Every year, every month it seems as though Northern Virginia commuters are told we have to wait longer for the Silver Line to open. Well, we may only be weeks away from the opening of the new lines into Loudoun County.

By Lynn Norusis

The Silver Line extension has been in progress for the past handful of years and each time it gets even close to a projected opening date something happens. The stations running from Reston out to Ashburn have been delayed again, this time due to monetary and train restraints. During a Metro board meeting in late September, Metro General Manager Randy Clarke said the system is running with half its fleet due to the suspension of the agency’s 7000-series cars, which will lead to either the delay of opening the Silver Line extension or service would be reduced elsewhere on the system. Then add in the projected shortfall of about $184.7 million from the loss of fare-paying commuters to telework, though officials said the shortfall should not significantly affect service.

The good news? The opening of the second phase of the Silver Line may just be weeks away. Metro did unveil a new map in September, which included the Silver Line extension, so at some point those stations will open. Metro still needs to receive the needed permits and accreditations from regulators. Trains are running safety checks as of earlier this month.

The bad news? Further east, the Potomac Yard station has been delayed again, this time into 2023. Issues were found with the soil that affected the stability of the ground between the tracks. This delay is also causing work on the yellow and blue lines to delay open, which is now projected to reopen in November.