A historic event for the airport Washington Dulles. All the more historic given that the hub that handles all the federal capital's international flights recently celebrated its 60th anniversary. On 15 November last year, Washington Dulles inaugurated its own metro station called "Washington Dulles International Airport".
A metro line slower than a car journey
It is part of the extension of the Silver Line, the first phase of which was opened in 2014. It will therefore have taken a further eight years to complete the additional 18 km between Reston station in Virginia and Ashburn in Virginia. Technical and geographical difficulties, as well as problems with cracks in the slabs covering the line, contributed to delaying the inauguration of the 4-year extension.
The new station is five minutes from the terminals and is connected by a conveyor belt. From the metro station, it takes an average of 55 minutes to reach the centre of Washington, in particular Metro Center station.. It is a journey that is still considerably longer than by car. The 38.5km journey from the centre of Washington takes 30 to 40 minutes by taxi during the day. However, the ticket costs 6 dollars, a very reasonable price compared with a taxi!
The opening of the airport's Metrorail station marks the end of Silver Line Express bus services from the airport. The buses ran between Dulles and the Wiehle-Reston East Metrorail station. The bus service ceased operating on 16 November.
The creation of a direct metro line will enable United Airlinesthe main company using Dulles offer a more accessible service, particularly compared with the capital's other airport, Washington Ronald Reagan.
An asset for the United hub
"As the largest airline in the Washington region, United is not only proud to consider Dulles International Airport as its hubbut also as an essential global gateway between our country's capital and the rest of the world", said Henry Bird, General Manager of United's airport operations at Dulles International Airport.
United's presence in Washington has made the Dulles hub one of the main international gateways to the United States. In addition to United Airlines, some 35 airlines serve 135 non-stop destinations, including 58 international cities.
Nearly 300 daily flights connect the Washington D.C. region with 41 other capitals around the world. With destinations as 'exotic' as Amman in Jordan and Lomé in Togo.
