely or terminating it at Reston East. However, the decision was to do nothing.
Silver Line Express f/k/a Washington Flyer will indeed run between Dulles and Reston East, as will Fairfax Connector 981/983. If you are connecting to MetroRail at Reston East, 981/983 will save you money compared to the Silver Line Express, but the downside is that 981/983 will take longer.
The 5A will still be the least expensive way to get between the District and Dulles, although it will be slower than the Silver Line during rush hours.
Silver Line Express f/k/a Washington Flyer will indeed run between Dulles and Reston East, as will Fairfax Connector 981/983. If you are connecting to MetroRail at Reston East, 981/983 will save you money compared to the Silver Line Express, but the downside is that 981/983 will take longer.
The 5A will still be the least expensive way to get between the District and Dulles, although it will be slower than the Silver Line during rush hours.
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Well, Washington DC itself is much smaller than the area of NYC. While the NYC subway system is within the city limits of NYC, the DC Metro system is a commuter/metro hybrid system that goes well out into the surrounding counties. The Silver Line, when completed, is a 23 mile extension off the Orange Line that will go well outside the city to beyond Dulles Airport to Ashburn in Loudoun County. The Greater Greater Washington blog posted a scale map last year of the DC Metro when the Silver Line is completed that shows just how far west the line will extend.
Checking this website which has neat same scale maps of metro systems around the world (as of 2004?), the NYC subway and DC Metro system pre-Silver Line are not different in total extent on a broad scale, but the NYC subway system is, of course, far more dense with many more lines.
WMATA has posted a 1:18 long time lapse video on Youtube of the Silver Line ride from west of Ballston to the Wiehle - Reston East station. The first stop is East Falls Church before the Silver Line tracks split off.
There are other Silver Line videos posted by WMATA on Youtube under the MetroForward tag.
There are other Silver Line videos posted by WMATA on Youtube under the MetroForward tag.
Several more links of possible interest related to the opening of Phase 1 of the Silver Line:
The Greater Greater Washington has updated its animated slideshow of Metro's evolution from the opening of the first Red Line stations in 1976 with some history on the assignment of the colors to the lines: Watch Metro grow from one short line in 1976 to the Silver Line today.
The GGW blog also has a post on a 1968 map of the proposed system compared to today with a zoomable street map: The Metro plan has changed a lot since 1968. I don't fully agree with the GGW title because I think that other than changes to the Green Line route, other small route changes, and several stations getting dropped or moved, I find it remarkable how close to the 1968 plan/vision the current system is. Especially when compared to the late 1960s/early 1970s era plans for heavy rail rapid transit Metro systems for Baltimore, Atlanta, Miami and what those cities have.
WMATA has created a series of TV ads publicizing the Silver Line including an actual song and dance ad in their press release: New Silver Line TV ads begin this weekend. Somehow I doubt there will be any commuters breaking into dance when the Monday AM rush hour starts to Tysons for the first time.
The Greater Greater Washington has updated its animated slideshow of Metro's evolution from the opening of the first Red Line stations in 1976 with some history on the assignment of the colors to the lines: Watch Metro grow from one short line in 1976 to the Silver Line today.
The GGW blog also has a post on a 1968 map of the proposed system compared to today with a zoomable street map: The Metro plan has changed a lot since 1968. I don't fully agree with the GGW title because I think that other than changes to the Green Line route, other small route changes, and several stations getting dropped or moved, I find it remarkable how close to the 1968 plan/vision the current system is. Especially when compared to the late 1960s/early 1970s era plans for heavy rail rapid transit Metro systems for Baltimore, Atlanta, Miami and what those cities have.
WMATA has created a series of TV ads publicizing the Silver Line including an actual song and dance ad in their press release: New Silver Line TV ads begin this weekend. Somehow I doubt there will be any commuters breaking into dance when the Monday AM rush hour starts to Tysons for the first time.
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