I support Dulles Rail, though, ideally, not in the current no-bid, above ground plan. But two major questions about the viability of rail to Tysons and Dulles are gnawing at me. These are two fundamental questions that I have not seen addressed in the media or elsewhere.
1.) Rosslyn: We all know Rosslyn is a choke point for the Blue and Orange lines and if there's one delay along the two lines, especially at Rosslyn, then the whole Blue/Orange spine suffers. Will the introduction of a completely new line into the already bubbling cauldron of delays work? Metro has reported before that it is already timing Blue and Orange line trains as closely and quickly as possible. Will a new Silver line make travel more unpleasant for Blue and Orange line riders? What will the downtown stations look like as people flood platforms waiting through delays for three lines of trains to come through?
2.) East Falls Church: This is the big transfer point for the Silver line to Tysons and beyond, but has anyone looked at the size of the station? The platform is tiny. Where will people stand to make the transfers, especially if they have luggage bound for an international flight? Are there plans to enhance the East Falls Church station to make it more like a true transfer station or is this a hidden cost no one knows about? I just can't see how East Falls Church can be a viable transfer station. West Falls Church seemed more likely because it has an extra rail line, more platform space, more bus bays and more parking.
In our zeal to add Metro at all costs to Dulles and Tysons, which again, I agree with in principle, there seem to be some unintended consequences that are rather easy to see.
UPDATE by Lowell: See my comment about the possibility that the Carlyle Group might want to buy BOTH the Dulles toll road AND the Metro to Dulles rail line. Hmmm...see here for a list of who's tight with Carlyle (hint: George Bush, "HW" and just "W").
Robert W. Dove, co-head of the Carlyle Infrastructure Fund, said yesterday that his company is looking at the possibility of investing in a Dulles rail. Carlyle has not contacted Virginia officials but is reviewing the idea internally, Dove said."It does have the characteristics of a project that we would like to be involved with," he said, noting that the infrastructure fund, with assets exceeding $1 billion, looks for such public works as highways, bridges and tunnels in which to invest.
The attraction for Carlyle is the steady revenue from tolls, he said. One possible scenario would be a long-term lease arrangement in which Carlyle owned both the toll road and the rail line, with Metro still in charge of the transit operation.
"Metro would run it, but someone would make a payment to us for making it available every day," he said.
Giving tolling power to a private company is of deep concern to some politicians, who worry that rates would rise unacceptably in private hands.
U.S. Rep. Frank R. Wolf (R-Va.) is among the region's more vocal opponents of private investment in public roads. Wolf declined to be interviewed yesterday, but he has said repeatedly that selling the toll road would be shortsighted.
All agreed that options to keep the project alive are narrowing. Gov. Timothy M. Kaine (D) is expected to deliver a response today to the FTA's announcement that the project is too costly and carries management risks. But the governor conceded that he is not optimistic that federal regulators will change their minds.
That leaves the private sector. It also raises suspicions among rail boosters...about the federal government's motives in rejecting the project. Numerous federal transportation officials, notably Transportation Secretary Mary Peters, are on record as overwhelmingly supporting the philosophy of financing public transportation infrastructure with private capital.
It's hard not to wonder, Moran said, whether there's a connection between the FTA's rejection of the project and the equity companies' quick reaction to it.
Wolf "said last week they're trying to force us to sell that road," Moran said. "And he's right. He's absolutely right."
P.S. Meanwhile, for some information on the Carlyle Group, click here.
I'd been asking this same basic question as well - and as we discussed the other day, the Blue to Yellow only partially addresses the problem.
1. The plan doesn't really re-route the Blue line, it converts it to a Yellow line with the final two Virgina stops overlapping with Blue. Otherwise it's a Yellow line train.
2. Given point 1, the plan cuts the number of Blue line trains in half. While this will provide some congestion relief at Rosslyn, it will also cram many more people into each Blue line train. Is there enough extra/unused capacity on the Blue line to do that?
3. The plan, even with fewer Blue lines, still adds more trains to the choke point. Our train riding future is gridlock under the Potomac.
Maybe I read it wrong, but this is what I got out of that plan.