Washington Metro’s expanded Silver Line opens
Rachel Schilke
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After nearly eight years of construction, the first train on the Washington, D.C., Metro’s expanded Silver Line left the Ashburn station Tuesday afternoon.
The line connects Loudoun County and Washington Dulles International Airport to the Metrorail system for the first time, drawing in close to 100 people waiting to be the first passengers on the Silver Line train. The much-anticipated extension of the Silver Line cost an estimated $3 billion and will extend for 11.5 miles, per the Washington Post.
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The new segment, which begins at Wiehle-Reston East, the previous end of the Silver Line, now extends west to Ashburn and completes the 23-mile line. Trains on the Silver Line are running every 15 minutes, and wait times will continue to decrease as Metro returns more cars to service, Metro officials said.
It will take Metro an estimated one month to replace all 5,000 maps in the system, as many show the new line faded and marked as incomplete. The new line added stations at Reston Town Center, Herndon, Innovation Center, Dulles International Airport, Loudoun Gateway, and Ashburn.
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The Tuesday launch of the extended Silver line was anticipated to be delayed, as it has in the past, due to federal regulations that limited Metro’s use of its car fleet. Metro ordered in December 2021 that all the 7000-series trains be removed from service after the first one derailed in October.
Currently, the Yellow Line is out of service as Metro expands its services. A new station, added along the Blue and Yellow lines, Potomac Yard, is close to Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport and is set to open this fall.