Dulles Corridor Rail Association 2007 Annual Meeting. On Monday, November 26, 2007, more than 150 members and friends of the Dulles Corridor Rail Association (DCRA) joined the DCRA Board at Gannett Corporation, Inc. in Tysons Corner for its 10th Annual Meeting. DCRA Chairman, Del. Ken Plum announced that in its tradition of recognizing people who have helped move the project forward, DCRA was recognizing Senator John Warner and Congressman Frank Wolf, two gentlemen that have been the “go to” people for the project as regards federal involvement. DCRA also recognized the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors for their continued support of the project. View a summary of the event.
Project Update Seminar. On Wednesday, July 25, DCRA, along with the Dulles Area Transportation Association and TYTRAN, sponsored a Dulles Corridor Metrorail Project Update Seminar. Project staff provided an update on the what, where, and when of construction and traffic management plans. In addition, there was a report on the activities of the Tysons Corner Land Use Task Force. The seminar was held at the project offices. View presentations.
DCRA Cosponsors Regional Mobility Seminars. On May 25, April and June 22the Dulles Corridor Rail Association and the Washington Airports Task Force, along with other local transportation-oriented organizations, a three-part seminar series exploring our regional transportation needs and how new technologies can meet those needs. The events were held at Booz Allen Hamilton in Tysons Corner. Keynote speaker for Seminar #1 was Representative Tom Davis and for Seminar #2 was Chairman Gerry Connolly. Click here to view the presentations.
DCRA Honors Del. Vince Callahan. On Thursday, June 14 at 
DCRA member company, Oracle, the Board of Directors of the Dulles Corridor Rail Association honored Delegate Vince Callahan, DCRA's cochairman, for his outstanding leadership in advancing rail in the Dulles corridor. The Washington Airports Task Force, represented by Chairman Stanley E. Harrison, was also recognized for their efforts. Virginia Secretary of Transportation, Pierce Homer, and Virginia Secretary of the 
Commonwealth, Kate Hanley, both made remarks. Sam Carnaggio, Dulles Corridor Metrorail Project Manager, gave a status update on the project. Sponsors for the reception included: PLATINUM SPONSOR, Prospective, Inc.; GOLD SPONSORS: The Convention Store, GWBOT, Dulles Transit Partnes, LLc, General Gorwth Properties, Clark Construction, Washington Airports Task Force, Macerich/Tysons Corner Center, Dittmar Company, MWAA; and SILVER SPONSORS: Boston Properties, Autostrade, ECS MidAtlantic, LLC, DWECK Properties, Ltd., DEWBERRY, VENABLE LLP, NVAR, Brandywine Realty Trust, DATA, Committee for Dulles, and PEPCO.
Plum noted that a recent report prepared for state officials concluded that it was not possible to develop the costs of a project without first completing the required levels of environmental review and engineering drawings required by the Federal Transit Administration. The tunnel proposal, while technically feasible, is not based on information that is required to receive federal approvals. “We began the current NEPA process in 2000. We have been through hundreds of public meetings. Many alternatives have been considered,” Plum said. “Now is the time to get on with this much needed project. This project was approved for construction in the 2005 surface transportation funding act. We do not want to jeopardize federal funding by significantly delaying the project.”
DCRA Sponsors "Transportation Choices" Event. On January 29, 2007, the Virginia Transit Association held its Annual Transportation Choices Legislative Reception at the Old City Hall in Richmond. The Dulles Corridor Rail Association was a sponsor as were a number of its members: Dulles Area Transportation Association, Dulles Transit Partners, ECS Mid-Atlantic, Orbital, Reston Limousine, Venable and the Washington Airports Task Force.
More than 150 elected officials, transit advocates, and administration staff attended including Governor Tim Kaine, Secretary of Transportation Pierce Homer and Director of Rail and Public Transportation Matt Tucker. Governor Kaine made brief remarks in support of transit. He noted the growing momentum for it and its importance as part of the solution to Virginia’s transportation problems. He also cited the need for better land use practices and increased funding. The Governor urged those attending to talk to their legislators about the importance of funding transportation now. Many legislators were present including Delegate Vince Callahan, Vice Chairman of DCRA.
