Updated, 10:40 a.m. — Metro says Silver, Blue and Orange line service between L’Enfant Plaza and Farragut West has been restored, but expect residual delays in both directions.
A water main break in downtown D.C. halted Metro service on the Silver, Blue and Orange lines and snarled the commute for countless Washington-area residents Tuesday morning.
Thousands of Metro riders will experience major delays Tuesday morning after a water main break stopped service on three of the agency’s six lines.
Service is suspended on the Blue, Orange and Silver lines between Farragut West and L’Enfant Plaza due to water main break at Metro Center.
Water from the break on 12 and F streets entered the Metro Center station and flooded the lower level tracks, said Metro spokesman Dan Stessel.
The Metro Center flooding could take 12 hours to fix, officials said.
DC Water said at 6:45 a.m. that the source of the water has been turned off. Metro is currently working to pump out the water off of the tracks.
Limited shuttle bus service will operate between Farragut West and L’Enfant Plaza. However, bus service will not be able to replicate the capacity of the rail system. Riders should consider alternate travel options (e.g. Red, Yellow or Green lines) and expect significant delays on the Silver, Orange and Blue lines.
Red, Yellow and Green line service is operating normally.
Fairfax County on Tuesday agreed to the terms for a $403 million federal loan that will help build the Silver Line’s second phase, from Reston to Ashburn.
County officials said the low-interest loan will keep Phase 2 on track for completion in 2018 and will also help keep Dulles Toll Road rates from rising to help cover costs.
The vote was passed unanimously by the Board of Supervisors.
The county will sign the official loan documents on Dec. 16. The money is coming from the U.S. Department of Transportation under the Transportation Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act (TIFIA), which has also provided the project as a whole with about $1.9 billion in funding.
The loan will cover about 45 percent of the county’s total estimated $915 million share for building Phase 2. The county may defer payments for five years after the project is finished, so the county anticipates payments beginning in 2023.
“With Phase 1 on track to meet or even exceed ridership projections, I am very pleased to have approved low-interest federal financing for Phase 2,” said Fairfax County Board of Supervisors Chair Sharon Bulova. “The funds made available through the TIFIA loan keep the project on target for completion in 2018 and reduce costs for toll road users and taxpayers. The Silver Line is vital to the economic growth of Fairfax County, the region and the Commonwealth, and I am proud of the work we’ve done to make it a reality.”
Phase 1 of the Silver Line opened in July. It has five stops from Tysons Corner to Reston’s Wiehle Avenue and has already exceeded first-year ridership estimates. Phase 2 will run from Reston Parkway to Herndon, Route 28, Dulles International Airport and Ashburn.
Bulova said Fairfax plans to use two county sources to repay the loan — money from the Dulles Rail Phase 2 Transportation Improvement District and Commercial and Industrial Tax Fund. The county will apply $218.2 million from this voluntary tax district and $185.1 million in commercial and industrial taxes.
Last month, Fairfax County approved a bond sale to fund parking garages at Herndon and Innovation Center stations to be built as part of Phase 2.
Fairfax is by far paying the biggest share of Phase 2 expenses among local partners. The total cost is expected to be $5.6 billion (about half of that already already going to Phase 1).
The breakdown: 16.1 percent by Fairfax County; 4.8 percent by Loudoun County; 4.1 percent by the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority; and 75 percent (less any federal and state funding) by Dulles Toll Road revenues.
Additionally, $730 million — about 80 percent — of the county’s $915 million responsibility will be paid for by two voluntary, special tax districts created by landowners. They are the Dulles Rail Phase 1 Transportation Improvement District and Dulles Rail Phase 2 Transportation Improvement District.
Photo: Silver Line train in Reston/Credit: file photo by Jennifer Heffner
The Fairfax County Board of Supervisors approved a plan this week to pay $8.7 million towards a Silver Line underpass structure on Town Center Parkway from Sunrise Valley Drive to Sunset Hills Road.
The supervisors said in county documents it is crucial to get the underpass built soon rather than try and construct it when Phase 2 of Metro’s Silver Line is already running. The funding will go towards planning the $157 million project.
Fairfax County Department of Transportation staff worked with Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority on the plan, which calls for construction of a four-lane divided roadway under the Dulles Toll Road.
The Town Center Parkway Underpass Rail Support Structure project was part of the Board of Supervisors’ Six Year Transportation Priorities for FY2015 to FY2020, which was approved by the Board earlier this year.
