Read more coverage on the Silver Line

The long wait for Metrorail service to Dulles International Airport, western Fairfax County, and Loudoun County is almost over. Metro announced Monday that the Silver Line extension will open on Tuesday, November 15.

The six new stations along the 11.5-mile extension include Reston Town Center, Herndon, Innovation Center, Dulles International Airport, Loudoun Gateway, and Ashburn.

The new terminus at Ashburn is the farthest of any Metro line – more than 30 miles to the center of D.C. A trip from Metro Center to Dulles is expected to take 52 minutes. Ashburn to Union Station will take approximately 74 minutes.

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Metro still has a few last-minute items to finish along the line and has not yet gotten safety certification from the Washington Metrorail Safety Commission. But the transit agency says it is coordinating daily with the WMSC and expects to have it in time for the opening. An official ribbon cutting is expected, but not yet scheduled.t

Local transit agencies and Metro previously said they need about three weeks to prepare for the opening because they need to change bus routes to feed into the new stations, make new signs, change schedules, and update data for real-time arrival apps.

Meanwhile, Dulles Airport officials asked Metro to open a few days before the busy Thanksgiving rush, which traditionally begins the Friday before Thanksgiving and reaches its crescendo on the Wednesday before the holiday. Train riders to Dulles will find a somewhat familiar five-minute walk. It mirrors the same walk from Garage 1 and takes you underground through a series of halls with moving walkways and then up two escalators to the terminal and security checkpoints.

The $3 billion project, built by the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority, will open more than four years behind its original schedule and millions over budget after several construction problems like cracking concrete, rail issues, and more kept delaying the line’s opening.  The opening was further delayed by Metro’s train shortage, which was mostly resolved last week.

Meanwhile, development has boomed along the line. Local politicians, business owners, and residents have been frustrated — the stations have been built for months but had no trains serving them.

Virginia Sen. Mark Warner said he hopes the long delays and frustrations are forgotten once riders can jump on a train at Dulles airport or the other stations. He compared it to a lengthy, nightmarish home renovation.

“Once you get into your renovated house and you can enjoy the benefits of it, sometimes those (bad) memories fade,” he said. “That’s the best I can hope for when riders and visitors to the region get off the airport at Dulles and get on smoothly riding Metro… that these memories will fade.”

Sen. Tim Kaine says the new rail extension is a gateway for Northern Virginia residents.

“It’s another option to go to work, school, see friends, shop, and get to the airport to travel to see people across the country or even around the world,” he said. “This corridor is so dynamic, with so many different activities there that I think it’s really going to be a good connector for Northern Virginia and provide a way where people can get around without having to rely on cars. It’s good for the environment and good for peace of mind (of not having to deal with traffic).”

WMATA has traditionally opened every new station or extension on Saturdays (and one Sunday) since 1978 to have less pressure for opening day. Ridership on Saturdays has been about a third less busy than a typical weekday. The opening will be just two days before Dulles Airport’s 60th anniversary. It’s unclear why Metro chose November 15th as the opening day other than the prep time before Thanksgiving travel.

Riders who visit one of the new six stations on opening day will receive a commemorative pennant, a Metro tradition that started when the first station opened in 1976.

Metro opened the first five Silver Line stations back in July 2014.