Ideas for Metrorail Extensions/New Light Rail in NoVA? (Arlington: transfer to, cost)

[SteelCityRising]

As a resident of Reston who is within walking distance of a proposed future Metrorail stop on the soon-to-be-constructed Silver Line, much of the discussion in our community in recent months as we have participated in various long-term master planning sessions has been about the new train and what it will mean for our future. The Silver Line will be built in two separate phases. The first phase, currently well underway, will jut off the Orange Line between the East Falls Church and West Falls Church stations, make four stops in Tysons Corner, and then stop at Wiehle Avenue in Reston. The second leg of the line will run from that station westward, making another stop near Reston Town Center, and a stop in Herndon in Fairfax County with additional stops in Loudoun County near Route 28, at Dulles Airport, at Route 606, and at Route 772/Ryan Road in Ashburn. More information about the Silver Line, including a map of the proposed route, can be found at this link: Dulles Metrorail - Map and Stations

Anyhow with how excited (or mortified) many in Reston in particular are about the opportunity to ride the rails to work/pleasure in Tysons Corner, Arlington, and the District I've been thinking of other ways to help solve NoVA's nefarious transportation crisis. One proposal suggested by someone on the Restonian blog was to run a light rail line from the western terminus of the Silver Line (Route 772/Ryan Road) northwestward to Leesburg. I definitely do think that having a rail option from rapidly-growing Leesburg to the airport, Dulles Tech Corridor, Tysons Corner, and Arlington/DC would really cut down on traffic on the Dulles GreenWay/Dulles Toll Road and Route 7/Leesburg Pike considerably. I myself plan to eschew my vehicle and ride the rails from Reston to my office in Tysons Corner, and several in Loudoun County whom I've spoken to say they'd like to do the same. In addition to the light rail spur to Leesburg I'd also like to see one more small light rail line running through Leesburg that would jut north to meet up with the MARC line in Brunswick, MD (near Lovettsville) and then just west from Leesburg, parallel to the Washington & Old Dominion Trail, with stops in Purcellville, Berryville, and Winchester, where this smaller line would end. While I'm not an advocate of sprawl I'm also realistic that many people already DO commute into Fairfax County/DC from points north and west of Leesburg, including as far out as Winchester, and giving those people the option to ride the train in instead of clogging Route 7 would be ideal. I often see people with WV plates and license plate holders advertising that they purchased their vehicles in Winchester along the Route 7 corridor between Tysons Corner and Reston, so I believe such a line would be feasible.

What else would I like to see?

-VRE extended to Gainesville, and potentially eventually to Warrenton.
-Metro's Orange Line extended west with stops in Fair Oaks/Fair Lakes, Centreville, and potentially terminating with a connection/stop at the VRE in Manassas Park.
-Metro's Yellow and Blue Lines both extended further south and west.
-Enhanced bus service throughout the region.

The answer for far too long in this area for what to do about congestion has been "widen roads", which, judging by L.A., which has some of the nation's widest freeways and the nation's worst traffic, has been proven not to work as a permanent solution. Ultimately we need to give more people easier options to eschew driving altogether.

What do others think?

[bornindc]

Before extending Metro out to Gainesville or something, I think that the gaping transit hole between I-66 (Orange Line) and Alexandria (Blue/Yellow lines) needs to be filled. If you look at a Metrorail map you will see that that Rt. 50/Columbia Pike/I-395 corridor is completely deprived of rail options. Some of the bus service there is good, but I'd like to see a light rail or rapid bus transit down Columbia Pike & Braddock Rd., for example, out to Annandale/Fairfax/Springfield.

I think it makes more sense to fill in these inside the beltway-type transit gaps before any other major transit projects at least. Metrorail should be more oriented for close-in travel IMO, with further out areas serviced by VRE, MARC, etc. or other services that connect to the Metro.

[cardinal2007]

Well one idea for a Metrorail extension that is somewhat unrealistic, and very expensive, but would probably reduce the travel time from the Blue and Yellow line terminals to Tysons (and Dulles) would be to create a new line on the Metro. I will use ROW for Right-of-way.

Starts at National Harbor (actually the northern part thereof) with a station on the beltway. Then crosses the new Wilson bridge to Alexandria. Possible station: George Washington Pkwy. Follow 495 ROW to a link to the yellow line, and stop at Eisenhower Ave. Follow existing track, take rarely used link to Blue line, and next stop: Van Dorn St.
Follow existing track until it starts deviating south, there new track would be built to go over the creek and follow the VRE ROW for the Manassas line on parallel track.
Stop at a redesigned Backlick Road Station linking VRE to Metro.
Follow increasingly tight VRE ROW to the 495 where you will use the 495 ROW (where is the space for this?) to a possible station at Braddock Rd (come up with non-confusing name).
Follow 495 ROW to Arlington Blvd, where another stop will be made. Continue on the 495 ROW and merge onto the Orange line ROW going toward DC, stop at West Falls Church.
A new wye (or possible existing wye) to the Silver line ROW is now used to get to Tysons. Stop at all 4 Tysons stations, and then turn around. (turn around, it is not the end of the line, the Red line trains do it all the time!)

Benefits:
Links Blue and Yellow line ends to the northern part of the county, Orange and Silver line, much more quickly than having to stop all over Arlington, and Alexandria.
New VRE/Metro connection at Backlick Road will allow for a public transit commute from Manassas Line to Tysons/Reston.
New stations in possibly Braddock Rd. @ 495 and Rt. 50 might provide benefits to current residents.
Maryland residents may commute to VA without having to go through DC, or having to cross a bridge.