According to FCDOT’s project timelines for the Six Year Transportation Priorities, the Town Center Parkway Underpass Rail Support Structure project is scheduled to begin implementation in FY 2015.
Phase 2 of the Silver Line, which will run from Reston’s Wiehle Avenue to Reston Parkway and Herndon, Dulles International Airport and into Loudoun County, is under construction and expected to open in 2018. Phase 1, which opened in July, runs from Tysons Corner to Wiehle Avene.
Said the supervisors:
The extension of Town Center Parkway from Sunset Hills Road to Sunrise Valley Drive west of Edmund Halley Drive is recommended in the County’s Comprehensive Plan.
This improvement is necessary to achieve the vision of the Reston Transit Station Areas, and enhance connectivity of the overall roadway network.
Constructing the underpass structure beneath an active Metrorail line in the future would cause significant interruption to the rail service. To help eliminate, or at least minimize this disruption as much as possible, the county has proposed to fund the design and construction of the rail support structure as part of the Phase 2 Metrorail project that passes over the future underpass, thus allowing Metrorail tracks to span the future roadway extension.
This work would ensure that Phase 2 of the Silver Line would be supported when the future underpass is constructed, and limit disruption to Metrorail service during construction of the underpass.
Two months after opening, Metro’s Wiehle-Reston East Silver Line station has already surpassed first-year ridership projections, Metro officials said on Wednesday.
Wiehle-Reston East has 8,400 boardings (or 16,800 weekday entries and exits), Metro says. When planning the Silver Line, 8,244 boardings were expected after one-year of service, a Metro spokesman said.
The station — which will be the end of the Silver Line until at least 2018, when Phase II stations are scheduled to open — accounts for about half of the Silver Line’s ridership.
Wiehe-Reston East also the only Silver Line station with significant parking. There are 2,300 spots in the Fairfax County-owned garage, as well as 1,000 more in the Comstock-owned part of the garage. Additionally, there is a 200-space bike room.
The Wiehle-Reston East numbers have been up around 17,000 daily trips since it opened July 26.
In total, the Silver Line is already performing at 60 percent of its projected ridership for the end of the first full year of service. As of last week, an average of 15,000 riders are entering the system at the five new Silver Line stations on weekdays for a combined 30,000 trips to or from the new stations. Metro said.
Before the line opened, Metro had estimated that Silver Line ridership was expected to reach 25,000 boardings at the five new stations after the first full year of service.
Metro estimates that the Silver Line is currently adding about 6,000 new riders — making roughly 12,000 trips — to the Metro system each weekday. The rest, about 9,000 riders, are primarily former Orange Line riders who have switched to the Silver Line.
Tysons Corner Station is one of the few stations on the Metrorail system where ridership is higher on Saturday than weekdays. The station is the second-busiest new station on weekdays with about 5,300 entries and exits, but Saturday’s ridership is higher — partly due to people riding to Tysons Corner Center for weekend entertainment and shopping. Last Saturday, there were 7,449 entries and exits at the station.
The Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority said on Monday that it will be making changes to the Silver Line’s Phase II in order to comply with new Virginia stormwater regulations.
This could add time and money to the $2.9 billion project, which is slated to be completed in 2018.
Phase II will run from Reston’s Wiehle Avenue to Dulles International Airport and into Loudoun County. MWAA is overseeing construction of the 11-mile extension, just as it did with Phase I, which opened in late July.
The stormwater runoff regulations are designed to protect the Chesapeake Bay watershed, said MWAA spokesman Marcia McAllister. The regulations by the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality took effect July 1 in order to better meet Clean Water Act standards.
“The old regulations required that the project only control the flow of stormwater,” she told WMAU.com. The new regulations require that pollutants not be discharged into tributaries to the bay, such as streams.”
The Silver Line’s second phase is being paid for with a combination of federal transportation loans, contributions from Loudoun and Fairfax counties and toll revenues from the Dulles Toll Road.
Since MWAA is making the change, MWAA will have to pay for it. The agency will likely dip into its contingency fund to do so. It is not known yet how much the changes will cost.
Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority officials said they have closed on more than $1 billion in federal loans that will go toward the construction of Phase 2 of Metro’s Silver Line.
In May, MWAA was approved for the $1.28 billion U.S. Department of Transportation ‘Transportation Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act‘ (TIFIA) loan to cover the portion of the Silver Line funded by revenue from the Dulles Toll Road.