Rail to the Runways Celebration. On June 27, the Washington Airports Task Force sponsored a luncheon with the theme “Rails to Runways” to honor Governor Timothy Kaine and Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority President and CEO James Bennett. The event was held at the Washington Dulles Airport Marriott and was cosponsored by the Committee for Dulles, Dulles Area Transportation Association, and the Dulles Corridor Rail Association. An enthusiastic crowd of more than 350 eagerly listened to the remarks of the Governor and Jim Bennett in support of the Dulles Corridor Metrorail Project. (Detailed summary)
Rail to the Runways Celebration. On
June 27, the Washington Airports Task Force sponsored a luncheon with the
theme “Rails to Runways” to honor Governor Timothy Kaine and Metropolitan
Washington Airports Authority President and CEO James Bennett. The event
was held at the Washington Dulles Airport Marriott and was cosponsored by
the Committee for Dulles, Dulles Area Transportation Association, and the
Dulles Corridor Rail Association. An enthusiastic crowd of more than 350
eagerly listened to the remarks of the Governor and Jim Bennett in support
of the Dulles Corridor Metrorail Project. (Detailed
summary)
2006 Spring Reception. DCRA held its 2006
Spring Reception at AOL on Tuesday, June 6. Ken Plum presented DCRA’s
Leadership Award to Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority (MWAA)
Chairman Mame Reiley and 
President
Jim Bennett. He also recognized Dulles Corridor Advisory Committee
representatives Chairmen Gerry Connolly (Fairfax County Board of
Supervisors) and Scott York (Loudoun County Board of Supervisors), as well
as Acting Director of Rail and Public Transportation Corey Hill and
Northern Virginia Commonwealth Transportation Board member Doug Koelemay.
What was remarkable was the strong support of the Advisory Board members
for MWAA’s taking over management of the Dulles Corridor Metrorail
Project. The honorees also expressed appreciation for the strong business
support of the project and stressed its importance in keeping the project
moving forward. Sam Carnaggio, project director for the Dulles Metrorail Project
gave an update on its status. More than 120 DCRA members and project
supporters attended the reception. Sponsors for the event included: Reception
Host: AOL; Partner
Sponsors: GANNETT and JBG; Gold Sponsors: Commonwealth
Consulting, Dulles Transit Partners, Dulles Marriott, Elm Street
Development, James G. Davis Construction Corp., The Macerich Company/Tysons
Corner Center, Reed Smith, Reston Hospital, and Washington Airports Task
Force; and Silver Sponsors: Autostrade, Boston Properties,
Committee for Dulles, Dulles Gateway Associates, Dweck Properties, Lewis
Scully Gionet, Qorvis Communications, and Venable. View more event photos.
TOD Seminar, No. 4
- Monday, May 22, 2006. On Monday, May 22 from 8 to 10:30
AM, DCRA and DATA hosted the fourth in a series of seminars on Transit
Oriented Development. Speakers were Tony Calabrese, Cooley Godward
- Tysons Corner Center Update; Curt Hoffman, Fairfax Co EDA - Fairfax
County Real Estate Trends; and Hon. Catherine Hudgins - Status of
Affordable housing Efforts.
2005 Annual Meeting. DCRA hosted
a successful and very enjoyable Annual Meeting and Reception at the
Oracle facility in Reston on December 6. Hunter Mill Catherine
Hudgins welcomed the guests. DCRA Chairman Ken Plum presented
Leadership Awards to Katherine K. Hanley,
Commonwealth Transportation Board Commissioner and former Chairman of the
Fairfax County Board and WMATA Board and Senator John W. Warner for their outstanding
leadership In advancing Rail in the Dulles Corridor. Conrad Schatte, Sr.
Legislative Aide, accepted the award on his behalf of Senator John W.
Warner, who was unable to attend. The 2006 Board of
Directors was elected . Dulles Corridor Metrorail Project
Director Sam Carnaggio gave a presentation on the status of the project. View
event photos. Partner Sponsors of the event wereJBG Companies and WCI/Renaissance. Platinum Sponsor was Clark Construction
Group, LLC; Gold Sponsors were Dewberry, Dweck Properties,
Macerich/Tysons Corner, and the Washington Airports Task Force.
Silver Sponsors were Dulles Gateway Associates, ECS
Mid-Atlantic, LLC, Launders Trust, MC Dean, Truland
Systems Corporation, and Venable.
2005 Spring Reception. The Board of
Directors of the Dulles Corridor Rail Association 
(DCRA) presented its
Leadership Award to the Honorable Mark R. Warner, Governor of the
Commonwealth of Virginia, on Wednesday, June 1 at Sallie Mae’s corporate
offices in Reston, Virginia. DCRA
Chairman Kenneth Plum presented the award, which was received by Virginia
Secretary of Transportation Pierce Homer. Governor
Warner and his Administration have demonstrated sustained leadership in
support of transit improvements in the Dulles Corridor and have
successfully managed the transit project through the environmental phase
during which Metrorail was selected as the Locally Preferred Alternative.
