For years, the Silver Line of the Washington Metro has been incomplete, forcing passengers to exit at a station short of the airport — back in 2015, the last stop at the end of the line was the Wiehle-Reston East station — and pay an extra five dollars to take the Dulles International Airport Silver Line Express for a trip of approximately seven miles, which took 15 or so minutes…
Washington Metro Directly To Dulles Airport Finally Becomes a Reality
…but effective as of Tuesday, November 15, 2022, the Metro station at Washington Dulles International Airport will open to passengers for the first time, which means that travel from the District of Columbia directly to the airport by train will finally be possible — without any transfers or costs in addition to the ticket itself.
In addition to the Washington Dulles International Airport station, five other stations will also open for the first time: Reston Town Center, Herndon, Innovation Center, Loudoun Gateway, and Ashburn.
“The extension completes the final phase of the full 23-mile expansion that began construction in 2009, opening the first segment five years later. This final segment provides a long-awaited connection to Washington Dulles International Airport giving visitors a direct connection to destinations around the region and will be a short walk from the baggage claim via an underground tunnel in less than five minutes”, according to this official press release from the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority. “The announcement of an opening date follows 18 weeks of testing, training and safety certification efforts by Metro. Metro took control of the Silver Line Extension from the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority (MWAA) after the project achieved its Operational Readiness Date (ORD) on June 23, 2022. Since then Metro has been testing the new tracks and equipment, and training staff at the stations, railyard, and maintenance facilities in preparation for opening to the public.”
The official video announcing the opening of the extension of the Silver Line was released yesterday, Tuesday, November 1, 2022.
The Silver Line extension was initially supposed to have been completed in 2018; but the current 2019 Novel Coronavirus pandemic impeded upon that goal.
Final Boarding Call
I had not been a passenger on the Silver Line to Washington Dulles International Airport since 2015 — but if or when the opportunity arises for me to do so in the future, I intend to document my experience.
Photograph ©2015 by Brian Cohen.
