U.S. Input Sought to Save Rail To Dulles

William J. Howell (R-Stafford), speaker of the Virginia House of Delegates, said the setback is an opportunity to revisit the project's cost, contractor and funding.

Howell and others favor starting the project from scratch and redesigning it as bus rapid transit, which is dramatically cheaper.

"I think we need to at least look at other ways, maybe bring the rail to Tysons Corner and then have bus rapid transit to the airport," said Howell, who favors private investment, perhaps through the sale of the Dulles Toll Road, to finance Dulles rail.

But dozens of business owners along the Dulles corridor gathered for a news conference yesterday to urge quick approval of rail.

In his letter, Kaine reminded Peters and Simpson of why he believes the issues have been resolved and provided voluminous materials to make his arguments.

In 2006, the FTA certified the airports authority as having the technical capacity to handle the project, Kaine said. It had approved Metro planning documents calling for the transit authority to operate the new line.

And when Simpson told Kaine last summer that the project cost too much, Kaine asked for a target. He said he put authority and staff officials to work making cuts and got a provisional green light from the FTA saying cost concerns were gone after he cut about $300 million from the overall price tag.

Staff writer Lena H. Sun contributed to this report.