Kaine says Dulles rail could be back on track
By Holly Hobbs
Gov. Tim Kaine (D) led a two-hour discussion in Ashburn March 31, hosting a town hall meeting before about 250 people at Farmwell Station Middle School.He answered residents' questions and talked about the results of this year's General Assembly session, which ended last month. He fielded questions on the environment, the merits of coal production in the state, gun control and mental health.
Noticeably absent from the discussion were questions about the state's transportation issues.
Kaine commented on the lack of transportation questions and reserved the night's final query for that topic. Former Loudoun supervisor candidate Phyllis Randall (D), who lost to Supervisor Lori Waters (R-Broad Run) last November, asked the question.
“What are you doing to put transportation money back in the budget?” Randall asked.
Kaine and the state's legislators will reconvene in Richmond later this spring for a special session on transportation funding.
Kaine said the state is seriously lacking funding for its transportation problems due to the combination of the repeal of the abusive driver fees, the Virginia Supreme Court's decision that the Northern Virginia and Hampton Roads transportation authorities could not collect taxes, and the federal government's pulling funding for extending Metrorail to Dulles.
“Rail to Dulles is very difficult without federal funding,” Kaine said.
Although Kaine said it was too soon to announce that the rail project was back on track, he said he might soon be announcing good news for the Dulles area.
The governor said he and U.S. Transportation Secretary Mary Peters have had “a series of productive meetings over the last couple of months” on the rail funding.
“We need more public transportation in this state,” Kaine said. “Rail to Dulles serves this very critical asset.”
Contact the reporter at hhobbs@timespapers.com