Washington Dulles International Airport station

Dulles International Airport
Coordinates	38°57′21″N 77°26′52″W / 38.95583°N 77.44778°W / 38.95583; -77.44778Coordinates: 38°57′21″N 77°26′52″W / 38.95583°N 77.44778°W / 38.95583; -77.44778
Line(s)	Silver Line (planned)
Platforms	1 island platform
Tracks	2
Construction
Structure type	Above ground
Other information
Station code	N12
History
Opening	2020; 3 years' time (2020) (projected)
Services
From 2020   Preceding station   Washington Metro   Following station Loudoun Gateway toward Ashburn Silver Line Innovation Center toward Largo Town Center

Dulles International Airport is a planned Washington Metro station at Washington Dulles International Airport in Loudoun County, Virginia on the Silver Line. It is scheduled to begin operation in 2020, linking Dulles by rail to Washington, D.C. and Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport via Rosslyn. The station was originally planned to be underground, and feature a tunnel to the Dulles baggage claim area. Current plans call for an above-ground station next to daily parking garage 1.

A Washington Metro station had been considered for Dulles since at least 1969, but formal plans were not made until 2002, with the first phase of the project commencing in 2004. According to a 1969–1970 engineering study, a full-scale Metro station was planned (but never built) 28 feet (8.6 m) below a parking lot. The originally planned single-side platform station would not meet current Metro specifications for a center platform, which is necessary since current plans would extend service beyond the airport to western suburbs. Plans for an above-ground facility drew concerns from the Virginia Historic Preservation Office regarding the visual impact on the Eero Saarinen-designed terminal. Consultants estimated that an above-ground station would save $640 million in construction costs.

On April 6, 2011, the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority (MWAA) Board voted 9 to 4 to build an underground station 550 feet away from the terminal, rather than an above-ground station 1,150 feet away from the terminal, at an additional cost of $330 million. Construction of the underground station would have extended its expected opening to mid-2017. However, on July 20, 2011, the MWAA board reversed its previous vote and approved an above-ground station due to pressure from state and local officials to reduce overall project costs.

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