The Washington Post: Dulles Rail Costs Could Increase

The Washington Post reported this morning that the first phase of the Metrorail line through Tysons Corner to Reston, could run as much as $150 million over budget.

The project is going to come in “very close” to its projected price tag of $2.8 billion, Executive Director Pat Nowakowski told the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority board during a meeting Wednesday.  The 11 miles of rail will run from Falls Church through Tysons Corner to Wiehle Avenue in Reston and is scheduled to open in 2013, the Post reported

“We have some work to do to try to bring that in,” Nowakowski said. “We have a lot of challenges.”

Among the issues, he said, is whether Metro will pay for some of the changes it wants, including a safety system that alerts train operators when a worker is on the tracks. The move complies with recommendations made by the National Transportation Safety Board, officials said. The NTSB recommendations came after two incidents in 2006 in which Metro workers were killed while on the tracks, the Post reported.

The $150 million estimate is the scenario if “some of the worst fears come through,” he said after the meeting.

Cost overruns could be recouped from “different places,” Nowakowski said, including through “reducing the project’s scope.” He declined to elaborate because he said he wanted to review the issues with the project partners, including the counties, the state of Virginia and Metro, the Post story said.

The Airports Authority is actually building the subway line. At completion Metro will run it.

Here's the complete Post story.