Choices After the Dulles Rail Decision

There appears to be a blind spot in the discussion of the area's airport facilities. While a rail line to Dulles International Airport would no doubt improve the often long and frustrating trip, it would be very expensive. There is an area airport that already has Amtrak and MARC train service as well as light rail. That, of course, is Baltimore-Washington International Marshall Airport. The current drawback to fully using BWI is the lack of an extensive international schedule, which could be remedied much faster and at less cost than constructing a Dulles rail line.

While a Dulles rail line may make economic sense in the future, depending on population growth, consideration should be given to making better use of the existing airport assets, and, in particular, BWI.

JAMES AKERS

Ellicott City

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Regarding The Post's reporting on the Federal Transit Administration's objections to the Dulles rail proposal:

None of the information is a surprise, but a solution does exist. More than $1 billion of the cost apparently comes from doing a detour off the Route 267 right of way to aid a few landowners in Tysons Corner, but even with the hugely expensive detour, planners admit they will still need feeder buses to serve the Tysons area. Just stay on Route 267 all the way to Dulles, save more than $1 billion, avoid the elevated railway that has many people upset, avoid the engineering difficulties of moving utilities, and the problems are pretty much solved -- with enough money left over for a people mover to pamper those who want to travel by rail to the shopping malls.

RONALD K. HENRY

Vienna