Overall, the project is expecting $1.9 billion in TIFIA loans, with the remaining portion to come when partners Fairfax County and Loudoun County finalize their segments of the loan, MWAA said. The counties should finalize their loans by this fall. The Airports Authority will be able to begin drawing on its portion of the loan once all closings are final.
“The Airports Authority and our project partners made securing a low-interest TIFIA loan a top priority, because of the financial benefits it offered to the Dulles Toll Road users and taxpayers,” an MWAA spokesman said in a statement. “Thanks to the favorable interest rates the loan provides, as well as the financial commitment from the Commonwealth of Virginia, the Airports Authority will be able to hold tolls at current levels through 2018 and limit future toll increases.”
Earlier this year, it appeared the TIFIA funds could be in danger as the federal highway trust fund, which funds the loan, was bordering on bankruptcy.
Last week, President Barack Obama signed into law $10.8 billion in temporary funding for highway and transit construction. That will keep the Highway Trust Fund solvent through May, when lawmakers will have to again find longer-term funding.
Phase I of the Silver Line project opened to the public on July 26. It has five stops in Tysons Corner and one at Reston’s Wiehle Avenue, which will be the end of the line until at least 2018. The $2.9 billion Phase II will have stops at Reston Parkway, Herndon, Route 28, Dulles International Airport and Ashburn. Design planning has begun and Phase II is projected to open in 2018.
Reston Now asked readers last week how Metro’s Silver Line is working for them.
As of Sunday evening 345 people answered our poll. Here is what they had to say:
- 161 voters (48 percent) said it has improved their life
- 94 voters (27 percent) said it has had no impact
- 64 voters (18.5 percent) said it made their commute more complicated
- 21 voters (6 percent) said none of the above
Plenty of readers chimed in with their thoughts on the new Metro line, the first line addition since 1991.
Here is what some of them had to say:
Lightcommuter: I commute just 15 minutes to Tysons but still thought leaving the car at home would be nice. That short trip by metro took 1 hr (with bus) and cost $8, compared to my free parking at the office. I haven’t used the silver line since. But it does seem to be lightening traffic – will see if that continues after school starts back up.
Jon: I ride with Daily commuters and we have nicknamed this line “The Silver Long”. It’s awful for commuters. Thankfully they still run the Crystal City/Pentagon Express bus. It only takes 25 minutes.
Restoncommuter: For me, it has added time and money to my commute to downtown. I used to take the bus to West Falls Church then Metro to Foggy Bottom. Now I pay the same bus fare to take me further west to get onto the Reston station which extends the metro trip which adds time and money. Bummer, it probably helps people west of Reston, but not for the residents who were already taking public transit.
JJSKI: Pros — Previously drove to Vienna station from South Lakes, so I’ve shaved about 10 minutes off each way. Cons — Paying more to commute by bus/rail. 551 and RIBS2 are never on schedule in the afternoon.
Steve: The only complaint I have is with the Metro and Fairfax Connector employees who are parking their official vehicles in the Kiss&Ride lot instead of the main garage. By taking five or more spaces a day away from people dropping off and picking up commuters, these employees are creating needless traffic congestion in the Kiss & Ride lot.
Freeway1: Who rides FROM the Silver Line? Meaning who lives close enough to walk there? Not many really and not for years yet. What a waste of tax payer money. Also, why is it above ground? Its the ugliest thing I’ve ever seen and has made Rt. 7 as wide a I-495 defeating the purpose of making Tyson’s “walkable.” No logic went into this project at all.
To see more comments or take the poll, read the original story on Reston Now.
Photo: Jennifer Heffner, Vita Images
Fairfax Connector says a few changes will go into effect beginning Monday in order to better serve bus passengers heading to the Weihle-Reston East Silver Line station.
From Fairfax Connector:
Routes 553 and 557
• Morning northbound buses will drop-off passengers on the NORTH side of Wiehle-Reston East Station. Afternoon southbound buses will continue to board passengers at Bus Bay Q on the SOUTH side of the station (no change to the afternoon boarding location).
Routes 951
• Buses will serve U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) campus via Sunrise Valley Drive both eastbound and westbound due to the conclusion of construction on the USGS entrance road.
• Buses will serve stops along Sunrise Valley Drive between Reston Parkway and USGS on all trips.Route 980
• Morning eastbound buses will drop-off passengers on the SOUTH side of Wiehle-Reston East Station.
• Afternoon westbound buses will continue to board passengers at Bus Bay G on the NORTH side of the station (no change to the afternoon boarding location).
