Silver Line Dulles WMATA Metrorail progress/pictures

RandallW
The only thing that would have helped would have been tunneling through Dulles and putting the Metro closer to the terminal. Those pedestrian tunnels already existed as they were originally built to serve the parking decks on the far side of entry loop used by automobiles.

It's not that security would be an issue, it's the baggage handling under the terminal would be interfered with, so if building a short train outside that point, you are looking at a train to go at most 1500' straight with no change in elevation. I've watched people on the Silver and Red lines (Red to Union Station) and on Metro busses with large bags; it's a struggle for them and for others; generally public transit isn't the aid we hope it would be in those situations

The station was originally planed to be in subway on the north side of Commercial Drive with the entrance in the passageway to garage 1 east of where the bronze relief model of Dulles Airport is. The station It is where it is today because it cost a half billion dollars less to build it there.

JDC wrote: ↑Sun Oct 15, 2023 1:09 pm But, having experienced it firsthand, it still is a long trek from the baggage claim area to the Metro station's faregates and there are several areas where you're on foot between moving walkways (one of which was broken on a Monday and still out of service on Wednesday). There are also elevation changes which require escalators (or an elevator) and one of those not being in service could make a big hassle.

I took that route a few months ago. It was a significant trek: moving walkway, gap, moving walkway, gap, again and again and again. I was lucky enough that the ones going my way were working; some the other direction were down. Metro seem to figured out that you really need 3 escalators so one can be down for repairs, but not MWAA.

Plus when you get to the station, it is outdoors in our glorious 99% summer humidity, or shivering.

I need to look because I am curious how far off the station's passenger volume is from what Metro predicted...