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Now that Gov. McDonnell has weighed in to push for the Silver Line to Loudoun, that should tilt the all Republican board to vote in favor, so much of this discussion may be moot.

As for WMATA not stating how many trains will be running on the Silver Line when Phase 1 opens - assuming that is not in a public document somewhere that has been overlooked - there are several issues that may be causing them to hold off on final plans for starting the service extension. First, there is uncertainty as to how many new cars will be ready for service by then. Yes, they have stated they will use current rolling stock for Phase 1, but how thin are they willing to stretch the fleet?

The bigger question is what will the access look like around the 4 stations in Tysons on opening day? The stations will be fully built with access walkways, but if those walkways lead to dead ends or sidewalks that dead end 100' further on because of on-going construction, that will limit commuters in Tysons using the stations. Tysons has big plans for extensive redevelopment, but right now, it is still one of the more pedestrian hostile communities around. What will the roads, sidewalks, access walkways look like for the first 3-6 months after Phase 1 starts service? I've seen little on this in the press. Until the development and construction around the 4 stations can catch up, those 4 stations are likely to lag in passenger traffic.

On the FTA 2030 projection of 87,500 weekday passengers on the Silver Line, I don't buy that at all. The Silver Line will exceed that not long after Phase 2 opens. Tysons, Reston, and Herndon will have mostly caught up on TOD projects by then.

by AlanF on Jun 27, 2012 10:24 am • link • report