Silver Line Phase 1 Pushed to 2014?

At the end of February, representatives from the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA) said they thought passengers would be riding on the brand new Silver Line by the end of 2013, but that already appears to have changed.

Officials previously told Patch there are really two important dates coming up for the project's first phase: completion of construction and the day passengers begin riding.

The Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority (MWAA), the agency tasked with building Metro’s 23-mile Silver Line from East Falls Church to Ashburn, expects to complete construction around the end of the summer and turn the line over to WMATA.

Safety inspections are likely to be done by the end of the year, according to a WMATA rep, but delays on a rail yard at West Falls Church appears to be blocking progress.

According to an article in the Washington Examiner, the rail yard will not be done until mid-January 2014.

In the report, Metro officials say they are working on adjustments to put the line back on track, though they told the Examiner "they expect the airports authority to pay for any delays."

MWAA was reportedly testing an 8-car train on the new line Tuesday.