• The 5 a.m. departure from Herndon-Monroe will drop passengers at Wiehle north side due to a connection with Route 952 service. This bus continues westbound as Route 952 after arriving at Wiehle.
Metro’s Silver Line has been open for nearly three weeks now. Have you taken it for a ride?
Maybe you are a daily commuter with thoughts on how your day has changed, for better or worse. Perhaps you have taken a train ride downtown or to Tysons Corner to see how rail in Reston can change your life.
Maybe you are reading this right now at the light at Wiehle Avenue and Sunset Hills and lamenting for the “time before transit.”
Whatever the case, take our poll and add your thoughts in the comments.
The Washington Metropolitan Airports Authority has hired an experienced transportation project leader from the Los Angeles Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) as executive director of the Silver Line project.
Charles Stark will take over the project as Phase II — extending the rail line from Reston through Washington Dulles International Airport to Ashburn — gets underway.
Stark succeeds Pat Nowakowski, who resigned this spring to become president of the Long Island Railroad.
Phase I of the Silver Line opened to the public July 26. The 11.7-mile rail line, Metro’s first new line in more than 20 years, has four stops in Tysons Corner and one at Reston’s Wiehle Avenue. Wiehle-Reston East will be the end of the Silver Line until Phase II opens in 2018. It is by far the busiest stop on the Silver Line, according to Metro officials.
Stark has 40 years experience in rail transportation, including 20 years engineering and operations experience with some of the largest transit agencies in the U.S. and 20 years experience in senior executive positions with private engineering firms, MWAA said.
His most recent post was vice president and project executive for Aecom, a major engineering firm with specialty expertise in large transit infrastructure projects, where he managed several projects for Los Angeles MTA, including the Westside Subway Extension.
He previously was assistant general manager of San Francisco’s Bay Area Rapid Transit system and executive officer for engineering and construction for the Los Angeles MTA. He also has held a number of other positions, including leadership of a team involved in rebuilding New York’s World Trade Center complex and its public transit facilities following the 9/11 terrorist attacks.
Stark holds a master’s degree in civil engineering from Manhattan College and a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering from City College in New York. He is a registered professional engineer in Virginia and California.
“The Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority is fortunate to have someone of Charles Stark’s broad experience in transit construction and engineering in this position as we complete the Silver Line project,” Airports Authority President and CEO Jack Potter said in a statement. “He will be instrumental in achieving our goal of providing top-quality transportation infrastructure for the National Capital region.”
The $2.9 billion Phase II will include six rail stations, including five at ground level and one on an elevated structure; nine entrance pavilions and pedestrian bridges; aerial guideways through Dulles Airport; and 89,000 feet of track. Engineering and design work on Phase II has been ongoing since last year.
Photo: Silver Line train in Reston/File photo by Vita Images
This is a sponsored column by Eve Thompson of Reston Real Estate. She writes twice weekly on Reston Now.
There was a milestone day in Reston on July 26, 2014 — the long-anticipated Silver Line Metro opened to the public.
It was a beautiful Saturday, and Restonians came out in droves to take their first trip on the Silver line. Some ventured just a few short stops to Tysons Corner, while others ventured all the way into DC.
To me, there are two primary benefits of taking the Silver Line — you don’t have to fight traffic and you don’t have to look for parking. I may just ride the train one morning simply for the experience of traveling during rush hour without being stuck in gridlock.
As someone who lives and works in Reston, I don’t have to travel into Washington, D.C., very often, if ever. So I don’t. It’s not the driving; it’s the parking. I just don’t want to deal with it. Now with the Metro, that is going to change. Here are my five top Silver Line adventures that don’t even require a train change!
Eastern Market (Eastern Market stop)
Eastern Market is located in the Capitol Hill neighborhood of D.C. It offers an eclectic mix of fresh food, community events, and local farm-fresh produce and handmade arts and crafts on weekends. It’s great fun to meander through the market and have breakfast or lunch at one of the many restaurants in the area. If you want to experience D.C. like a local, visit here.
The Smithsonian (Smithsonian stop)
Where to start? The Smithsonian consists of 19 museums and galleries, the National Zoo and nine research facilities. From fine art to finery to fossils — you could spend weeks exploring the Smithsonian and see only a fraction of what it has to offer. And now, access is just a short train ride away.
