11800 Sunrise Valley Drive, Reston, VA 20191, Ste. B                  703-716-5750                 www.dullescorridorrail.com


Dulles Corridor Rapid Transit Project                                                                              September 2003

A 23.1-mile Metrorail extension connecting West Falls Church to Washington Dulles International Airport and Loudoun County was endorsed as the Locally Preferred Alternative last year by state, regional, and local bodies.  During the public hearing and comment phase, rail was overwhelmingly supported by citizens and civic and business groups. 

On August 7, 2003, The Virginia Department of Rail and Public Transportation submitted a request to the Federal Transit Administration for authorization to begin preliminary engineering on the first phase of the Dulles rail project.  Phase I extends from West Falls Church through Tysons Corner out the Dulles Corridor to Wiehle Avenue in Reston (11 miles).  Phase II will complete the segment from Wiehle Avenue through Herndon to Washington Dulles International Airport and Loudoun County (12 miles).  The phasing responds to federal concerns and the realities of the six-year federal transportation funding cycle.

Highlights of Phase I

  • 5 new stations
  • Capital Cost: $1.5 to $1.8 billion
  • Estimated Ridership: 35,000 – 38,000 daily boardings
  • Peak hour capacity equals four new lanes on Dulles Toll Road
  • Bus Service Improvements to enhance the express bus and feeder systems serving the corridor

Phase I Funding

  • Federal share: 50 %
  • State: 25 %, Dulles Toll Road tolls, general fund
  • Fairfax: 25 %, commercial property tax district

Phase I Target Dates

  • 2003 Begin preliminary engineering
  • 2005 Begin construction
  • 2009 Complete construction/Metrorail service begins

Tolls as State Funding Source

  • Corridor planned more than 40 years ago as multi-modal facility. Median reserved for rail when Dulles Airport Access Road was constructed
  • Dulles Toll Road opened in 1984 to provide local access to Tysons Corner, Reston, and Herndon.
  • Corridor accommodates vehicles on all-purpose lanes; carpools, vanpools and buses on HOV lanes; and express buses on the restricted access Dulles Airport Access Road 
  • User fees are an increasingly important way to finance transportation improvements world-wide
  • Tolls used to fund transportation improvements in the corridor; 85% earmarked for transit in 2002.  Given Virginia’s fiscal constraints, toll financing is a reasonable way to fund the key missing rail mode and dramatically increase the corridor’s capacity to move people
  • While some may not be able to use rail to commute, other household members and neighbors will be able to use rail for work and non-work related trips, freeing up roadway capacity
  • Toll restructuring provides opportunity to increase person throughput of the Dulles Toll Road by providing incentives to carpool/vanpool and to use transponders (faster through toll booths)
  • Conversion to High Occupancy Toll lanes could expand use of HOV lanes through congestion pricing and raise revenues to pay for transit improvements

What Dulles Rail Does:

Service

  • Improves quality of life by providing attractive efficient, and safe rail transit service
  • Provides direct service to Tysons Corner, the downtown of Fairfax County 
  • Supports Fairfax and Loudoun counties’ Comprehensive Plans and economic development strategies
  • Links Washington Dulles International Airport to the National Capital.  (Airport adding two runways to the existing three to accommodate growth and underground trains to link terminals)
  • Provides an essential transportation service for the federal government, its employees, and visitors. (48 percent of federal employees use rail transit to get to work.)
  • Provides improved regional access to high-tech, blue collar, and service jobs in Corridor
  • Provides service to second largest employment corridor in region: Tysons Corner (101,000 jobs in 2000 and 130,000 projected in 2025); Reston East and West, Herndon, Route 28, Dulles Airport in the Dulles Corridor (81,000 jobs in 2000, 140,000 projected in 2025.)   

Ridership and Capacity

  • Rail will carry 9,600 passengers per hour in the corridor, nearly four times that of the Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) system and has an ultimate capacity of 50,000 passengers per track per hour.  Rail can accommodate future growth in the Dulles Corridor

 Transit-Oriented Development

  • Loudoun and Fairfax counties Comprehensive Plans encourage Transit-Oriented Development (TOD) to create attractive communities and achieve economic development objectives  
  • Loudoun approved Moorefield Station TOD with 9.75 million SF of commercial space and 6,000 housing units December 16, 2002
  • Fairfax County approved Tysons II TOD for 6 million SF of mixed use on June 16, 2003, and a high-density residential project in Tysons using the 1:3 office/residential conversion (1,540 dwelling units) on January 6, 2003
  • Fixed-rail generates high-quality station area development.  Well-planned, mixed-use development around Metrorail stations generates transit ridership

Rail Enhances Quality of Life

  • By providing a high-quality transportation choice and freedom to move around without dependence on the automobile
  • By improving air and water quality
  • By encouraging compact, mixed-use development, rail transit reduces sprawl
  • DCRA market research indicates nearly twice as many residents (59 %) would be likely to use rail as BRT (34 %) and nearly three times as many employees (45%) versus BRT (16%)

Costs/Benefits

  • Rail stations generate high-quality, mixed-use developments and increased economic activity resulting in higher revenues for state and local governments (sales, real property, personal income and corporate income taxes and recordation fees). 
  • Travel-time savings for many trips provide economic benefits, including reduced energy consumption
  • Reduced costs from accidents (personal injuries, property damage, and fatalities).  Reduced need for destination parking

Enhancements to Express Buses (Bus Rapid Transit)

  • Express buses provide frequent high-speed, peak-period service on special lanes (Dulles Airport Access Road) from the Reston (every 7.5 minutes), and Loudoun park-and-ride facilities and the Herndon-Monroe parking garage (every 6 minutes)

  • Buses use restricted access roadway.  Automated slip ramps to open Fall 2003
  • Extensive parking facilities (4,140 spaces), including 1,780–space garage in Herndon
  • Construction of Reston Transit Center, improvements to Tysons and Herndon transit facilities
  • Project will add more BRT elements, which could include real-time information at bus stops and on buses; amenities with special coordinated design features for buses, bus shelters, signage, benches, lighting, landscaping, and phones; use of SmartTrip fare cards, and upgraded vehicles. 

Dulles Corridor Rapid Transit Next Step

The Final Environmental Impact Statement for the Dulles Corridor Rapid Transit Project will provide more detailed analyses of rail (Spring 2004).  The Federal Transit Administration (FTA) is expected to issue the Record of Decision in Spring 2004. Congress is working on the reauthorization of the federal surface transportation act expected to be approved in Spring 2004.  DCRA urges support of the NOVA delegation’s efforts to get the Dulles rail extension included in the reauthorization