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D.C. Airport-Rail Link Heading to Congress

Posted by: Nate Berg

9 January 2009 - 9:00am

Plans to expand rail transit to link Washington D.C with Dulles International Airport have received federal backing and can now head to Congress for funding approval.

"After a series of regulatory setbacks in 2008, rail to Dulles was revived last month when the Federal Transit Administration discarded long-standing skepticism about the project's cost and management and sent it on to Peters for final action. Yesterday's news marks what state, local and congressional boosters said is the government's irreversible approval of the project."

"Peters's action releases the project to Congress for a 60-day comment period. After that, the project qualifies for a $900 million federal transit grant that state, local and congressional leaders have said is essential to its success."

"Once the money has been released, the remaining work can proceed unfettered by federal regulatory limitations. Before last night's action, federal regulators gave project managers incremental permission to order rail cars and begin utility relocation work in Tysons Corner. But the money for that work had to come from nonfederal sources."

Full Story: U.S. Transportation Chief Backs Dulles Rail Project
Source: The Washington Post, January 8, 2009
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