The Kennedy Center (Rosslyn stop)
This adventure is two-for-one. The Kennedy Center is such a fantastic resource. From concerts to musicals, there is always something interesting on stage. And even if you aren’t there for a show, you’ll have a great time wandering the Hall of Flags and enjoying the views from the terrace.
However, many people don’t realize what a treat it is to walk to the Kennedy Center from Rossyln, across the Potomac River in Virginia. It’s a fairly short walk that takes you over the Roosevelt Bridge, which (in my opinion) is one of the most beautiful views of DC. I’m looking forward to heading down on a Sunday for a matinee
The Clarendon neighborhood of Arlington is chock full of great restaurants, nightlife, and shopping. If that sounds a little like Reston Town Center, it is. Only it’s in Arlington. Clarendon is a fun change of pace if you just want to ride the metro or do something different on a Saturday night.
Georgetown (Foggy Bottom stop)
Georgetown is one of those iconic DC neighborhoods that is just fun to wander around. Visit the famous Exorcist staircase or visit the gorgeous Georgetown University campus and then wander down M Street to find a piece of pie or a cupcake. There is shopping, dining, and great people watching to be found around every corner. A leisurely, agenda-free afternoon in Georgetown is always fun.
There are hundreds of adventures awaiting you once the metro train doors open. Enjoy the ride!
Close to 20,000 daily trips are starting or ending at the Silver Line’s Wiehle-Reston East station, making the end-of-the-line spot the busiest of the five new stations, Metro says.
The Silver Line is “off to a solid start, with nearly 220,000 trips taken to or from the five new stations during the first week of service (noon Saturday, July 26 through noon Sunday, August 3),” said Metro spokesman Dan Stessel.
Prior to the opening of the Silver Line — Metro’s first new rail line since 1991 — the agency said its goal was to have 25,000 daily boardings after the line had been operating a year. Traffic is two-thirds of the way there already, says Stessel — on average, 15,942 passengers boarded a Silver Line train at one of the five new stations each weekday last week.
Metro says between 8,000 and 9,000 of the boardings at Silver Line stations were existing Metrorail customers who switched from the Orange Line to one of the five new stations. Approximately 6,000 boardings represents new ridership.
Weekday ridership totals (entries/exits) for the five new stations — McLean, Tysons Corner, Greensboro, Spring Hill and Wiehle-Reston East :
Total Weekday Trips to/from the Five New Silver Line Stations
Monday: 30,846
Tuesday: 33,287
Wednesday: 32, 939
Thursday: 34,364
Friday: 33,118
Weekday Entry/Exit Breakdown by Station
Greensboro
Monday: 1,614
Tuesday: 1,678
Wednesday: 1,773
Thursday: 1,865
Friday: 1,605
McLean
Monday: 2,668
Tuesday: 3,045
Wednesday: 3,012
Thursday: 3,222
Friday: 2,870
Spring Hill
Monday: 2,681
Tuesday: 2,879
Wednesday: 2,862
Thursday: 2,858
Friday: 2,718
Tysons Corner
Monday: 6,658
Tuesday: 6,959
Wednesday: 6,811
Thursday: 6,803
Friday: 7,699
Wiehle-Reston East
Monday: 17,225
Tuesday: 18,726
Wednesday: 18,481
Thursday: 19,616
Friday: 18,226
How has your Silver Line experience been so far? Tell us in the comments.
The red ribbon has been cut and Phase I of Metro’s long-awaited Silver Line is now open.
Residents can now look forward to the completion of Phase II, which will take them all the way to Dulles International Airport and into Loudoun County. The expected completion date is in 2018.
Here are some things to know about the next next 11-mile phase, which is expected to cost $2.9 billion.
1. There will be six stops.
Silver Line Phase II will stop at Reston Town Center, Herndon, Innovation Center, Dulles International Airport, and Routes 606 and 772 in Loudoun County.
The Reston Parkway station, located on the Dulles Toll Road, will be a few blocks from Reston Town Center. However, future planned development for the area between the station and the existing toll road will practically bring the gateway to the town center to meet the station.
2. Phase II money problems are not completely solved.
When Metro’s Silver Line project received approval for $1.9 billion in federal Transportation Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act (TIFIA) loans in May, it seemed as though Phase II’s money woes were solved and tolls would remain steady for the next five years. While Phase I received $900 million in federal funding, Phase 2 did not, which put the project in a precarious position the last several years.
