The Dulles Metrorail will be a new 23-mile Metrorail line, extending service from the existing Orange Line at the East Falls Church station in Fairfax County, Virginia, to Route 772/Ryan Road in Loudoun County, Virginia. The corridor encompasses several activity centers, including Tysons Corner, Reston, Herndon and Washington Dulles International Airport, as well as the emerging activity center in eastern Loudoun County.

The Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA), Fairfax County, Loudoun County, Town of Herndon and the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority (MWAA), is planning to construct a 23.1-mile transit system in the rapidly growing Dulles Corridor in Fairfax and Loudoun counties, Virginia.

The Dulles Corridor is home to several of the Washington D.C. metropolitan region's most dynamic and rapidly growing activity centers, including Tysons Corner, the Reston-Herndon area, Dulles International Airport and the emerging activity centers in eastern Loudoun County.

The purpose of Dulles Metrorail is to provide high-quality, high-capacity transit service in the Dulles Corridor. New Metrorail service in the corridor will result in travel time savings between the corridor and downtown D.C., expand the reach of the existing regional rail system, offer a viable alternative to automobile travel and support future development along the corridor.

A Draft Environmental Impact Statement (Draft EIS) for the project was completed in June 2002. This Draft EIS evaluated several alternatives, including three Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) options, a combined BRT/Metrorail alternative and a full Metrorail extension. Public hearings on the Draft EIS were held in July 2002. Based on extensive public comments and input from local jurisdictions, the full extension of Metrorail was recommended as preferred option or Locally Preferred Alternative (LPA).

This Dulles Metrorail project was approved by the WMATA Board of Directors in November 2002 and the Commonwealth Transportation Board (CTB) in December 2002. The Project was also endorsed by the Fairfax County, Loudoun County and MWAA Boards.

Following these approvals, a Final EIS was published in December 2004 and the Federal Transit Administration issued its Record of Decision approving the environmental process in March 2005.

The project extends the existing Metrorail system from the East Falls Church station on the Orange Line in Fairfax County through Tysons Corner to Washington Dulles International Airport and beyond the airport to Route 772/Ryan Road in Loudoun County. Service on the new Metrorail line will continue from stations in the Dulles Corridor onto the existing Orange Line tracks and serve the Orange Line stations from East Falls Church through Arlington County and into Washington DC to the Stadium-Armory Station.

Most of the extension will be constructed in the median of the Dulles International Airport Access Highway and Dulles Connector Road, but the alignment also serves Tysons Corner and Dulles Airport. The extension includes 11 new Metrorail stations, a new rail yard on Dulles Airport property and improvements to an existing rail yard at the West Falls Church Station. This alignment was selected because it offers the highest ridership potential with the fewest impacts on residential areas and the natural environment.

Maps:

Route Map

Dulles Metro News Archive