The Rise of the Rail, Part 1: An Overview of the Dulles Metrorail Project, loudini.com

This is the first of a six-part series by Mr. Vecchio. The remainder will be posted and linked here as they are published by the Loudoun Independent.

Matt Vecchio
Wednesday, 2 June 2010

The year is 2016. At 7 a.m., our fictional commuter, Tom Frank, hops in his car in Ashburn and gets on the highway—headed for his office in Washington D.C. A sprawling line of cars and brake lights stand between him and making his 8:30 meeting. Tom cracks a smile, veers his car to an exit and hops on the metro—the Silver Line—that will take him straight to Washington’s core.

In present day, Tom groans as he maneuvers his car slowly through the gauntlet of honking horns and idling engines. He dials his radio to the traffic station and gets a firsthand report of an accident 10 miles in front of him. Just great.

While 2010 is the current reality; the “Rail to Dulles” project is well underway. The year 2016 may not be so far off after all. But let’s not get ahead of ourselves.

A brief glimpse at transportation systems around the world reveals that subway, metro and train lines are still among the premier transportation options in large cities around the world. . . .

For the rest of this article, click here.