The project has been approved for $1.9 billion in federal Transportation Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act (TIFIA) loans, but the U.S. Department of Transportation recently notified all states that restrictions will be placed on their federal highway funds starting Aug. 1 because the Highway Trust Fund, which funds the TIFIA loans, is bordering on bankruptcy.
3. Preliminary design work is underway.
Capital Rail Constructors, a joint venture of Clark Construction Group and Kiewit Infrastructure South, are building Phase II. However, a year ago, the contractors predicting starting construction work in Spring 2014. That has not happened. Like Phase I, there will probably only be an “estimated” completion date for quite a while.
4. You will still need your walking shoes at Dulles.
There was a big battle three years ago about whether to make the airport stop an expensive underground tunnel or a more cost-effective above-ground station across the parking lot from the main terminal. The above-ground station won. Passengers will have to pass through a pedestrian tunnel with a moving sidewalk to get to the terminal. In the meantime, the Silver Line Express will carry airport-goers to Wiehle-Reston East to Dulles (and vice versa) for $5 trip.
5. You will be able to access the Reston Parkway station from both sides of the Dulles Toll Road. Here is what else is planned for Reston Parkway: Pedestrian bridge crossing; bus drop-off and Kiss-and-Ride at both entrances; 28 bicycle racks, 6 lockers on North side and 10 racks and five lockers on South side.
Photo by Jennifer Heffner, Vita Images
With the first rush hour in the books, Metro officials can now get a clearer picture of how daily traffic will be at the five new stations, as well as the Silver Line’s impact on existing stations.
As of 10 a.m. Monday, Wiehle-Reston East — which will be the end of the Silver Line until 2018 — was the 12th-busiest entry point to the system, says the transit agency. Metro says 4,727 riders boarded trains at Wiehle-Reston East, putting it on par with Columbia Heights and busier than Rosslyn or Ballston.
Reston is the only Silver Line station with parking, and riders made good use of the 3,300 available garage spots, as well as 300 free spots in the county-owned former Park and Ride lot on Sunset Hills Road. Wiehle-Reston East is also the new bus drop off for Fairfax and Loudoun connector buses that used to travel to Orange Line stations.
“We are off to a really good start at Wiehle,” said Metro spokesman Dan Stessel.
Stessel said there were no big surprises from the morning commute. Most commuters said their commute went smoothly once they understood new info such as where to park or where to pick up their connector bus. Read some of their stories in this Reston Now story.
“We spent a lot of time preparing for today,” said Stessel.
Metro says there were 9,715 total trips from or to a new Silver Line station Monday morning.
Here is the breakdown:
- Greensboro: 185 entries, 332 exits
- McLean: 568 entries, 442 exits
- Spring Hill: 559 entries, 432 exits
- Tysons Corner: 507 entries, 1,063 exits
Meanwhile, the drop in Orange Line riders was noticeable. Most Silver Line riders formerly took feeder buses or drove to Orange Line stations at Vienna and East and West Falls Church.
Metro said morning rush hour boardings were down 66 percent at West Falls Church.
“The last four stations of the Orange Line saw morning rush hour drop from 23,000 boardings two weeks ago to 15,000 today,” Stessel said. “Those boardings have shifted to the Silver Line.”
However, the total number of overall Metro riders did not grow much on Monday. Stessel said 240,000 rode the train in the morning, which is was within a few hundred of last Monday’s numbers.
Photo: Metro passengers at Wiehle-Reston East turnstiles Monday morning/Credit: Ken Plum
Thousands of Metro riders checked out Metro’s new Silver Line over the weekend.
The new rail line — Metro’s first since 1991 — opened at noon on Saturday and immediately had hundreds of curious riders ready to check out the station and the five-stop line from Reston’s Wiehle Avenue through Tysons Corner.
Some riders made a short hop to Tysons Corner. Others took it all the way downtown. A Washington Post reporter rode the Silver Line from Wiehle-Reston East all the way to Largo Town Center, the Eastern End of the line, and reported it took roughly 75 minutes. A bunch of Restonians tried it out by heading to the Billy Joel concert at Nationals Park Saturday night.
On Sunday, a steady stream of pedestrians, bikers and cars entered and exited Reston Station Boulevard — just as though the Silver Line had always been there.
Metro says Silver Line ridership for the weekend was about 51,000 trips to or from the five new stations (about 32,000 Saturday and 19,000 Sunday).
It was busy again Monday morning. More than 7,000 riders entered or exited at Wiehle-Reston East, making it the 12th busiest of Metro’s 91 stations.
