It's Finally Happening: The Silver Line Will Open July 26

• June 23rd 2014

by Lark Turner

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Metro announced on Monday that the long-awaited and much-delayed Silver Line will open to the public on Saturday, July 26.

“The five new Silver Line stations will open to customers at noon, and the first Silver Line train will depart Wiehle-Reston East, bound for Largo Town Center, at that time,” Metro’s Richard Sarles said in a statement.

The project was originally supposed to be finished by 2013, but delays hampered the rollout. The phase of the line that will open July 26 includes five stations that extend Metro’s reach by 11.4 miles: McLean, Tysons Corner, Greensboro, Spring Hill and Wiehle-Reston East. Metro said in Monday’s statement that the new Silver Line trains “will operate between Reston and Largo at the same frequency as most other lines.” That means rush hour trains coming every six minutes, and about every 12 to 20 minutes at other times.

Developers along the Silver Line are likely breathing a sigh of relief Monday. They’ve banked on the new line bringing business and residents to the areas surrounding the stations. As the Washington Business Journal has noted, developers have constructed new shopping centers, homes and office towers with “virtually door to door mass transit service.”

The hotly-anticipated second phase of the project, scheduled to be completed by 2018, will extend the line all the way to Dulles. Still, with the opening of the new line, commuters will have much easier access to Dulles come July 26. On its Silver Line website, Metro explains how: “When Phase 1 Silver Line service begins, Metrobus, Fairfax Connector, and Washington Flyer buses will connect Dulles Airport to the Metrorail system and Washington DC.” In other words, for DC residents, getting to Dulles may get a lot cheaper and easier soon.

This article originally published at http://dc.urbanturf.production.logicbrush.com/articles/blog/its_finally_happening_the_silver_line_will_open_july_26/8648.