Passenger Trains > WMATA DC Silver Line to Dulles Airport survives first test

The Washington Post reports that the new Silver Line station at the airport met its first test, with about 7,700 passengers in the three days leading up to Thanksgiving.  The older Reagan National airport saw about 23,000 in the comparable period.  The authority was pleased that the gate machines worked, the trains and signals worked, and that customers already see rail access as part of the mix.

According to the chart with the article, travel to the airport takes longer on the Silver line than a car service, assuming modest traffic (which is not a given), but costs just a small fraction of the fee.

Paywall possible:  https://www.washingtonpost.com/transportation/2022/11/22/dulles-silver-line-upgrades/

 

Why would Silver Line take longer than car?   I wouldn't think it would take much to beat a car on that route.  I gather that there are multiple stops.

Tominde Wrote:
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> Why would Silver Line take longer than car?   I wouldn't think it would take
> much to beat a car on that route.  I gather that there are multiple stops.

It would depend on the start point downtown, but yes - there are a lot of stops before one gets to the airport.

justalurker66 Wrote:
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>
> It would depend on the start point downtown, but
> yes - there are a lot of stops before one gets to
> the airport.

Yes, that's part of what will limit the usefulness to air travelers -- there are 20 stops between  Metro Center and Dulles.  Also, these are ordinary subway trains and lack luggage racks or any particular amenities.  I think there will be decent ridership on the line, especially by airport employees, but it will not attract large numbers of air travelers.

Gordon

I will take a longer ride time over dealing with the "parking at the airport" mess any day. Any time you "lost" on the train you probably more then made up for in finding a parking spot.

Time of day will have an impact on the amount of highway traffic on I-66, 495, and access roads. That may impact the comparison.

Posted from Android

A few stops, so?   Last time I was in London I ended up taking the Picadilly line to Heathrow.   Many stops and it took about 40 minutes.  No luggage racks either.  But at the price,  as compared with a L90 taxi ride, was well worth it.   I perfer the non-stop Paddington Express but my hotel was next to a tube station on the Picky,  so I did it and would again in a minute.

WMATA is carded as 53 minutes from Metro Center to Dulles Airport.
Google Maps provides a 30 minute travel time for the 25.3 miles by car if you leave now (9am local on Saturday morning) but estimates 45 minutes during peak times.

London is less car centric than anywhere in the US and the note that you have more than one rail route is informative. Dulles just got their first train and there are no plans to have a second way of reaching the airport by rail.

Even though the Silver Line might be known as the "train to the airport." at the end of the day, it is still part of the DC Metro system and it has to make other stops too. It's not just people starting out their trip in DC and heading to Dulles and the other stations in Reston and Ashburn. There are many people who are traveling from Arlington to Dulles.

Passfanatic Wrote:
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> Even though the Silver Line might be known as the
> "train to the airport." at the end of the day, it
> is still part of the DC Metro system and it has to
> make other stops too. It's not just people
> starting out their trip in DC and heading to
> Dulles and the other stations in Reston and
> Ashburn. There are many people who are traveling
> from Arlington to Dulles.

I'd think more "regular" users will use the line than Dulles bound people.  Unless you live in DC or along the silver line there isn't really a reason to use the metro, if you are going to Dulles you may as well drive to the airport as drive to DC or one of the metro stations and deal with parking and then the ride to the airport.

Whereever people live in relation to the Silver Line will depend on how often they use it. Yes, I could certainly see many people using the Metro to get from Loudon County to the District who aren't catching any flights. People living in Loudon County are very fortunate to be able to be so close to a city with so many great attractions, restaurants, and shops. I'm sure that there are people who will use the line from Ashburn to travel to Tysons Corner to go to the mall. It's almost like saying that somebody who lives in Rockville will travel to Bethesda to go shopping.

Longer than a "car service." Yes, most of the time from central DC. I-66 is tolled or HOV-3 at peak periods, and there are dedicated lanes via the Dulles Access Road. A "car service" assumes you're being dropped off at the terminal, not parking a personal vehicle. In the article, the "car" contestant parked in the garage adjacent to the terminal. Spendy.

The one-way rail fare is $6 peak, or $3.85 off-peak--you get what you pay for. As long as don't have a lot of luggage, or a flight departing before 7 am or arriving after 10 pm, the train is a viable (and cheap) option.

Paul Wilson
Arlington, VA

At least this frugal traveler who uses Dulles many times a year and has never used a taxi or car service to/from Dulles since the Silver Line got to Reston, certainly appreicates not having to do the bust to train or train to bus transfer in Reston and get a direct ride to Dulles. Of course he will continue to use the Silver Line whenever he travels into the capital region through Dulles.

> A few stops, so?   Last time I was in London I ended up taking the Picadilly line to Heathrow. 
>  Many stops and it took about 40 minutes. No luggage racks either.  But at the price,  as
> compared with a L90 taxi ride, was well worth it.   I perfer the non-stop Paddington Express
> but my hotel was next to a tube station on the Picky,  so I did it and would again in a minute.

There is now an intermediate option, the Elizabeth Line to Heathrow which replaced the former Heathrow Connect service. Faster and more expensive than the Tube, slower and less expensive than the Heathrow Express. I believe all the EL stations are luggage-friendly. 

Even though the Silver Line is now an option for airport travelers, many of them will probably still choose to take a car service or get dropped off by loved ones. Not everyone wants to lug suitcases onto the Metro, even those who live in the central part of DC. I can certainly see many Dulles Airport employees who live along the Silver Line using the train to get to the airport.

The article made a point of mentioning that the other stations on the new line serve a booming area in the defense and tech industries.  The planners expect a good traffic flow of workers and visitors to these stations, too.

It sounds like Loudoun County along where the Silver Line is has a "silicon valley" feel to it. There are a lot of tech companies and that will attract those employees who live very close to a Silver Line station to use the Metro. Not sure if this was mentioned but Ashburn is close to part of the Shenandoah Valley. You could probably get residents who live in and around Winchester, VA and Martinsburg, WV to use the Silver Line from Ashburn.

I take the EL into Chicago anytime I fly there.  Orange line from Midway takes 30-40 minutes, and Blue line from O'Hare takes about an hour.  They too have lots of stops and poor luggage support.  ADD to that they are old, noisy, bumpy cars and lines.  Still, a lot easier and cheaper than cabs or other services.  So if I find myself flying into Dulles I'll be taking the Silver line into town!

I'll have a trip to CHI in the short term and if I fly, which I plan to do, one way, I will likely take the CTA from whichever airport I fly into. Yes, I heard about the Blue Line. My home airport is Newark Liberty and I never take the train to the monorail to get their. Usually, I'll take Uber. However, a few weeks ago, I flew to Burlington and ended up taking a NJT bus to the airport since I was working in the Newark office.