Preliminary Engineering of the 23-mile Metrorail extension is well
underway and construction of the 11-mile first phase through Tysons Corner
to Wiehle Avenue in Reston is scheduled to begin in 2006. Sam Carnaggio,
Dulles Metrorail Project Director, Virginia Department of Rail and Public
Transportation, will provide an update on the Dulles Rapid Transit
Project. View
presentation. Sallie
Mae, the reception sponsor, employs 10,000 people nationwide and is the
nation’s leading provider of funding for student loans. The company’s
headquarters are in Reston, Virginia.
2004 Annual Meeting -
October 9, 2004. The Dulles Corridor Rail Association (DCRA)
honored J. Kenneth Klinge, former Chairman of the Dulles Corridor
Steering Committee and former Member of the Commonwealth Transportation
Board at its Sixth Annual Meeting at Lafarge North America in Herndon. The
October 9, 2004, Annual Meeting was hosted by Lafarge North America.
More than 100 business and civic leaders joined the DCRA Board of
Directors to honor Mr. Klinge as well as the Founders and Partner
sponsors who have underwritten the advocacy work of DCRA. Sam
Carnaggio, Project Director for the Dulles Corridor Metrorail Project
gave a report on the status of the project.
2004
Spring Reception - June 15, 2004. More than 200 Dulles
Corridor Rail Association (DCRA) members and friends attended the DCRA
reception honoring the Northern Virginia Congressional delegation at
Gannett Company Inc. headquarters in McLean.Congressman Frank Wolf,
accepting the plaques on behalf of the delegation, noted how well they
worked as a team and their efforts to make Dulles rail a reality.
DCRA Chairman Delegate Kenneth R. Plum and Vice Chairman Delegate Vince
Callahan made the presentation. Also honored was the Dulles Rapid
Transit Project team consisting of staff from the Virginia
Department of Rail and Public Transportation (DRPT) and the Washington
Metropolitan Area Transit Authority. Corey Hill, DRPT, introduced
the project team, provided a brief project update and identified the key
next steps the project would have to reach.
2003 Annual Meeting -
November 24, 2003. The Fifth Annual Meeting of the Dulles Corridor
Rail Association (DCRA), at Virginia’s Center for Innovative
Technology was an important and well-attended public forum that
addressed the rail project before the local and state/federal public
hearings. Regional economist Stephen Fuller gave a good overview of our
corridor economy and the importance of rail to its future. DCRA Chairman
Ken Plum reviewed the progress of the last year. DCRA President,
Patty Nicoson delivered a project update with information provided by
the state. Director of Rail and Public Transportation Karen Rae
reaffirmed the commitment of state and federal officials to the entire
23-mile rail project and produced letters they had written expressing
that commitment.
2003 SPRING
RECEPTION - June 4, 2003. Speaker:
Karen Rae, Director, VDRPT
2002
ANNUAL MEETING - December 9, 2002.
DRAFT
EIS PUBLIC HEARINGS - JULY 29, 30, & 31, 2002
RELEASE OF THE DRAFT ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT STATEMENT-
July 11, 2002.
On Thursday, July
11, 2002 at 3:00 p.m., at Virginia's Center for Innovative Technology
DCRA hosted a seminar on the Dulles Rapid Transit Project and a Reception
celebrating the release of the Draft Environmental Impact Statement. The seminar was cosponsored by the Committee for Dulles, Dulles Area Transportation Association, and
Washington Airports Task Force. Speakers
included: Hon. Vincent F. Callahan, Vice Chairman, Dulles Corridor Rail
Association (DCRA),
Corey Hill, Northern Virginia Section Manager, Department of Rail and
Public Transportation,
Julie Pastor, Director of Planning, Loudoun County and Fred Selden, Director of Planning, Fairfax County,
Eric Peterson, Executive Director, LEADER (The Landowners Economic Alliance
for the Dulles Extension of Rail), and Tony Griffin, Fairfax County Executive and Chairman of the Dulles Corridor
Task Force Funding Task Group.
BREAKFAST
MEETING WITH VIRGINIA LIEUTENANT GOVERNOR TIM KAINE - May 9, 2002. 
On May 9, 2002, the
Dulles Corridor Rail Association held a breakfast meeting for Virginia Lieutenant Governor Tim Kaine. Accenture hosted the event at its Reston
Town Center facility. Terrabrook was the event sponsor. Sixty business
and community leaders attended the Dulles Rapids Transit Project briefing
and heard the Lieutenant Governor endorse the Dulles Corridor Rail Project.
