Metro's safety watchdog agreed with the transit agency's assessment of the Silver Line extension to Dulles International Airport and Loudoun County, which is scheduled to open Tuesday.
The Washington Metrorail Safety Commission said Thursday it has completed its review of Metro's Silver Line Phase 2 safety certification.
"The WMSC today provided Metrorail with the WMSC’s concurrence on Metrorail’s safety certification of Silver Line Phase 2, which allows the project to be activated for passenger use," the commission said in a news release.
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The opening of six new stations – Reston Town Center, Herndon, Innovation Center, Washington Dulles International Airport, Loudoun Gateway and Ashburn – completes the 23-mile expansion project that began in 2009.
The $3 billion extension adds another 11.4 miles of track west and northwest from the Wiehle-Reston East station.
The opening of Phase 2 has been pushed back multiple times. It was originally scheduled to open in 2018.
In recent weeks, Metro officials had said they could not open the new line until safety regulators allowed the system's 7000-series railcars to return to use. They had been pulled from service after a derailment, but a plan to return enough cars to service by Thanksgiving allowed Metro to set a date to open the extension.
