Silver Line Dulles WMATA Metrorail progress/pictures

[Jeff Smith]

Indeed. Rode the Silver a couple of years ago and transferred at the end to the bus to Dulles. These days, I can't say I'm surprised at how long construction takes. Thanks for the clarification!

[Sand Box John]

"Jeff Smith"
Indeed. Rode the Silver a couple of years ago and transferred at the end to the bus to Dulles. These days, I can't say I'm surprised at how long construction takes. Thanks for the clarification!

It would have opened this spring had a couple of engineering errors been caught before the pouring of some concrete, had quality control been better in a handful of areas and the selection of Ansaldo STS (US&S) over Alstom (GRS) for signaling and train control.

[JDC]

Metro apparently plans to shut down the Silver Line this summer to facilitate the platform improvement project on the Orange line as well as Phase II construction in light of low ridership due to the ongoing pandemic.https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/tr ... story.html

[JDC]

Updating my prior post - it's not 'apparently', but 'will'. https://www.wmata.com/about/news/Orange ... r-2020.cfm

[Sand Box John]

Did any one that subscribes to the updates and newsletter here get the April - May 2020 Dulles Metrorail Newsletter e-mail? I did not.
The PDF version has been posted at Dulles Corridor Metrorail Project > News & Updates > Newsletters.

[YOLO]

Metro is now updating signs to say that SV terminates at Ashburn - Im just gonna assume SV will not run again until phase 2 is ready for service.

[STrRedWolf]

Not surprising. If the ridership is low due to the pandemic, why not shut down the very low bits and do all the maintenance you can?

[Sand Box John]

YOLO
Metro is now updating signs to say that SV terminates at Ashburn - Im just gonna assume SV will not run again until phase 2 is ready for service.

All of the signs along the entire length of the Silver line will need to be updated before phase II opens. Base on the most resent opening projections we are just less then a year plus or minus a month.

[JDC]

Metro's recent announcement about the early reopening of closed Orange line stations mentions that the Silver line phase 2 tie-in work will be complete Aug. 16. https://www.wmata.com/about/news/Silver ... pening.cfm

[Sand Box John]

JDC
Metro's recent announcement about the early reopening of closed Orange line stations mentions that the Silver line phase 2 tie-in work will be complete Aug. 16. https://www.wmata.com/about/news/Silver ... pening.cfm

The Phase II tie in is but one step, a large step but still just one step. There are the remaining steps of testing and certifying other the 11 miles plus the yard and yard leads.

It should be noted that both phases of the of the Silver line are second and third in segment length to the longest segment opening that was Stadium - Armory to Nation Airport.

[Sand Box John]

Glass Installation to Begin on Windscreen at Dulles Airport

July 1, 2020
Dulles Corridor Metrorail Project

Glass Installation to Begin on Windscreen at Dulles Airport

It won't be long before 95,000 pounds of glass will be erected along the south side of the new Metrorail station facing the terminal at Washington Dulles International Airport.

All of the 162 glass panels needed for the project have arrived at the airport and will be assembled to create a 300-foot wide, 30-foot tall windscreen for the new station, creating a façade that will resemble the iconic architecture of the Eero Saarinen-designed airport terminal.

Final welding of the structural steel support framing is nearing completion, according to Stephen Barna, manager of the windscreen project in his role with the Airports Authority's Dulles Corridor Metrorail Project's Phase 2 of the Silver Line.

This week crews began putting a three-coat gray epoxy finish on the structure supporting the windscreen. The paint color, of course, is Dulles gray, the traditional color used at Dulles Airport.

Preparation for installation of the glass included the construction of 10 steel support columns and 63 intermediate purlins during the past 4 months.

Phase 2 project director Charles Stark said installation of the Dulles Station glass windscreen panels marks a major milestone for Phase 2 work.

Construction is being done by W.M. Schlosser Company of Maryland.

Erection of the glass will not require any new lane closures at the airport. All work can be done behind the jersey barriers that have been in place during construction of the steel support structure.

Completion of the windscreen is expected in September.


Preparing for the Glass Windscreen
The first of three coats of paint is being applied to the bus lane side of the Dulles Airport Metrorail Station in preparation for the installation of several glass panels that will create a large windscreen that will mimic the architecture of the Washington Dulles International Airport terminal.
Photo courtesy of Dulles Corridor Metrorail Project


Almost Done!
Crews are performing the final welding of connections for the structure that will support the glass windscreen; panels for the windscreen are set for installation later this summer.
Photo courtesy of Dulles Corridor Metrorail Project

[farecard]

No amount of glass will help with the temperature & humidity at this "should have been underground" station.

It shall always be hot in the summer and cold in the winter; hardly attributes to attract ridership.

[Sand Box John]

farecard
No amount of glass will help with the temperature & humidity at this "should have been underground" station.

It shall always be hot in the summer and cold in the winter; hardly attributes to attract ridership.

Conditions will be no different then any of the other 49 surface or elevated stations in the system. The view will still be pretty cool wind screen or no windscreen.

[dcmike]

Conditions will be no different then any of the other 49 surface or elevated stations in the system. The view will still be pretty cool wind screen or no windscreen.

That's all well and good for rail fans like us, but ideally the station should be capturing some of the other 25 million annual IAD passengers

Looking at it from another perspective, asking passengers to drag their luggage + family up to 3/4 mile walking from their gate, only to have to wait outside in inclement weather for a ride that, on its best day, is far from competitive w/r/t travel times even during rush hour highway traffic on a train line that is truncated at Ballston at the slightest whiff of trouble in the system..... it's almost as though the design choices were deliberately made to turn away riders.

Where is the incentive when, for example, an Uber is more convenient (door to door service), cheaper depending on the size of your family, and certainly quicker?

It's a shame the designers didn't try to address at least one of the many impediments to potential ridership.

[justalurker66]

The Dulles station is not intended to replace cabs/car hire/Uber/Lyft etc. It is intended to replace buses and the vehicles parked just beyond the new station.