WMATA says “We’re Ready” to open Silver Line on Nov. 15

Nov. 1, 2022

The opening will add 11.4-miles of track and six new stations to Metrorail’s system and deliver the final phase of the full 23-mile Silver Line rail project.

Mischa Wanek-Libman

Dulles Airport Station on the Silver Line extension; the extension will open for service on Nov. 15, 2022.

Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA) announced in a video the Silver Line Extension will open for service on Nov. 15. The video shows various WMATA employees welcoming riders and sharing the same message, “We’re Ready,” before ending with an audio clip from Lizzo’s “About Damn Time” song – a recognition of the wait customers have endured.

WMATA took control of the Silver Line Extension from the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority (MWAA), which oversaw construction of the project, after the project achieved its Operational Readiness Date (ORD) on June 23, 2022. WMATA has spent the past 18 weeks testing equipment and infrastructure, training staff and performing safety certification efforts in preparation of the line’s opening. In mid-October, WMATA said the Silver Line Extension could be ready before Thanksgiving, dependent on approval by the Washington Metrorail Safety Commission (WMSC) of the safety certification report of the Silver Line extension, and the 7000-series return to service plan.

“We appreciate our partners at MWAA, [Federal Transit Administration], WMSC, Fairfax, and Loudoun Counties who have worked collaboratively with us for several years to reach this moment,” said WMATA General Manager and CEO Randy Clarke.

The Silver Line Extension adds 11.4 miles to the first phase of the project, which opened in 2014 and brought Metrorail service from East Falls Church to the eastern edge of Reston. The second phase of the Silver Line extends from the first phase terminus at Wiehle-Reston East to Loudoun County, Va., and fulfills a vision of bringing a rail connection to Washington Dulles International Airport that goes back to 1962.

The Silver Line extension includes six new stations, where commemorative pennants will be distributed on the extension’s opening day in a tradition that began with the Metrorail station opening in 1976. The Silver Line Extension also includes a brand-new rail maintenance and service yard, located on 90 acres of the Washington Dulles International Airport property. The Dulles Rail Yard is the largest rail yard in WMATA’s system and employs nearly 700 people.

The video announcing the opening can be viewed here:

About the Author

Mischa Wanek-Libman | Editor in Chief

Mischa Wanek-Libman serves as editor in chief of Mass Transit magazine. She is responsible for developing and maintaining the magazine’s editorial direction and is based in the western suburbs of Chicago.

Wanek-Libman has spent more than 20 years covering transportation issues including construction projects and engineering challenges for various commuter railroads and transit agencies. She has been recognized for editorial excellence through her individual work, as well as for collaborative content.

She is an active member of the American Public Transportation Association's Marketing and Communications Committee and serves as a Board Observer on the National Railroad Construction and Maintenance Association (NRC) Board of Directors.

She is a graduate of Drake University, where she earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in Journalism and Mass Communication with a major in magazine journalism and a minor in business management.