Martin DiCaro, WAMU's transportation reporter, has some more insight into when Silver Line operations may begin:
Metro is targeting July 20 for the start of “simulated service” —
trial runs to train rail operators — on the new Silver Line to Reston,
Virginia, according to union scheduling records. Passenger service could
start one week later on Monday, July 28, pending the outcome of ongoing
safety testing and the completion of outstanding construction issues by
the contractor Bechtel.
“We were contacted [by WMATA] back in May and we were told that the
simulated service would start July 20. So for all of the operators and
station managers we are in the process of selecting work,” said
Amalgamated Transit Union Local 689 president Jackie Jeter, in an
exclusive interview with WAMU 88.5 FM. Work shifts are chosen by ATU
workers based on seniority.
Barring any further setbacks the long-delayed Silver Line, originally
planned for a January opening, will begin carrying passengers by the
end of next month, the first new Metro line since the Green Line opened
in 1991. The Blue Line was extended to Largo Town Center in 2004. . . .
Click here for this extended piece.
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