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Rail to air

January 12, 2009 12:35 am

ALTHOUGH it doesn't directly affect the Rappahannock region, federal approval of rail transportation to Washington Dulles International Airport is worthy of applause. On Wednesday, U.S. Transportation Secretary Mary Peters gave the $5.2 billion project her blessing, clearing the way for construction of the Silver Line.

When Dulles was built in 1962 it was considered a bit of a boondoggle. Located 25 miles outside of Washington in the Virginia countryside, the airport's elegant design seemed oddly out of place amid the cow fields. Now growth has encompassed the facility, and its location seems prescient.

Building a rail line from Falls Church to the airport and from there to Loudoun County will ease congestion on the Capital Beltway, the airport access road, the Dulles Toll Road, and in Tysons Corner. Rep. Frank Wolf, R-Fairfax, calls the project the "most significant transportation issue for the next decade or more" for Northern Virginia. He and former Sen. John Warner, former Rep. Tom Davis, and Gov. Tim Kaine had all lobbied for federal approval.

The Dulles rail line is a plum ripe for the picking--and enjoying by 2013 or so.