U.S. Input Sought to Save Rail To Dulles
Kaine Expresses Readiness to Work With Regulators

By Amy Gardner
Washington Post Staff Writer
Saturday, February 2, 2008

Virginia Gov. Timothy M. Kaine (D) asked regulators yesterday to tell him how to change the plan for the Metrorail extension to Dulles International Airport to qualify for federal funding, striking a conciliatory tone but offering no specific changes himself.

Sources close to the project, speaking on condition of anonymity because of the sensitive nature of the negotiations with the U.S. Transportation Department, said the governor thought the best strategy to revive the troubled project was to show the state's willingness to work with the federal government. Offering specific suggestions without such guidance was impossible, Kaine said.

State leaders are willing to look at anything, big or small, to meet federal approval, including project management, financing and oversight, the sources said.

The bottom line, Kaine said in an interview after sending the letter to the Transportation Department and Federal Transit Administration, is that he wants them to tell him, in specific terms, what Virginia must do. "If not," he said, "we are kicking a ball at a moving goal post."

Kaine's letter was written in response to the Jan. 24 FTA decision that rail to Dulles would not qualify for federal funding without major changes to the project's cost and management. In his letter, Kaine reiterated his belief that each of the issues had been addressed previously. He included hundreds of pages of documents to support that claim, and he emphasized "the strength of the current project and its compliance with the federal statutes."

But even as the governor held fast to that view, he also made clear -- in agreeable, nonconfrontational language -- that he wants direction from Washington on how to fix the project.

"We want to fully understand your concerns and then look creatively at how to resolve them to allow the project to continue forward," Kaine wrote. "If we need to make additional adjustments -- small or large -- to proceed forward into final design, we are ready to explore those with you."

Kaine's response went to Transportation Secretary Mary Peters and FTA chief James S. Simpson, who had told the governor and five of Virginia's congressional leaders that the $5 billion Dulles rail project was unlikely to receive $900 million in federal funding. Kaine, U.S. Sen. John W. Warner (R-Va.) and many other political and business leaders said they were stunned by the news, which dashed hopes for a long-awaited connection between the nation's capital and its busiest airport.

The FTA issued a short statement upon receiving Kaine's letter: "The agency will review those documents in the coming days and respond accordingly."

Simpson and Peters raised three main issues: that the project is too expensive and does not meet the agency's cost-effectiveness standards; that the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority, which is managing the project for the state, is not qualified to oversee such a large transit construction contract; and that Metro is not financially strong enough to operate the 23-mile line without a dedicated source of revenue to run its existing system.

Metro General Manager John B. Catoe Jr. took issue yesterday with Simpson's concerns about Metro's ability to operate the proposed line.

In a letter reaffirming Metro's support for the Dulles project to airports authority chief James Bennett, Catoe said that "recent and routine staff-to-staff communication on the need to resolve certain technical issues is being interpreted as a serious problem." Catoe said the issues "do not rise to the level of significance that is being attached to it by the FTA or the media."

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.