Contradictions Surface in Dulles Rail Talks

And last fall, Simpson and others offered congratulations to state officials by phone after they made $250 million in cuts to the project and said the reduction had settled the cost issue, Kaine said.

"There was no miscommunication," the governor said. "Those were very direct and positive conversations during the months of October and November."

FTA officials said project backers misread the significance of those communications. The letter certifying the airports authority was a preliminary step to be followed by a more thorough review of the agency's "technical capacity" to manage the project, they said.

And the provisional approval on cost reduction was conditional upon the airports authority to provide evidence, such as contractual change orders, that the cuts were real and would be accepted by the contractors. That evidence took months to produce, a senior FTA official said, and arrived at the agency only last week.

Yesterday, Simpson also mentioned a letter sent to the airports authority last week by Metro raising concerns about the authority's management of the project. The letter, Simpson said, highlights divisions and discord within the consortium of agencies behind the project. And it gives the FTA pause about whether the project is in good hands.

"They should be having a honeymoon period during this point, and they can't even agree on the eve of their wedding," he said.

Project backers said they are especially baffled by Simpson's assertion Thursday that the cost of the project's first phase exceeds $3 billion and that the project's cost-effectiveness rating is "low" and its financing rating "medium-low."

Two independent consultants who reviewed the project in the fall placed the cost at nearly the same amount: $2.59 billion. And an FTA report sent this week to the House Appropriations Committee on transit funding placed the project's cost-effectiveness rating at "medium-low" and its financing rating at "medium."

Kaine said his transportation team and the airports authority will work through the weekend to provide a response by Monday to the FTA's concerns. But he said he is not optimistic that federal funds will be granted.

The next step, he said, is to figure out whether the line can be built without federal money. Another consideration is whether to terminate the builder's contract, which carries an escalation clause that kicks in Feb. 1 and could increase the cost of the project.