Corey Hill, Virginia
Department of Rail and Public Transportation, provided a status report
on the Dulles Rapid Transit Project. The alternatives that are being analyzed
as part of the preparation of the draft environmental impact statement
include: "no-build" alternative, transportation system management
alternative, bus rapid transit (BRT), Metrorail between the Orange line
and Tysons Corner and B RT between Tysons Corner and Route 772 in Loudoun
County, Metrorail for the full length of the corridor, and a phased implementation
of rail, with BRT as an interim step. Mr. Hill presented information on
project costs, the proposed financing shares among the federal and non-federal
partners, and described the various alternatives, including the options
for rail in Tysons Corner.
The Lieutenant Governor
noted that as a former mayor of the City of Richmond he recognizes the
amazing opportunity and the challenge that a large project like the extension
of rail out the Dulles corridor provides. There is "the challenge
of financing, the challenge of dealing with local citizens, of picking
among many alternatives and also the challenge of coordination."
He noted that the Dulles Airport was a "unique example of wonderful,
farsighted government planning". The 82 million square feet of commercial
space of the corridor that DCRA Chairman Ken Plum had referred to in his
remarks demonstrated the amazing economic engine that the airport is for
Northern Virginia and for the entire Commonwealth. The obvious challenges
to its success are transportation needs.
Kaine noted that the
Governor made it very plain early in his campaign that he supported rail
to Dulles as the right move and that he now wants to throw state support
behind it. He noted the work of the General Assembly in approving the
tax district legislation that allowed the creation of The Landowners Economic
Alliance for the Dulles Extension of Rail (LEADER) to explore local financing
options, in particular through the creation of a tax assessment district
on commercial property. He noted the administration support of the referendum,
which would provide a significant portion of local money for the rail
project ($350 million). The Administration is behind the project and is
trying to explore ways from a financial standpoint to make it work.
Noting that Corey
Hill had said that the project team wanted to get as much federal funding
as it could, Kaine said that the Secretary of Transportation and others
on the state side would work with the Association and its members to coordinate
efforts so that there is productive pressure on the federal side to get
the best funding we can.
At a brief board meeting
after the program, William Nussbaum, The Mark Winkler Company, and Lew
Fincke, The MITRE Corporation, were elected to the DCRA board to replace
board members who had retired.
LEGISLATIVE
RECEPTION - February 5, 2002
. About 200 people attended
the reception for Governor Warner, his new Administration, and members
of the General Assembly on February 5th, 2002, at the Library of Virginia
in Richmond. Lieutenant Governor Tim Kaine, Secretary of Transportation
Whit Clement, Deputy Secretary Pierce Homer, and Commissioner Ray Pethtel
attended along with a number of other cabinet members, senators and delegates.
The reception honored former Virginia Senator and Governor Charles Robb
and former Governor Linwood Holton as co-chairman of The Landowners Economic
Alliance for the Dulles Extension of Rail (LEADER). A large number of
DCRA members from Northern Virginia attended. Yellow Transportation helped
underwrite a motor coach for members to use for the ride to Richmond.
The event provided an important opportunity for DCRA members to bring
the new Cabinet and General Assembly members up to date on the Dulles
Rapids Transit Project. At a brief meeting during the event, former board
member John Milliken, VENABLE, who had been Governor Warner's Transition
Director, was reelected to the DCRA board.
ANNUAL MEETING
_ December 5, 2001. On December 5, 2001,
More than 150 members and friends joined the Dulles Corridor Rail Association
(DCRA) Chairman Delegate Ken Plum and the DCRA board for its Third Annual
Meeting at Accenture in Reston Town Center. The Association honored Congressmen
Tom Davis, Jim Moran and Frank Wolf for their efforts, in the wake of
the September 11 terrorist attacks, to expedite rail in the Dulles corridor
and to secure an additional $25 million appropriation for the project.
There was widespread recognition of the important role Metrorail played
that day in evacuating people from Washington D.C. and the inner core.
The three congressmen had written Secretary of Transportation Norman Mineta
requesting support for expediting rail in the Dulles corridor. The congressmen
provided brief remarks on receiving their leadership plaques. Congressman
Wolf noting that the amount of federal money now dedicated to the project
totaled $117 million observed, "This is an important project. We
need rapid transit in this corridor." Congressman Moran, whose district
now includes the Reston area, emphasized the importance of ensuring that
the land use around the rail station areas supports rail transit in order
to generate the ridership needed to financially sustain the system.
Leo Bevon, Director
of the Department of Rail and Public Transportation, provided a status
report on the project and DCRA chairman Ken Plum urged to members to read
the winter 2001 newsletter to learn about recent DCRA's activities. A
brief board meeting was held to elect the 2002 DCRA board members.
