Dulles International Airport station

Dulles International Airport
rapid transit station
Coordinates 38°57′21″N 77°26′52″W / 38.95583°N 77.44778°W / 38.95583; -77.44778Coordinates: 38°57′21″N 77°26′52″W / 38.95583°N 77.44778°W / 38.95583; -77.44778
Line(s) (planned)
Platforms 1 island platform
Tracks 2
Construction
Structure type Above ground
Other information
Station code N12
History
Opening 2020 (2020) (projected)[1][2]
Services
  From 2020  
Preceding station   Washington Metro   Following station
toward Ashburn
Silver Line

Dulles International Airport is a planned Washington Metro station at Washington Dulles International Airport in Loudoun County, Virginia, U.S., on the Silver Line. It is scheduled to begin operation in 2020,[1][2] linking Dulles by rail to Washington, D.C. and Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport via Rosslyn. The station was originally planned to be underground, and feature a tunnel to the Dulles baggage claim area.[2] Current plans call for an above-ground station next to daily parking garage 1.[3]

History

Dulles Metro Station
The Dulles Metro Station under construction in November 2015.

A Washington Metro station had been considered for Dulles since at least 1969, but formal plans were not made until 2002, with the first phase of the project commencing in 2004. According to a 1969–1970 engineering study, a full-scale Metro station was planned (but never built) 28 feet (8.6 m) below a parking lot.[4] The originally planned single-side platform station would not meet current Metro specifications for a center platform, which is necessary since current plans would extend service beyond the airport to western suburbs. Plans for an above-ground facility drew concerns from the Virginia Historic Preservation Office regarding the visual impact on the Eero Saarinen-designed terminal. Consultants estimated that an above-ground station would save $640 million in construction costs.[5]

On April 6, 2011, the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority (MWAA) Board voted 9 to 4 to build an underground station 550 feet away from the terminal, rather than an above-ground station 1,150 feet away from the terminal, at an additional cost of $330 million. Construction of the underground station would have extended its expected opening to mid-2017.[6] However, on July 20, 2011, the MWAA board reversed its previous vote and approved an above-ground station due to pressure from state and local officials to reduce overall project costs.[7]

Station layout

P
Platform level		 Westbound ← (under construction) toward Ashburn (phase 2) (Loudoun Gateway)
Island platform, under construction
Eastbound → (under construction) toward Largo Town Center (phase 2) (Innovation Center) →
M Mezzanine One-way faregates, ticket machines, station manager
Walkway to Dulles International Airport main terminal
G Ground Level Exit/Entrance

Station facilities

  • The station will be connected to the terminal building using the existing pedestrian tunnel which connects the hourly and daily parking lots and parking garage 1 to the baggage claim level of the airport terminal, and which is equipped with moving sidewalks. The section of the tunnel connecting the terminal and daily and hourly lots to parking garage 1 was closed in January 2016 in order to reconfigure that tunnel section to accommodate the future Metro station entrance.[2]
Panoramic view of construction in December 2016

References

  1. 1 2 Aratani, Lori (April 30, 2015). "Silver Line phase 2: now arriving in 2020". The Washington Post. Retrieved 2016-02-17.
  2. 1 2 3 4 "Dulles Metro: Dulles Station". Retrieved 2014-12-05.
  3. ↑ Sherfinski, David (July 20, 2011). "Airports board approves above-ground Dulles Metro station". The Washington Times. Retrieved 2014-12-06.
  4. ↑ "Metrorail Track and Structures in Washington, D.C." BelowTheCapital.org. Retrieved 2014-12-07.
  5. ↑ Kravitz, Derek (November 9, 2010). "Metro stop's location could mar view of Dulles". The Washington Post. p. B5.
  6. ↑ Hosh, Kafia (April 7, 2011). "Dulles to get underground Metro station". The Washington Post. p. B1.
  7. ↑ "Decision Made to Build Dulles Rail Station Above Ground". WRC-TV News. July 20, 2011. Retrieved 2014-12-06.
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