DC Metro Silver Line clears hurdle

The Washington, D.C., Metrorail subway extension toward Dulles International Airport cleared a hurdle that had been holding up its potential to open, The Washington Post reports.

The agency that runs the airport and is building the subway line said that it has successfully completed tests of its automatic train control system, which had delayed a transfer of the equipment over to the Metro authority.

The Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority (MWAA) will now simulate a full day of service on the new tracks and stations on Jan. 25, before handing the line over to the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA).

The Metro agency has said it would need to conduct 90 days of testing on its own, before it allows passengers to ride the new train line.

The Silver Line is one of the most closely watched public transportation projects in the country. The new railway is being built in part with $900 million that was received from the federal government.

Trains are not scheduled to reach Dulles Airport until about 2018.