Cons:
Very expensive, even if partly using existing infrastructure.
Current ROW is not that big for the Manassas Line between 395 and 495 and 495 up to Braddock Rd, use of eminent domain would not be popular, and flyover structures besides being more expensive, are an eye sore. Tunneling would cost a small fortune.

[FindingZen]

Originally Posted by cardinal2007

Follow increasingly tight VRE ROW to the 495 where you will use the 495 ROW (where is the space for this?) to a possible station at Braddock Rd (come up with non-confusing name).

I'm not sure if I'm visualizing this in the same way that you are... but I know that a Potomac Yards station between the Braddock Road and Reagan National Airport stations has been in the discussion stages for a while.

[lchoro]

Orange line Metrorail extension to Centreville
Metrorail Northern Beltway from Dunn Loring to Landover
VRE extension to Gainesville and Haymarket
Light ral from Pentagon to Tysons Corner along Columbia Pike and Leesburg Pike
Light rail from Manassas to Dulles Route 28 Metro
Light rail from Old Town Alexandria to Crystal City

http://virginiadot.org/projects/reso...n_summ_rpt.pdf

[cardinal2007]

Originally Posted by Tone509

I'm not sure if I'm visualizing this in the same way that you are... but I know that a Potomac Yards station between the Braddock Road and Reagan National Airport stations has been in the discussion stages for a while.

Yeah, you're not, I'm not talking about the existing Braddock Rd station. I was thinking where 495 and Braddock Rd. intersect, on the Beltway. Clearly a different name would be in order, like Wakefield Forest or something like that.

[buildinginva]

I have an idea - how about a circular rail (tracking the Beltway). It will allow for flexiblity in transfers where it crosses the existing lines. A la Moscow metro...

[cardinal2007]

Originally Posted by cardinal2007

Well one idea for a Metrorail extension that is somewhat unrealistic, and very expensive, but would probably reduce the travel time from the Blue and Yellow line terminals to Tysons (and Dulles) would be to create a new line on the Metro. I will use ROW for Right-of-way.

Starts at National Harbor (actually the northern part thereof) with a station on the beltway. Then crosses the new Wilson bridge to Alexandria. Possible station: George Washington Pkwy. Follow 495 ROW to a link to the yellow line, and stop at Eisenhower Ave. Follow existing track, take rarely used link to Blue line, and next stop: Van Dorn St.
Follow existing track until it starts deviating south, there new track would be built to go over the creek and follow the VRE ROW for the Manassas line on parallel track.
Stop at a redesigned Backlick Road Station linking VRE to Metro.
Follow increasingly tight VRE ROW to the 495 where you will use the 495 ROW (where is the space for this?) to a possible station at Braddock Rd (come up with non-confusing name).
Follow 495 ROW to Arlington Blvd, where another stop will be made. Continue on the 495 ROW and merge onto the Orange line ROW going toward DC, stop at West Falls Church.
A new wye (or possible existing wye) to the Silver line ROW is now used to get to Tysons. Stop at all 4 Tysons stations, and then turn around. (turn around, it is not the end of the line, the Red line trains do it all the time!)

Benefits:
Links Blue and Yellow line ends to the northern part of the county, Orange and Silver line, much more quickly than having to stop all over Arlington, and Alexandria.
New VRE/Metro connection at Backlick Road will allow for a public transit commute from Manassas Line to Tysons/Reston.
New stations in possibly Braddock Rd. @ 495 and Rt. 50 might provide benefits to current residents.
Maryland residents may commute to VA without having to go through DC, or having to cross a bridge.

Cons:
Very expensive, even if partly using existing infrastructure.
Current ROW is not that big for the Manassas Line between 395 and 495 and 495 up to Braddock Rd, use of eminent domain would not be popular, and flyover structures besides being more expensive, are an eye sore. Tunneling would cost a small fortune.

The more realistic solution would be to set up a BRT(Bus Rapid Transit) to run on some HOV/HOT lines that would run from National Harbor to Tysons, with some added structures, maybe a flyover, the bus could have quick transfers with Eisenhower Av. and the Backlick Rd. station, new on ramps and off ramps for busses only would be necessary. On ramps from I-66 to West Falls Church, or new on/off ramps for quick transfer to Tysons 123.

I really doubt either solution would be implemented.

[Tarheelhombre]

I know this is not feasible, but since there is some talk about extending Metrorail to Quantico, I would love to see it eventually extend to Fredericksburg. Yeah, that is a pipedream, but I will dream.....

[normie]

Why not think completely out of the box? How about switching to a system that uses driverless cars?

Check out this interesting article in the Wall Street Journal. Driverless technologies were demonstrated in 1997 on a California freeway. Eight cars without drivers successfully operated just one car length apart at 65 miles per hour. In 2007, six cars negotiated the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency Urban Challenge, following all traffic rules in an urban environment with other vehicles.

The intriguing thing about this idea is people would own their own cars, so all we'd need to pay for would be the roads. There would be more flexibility to routes, and you'd never have to wait for a train again.

Just a thought... I'm sure there are some big challenges to putting an idea like this into action, but IMO since Nova is one of the youngest urban areas in the country maybe we should implement some ideas of the future. I like trains, but sometimes they just seem so last century.

Taking the Driver Out of the Car - WSJ.com