Quick Summary
- Silver Line Phase 2, which brought Metro to Reston Town Center and Herndon, opened on November 15, 2022. The four-year mark is two weeks away.
- According to WMATA data shared with Fairfax County, the six Phase 2 stations averaged about 12,700 weekday trips in February 2025, up 16 percent from February 2024.
- Planners once hoped for 20,000 riders a day on the extension, so the line is still well below that early vision.
- Reston Town Center station averaged 1,908 weekday trips in February 2025, up 12 percent from the year before.
- Figures here are the latest we could verify. Metro publishes newer numbers, so check them before quoting.
In This Post
- A quick look back
- What the numbers say
- Why the line looks slower than hoped
- What riders and neighbors notice
- What to watch next
- Sources and reporting limits
- FAQ
A Quick Look Back
If you lived in Reston when the Silver Line first opened at Wiehle-Reston East in 2014, you remember how big a moment that was. The station became the western end of the line and the commuter garage there filled up fast. Then on November 15, 2022, Metro pushed the line farther west. Phase 2 added Reston Town Center, Herndon, Innovation Center, Dulles Airport, Loudoun Gateway and Ashburn.
The Reston Town Center station gave the town its second stop on the line, and the first one that sits inside walking distance of the shops, offices and apartments people think of as downtown Reston. That is a different kind of station from a park and ride.
What the Numbers Say
The best recent figures we found come from a March 2025 presentation to a Fairfax County advisory board, using WMATA data as of February 27, 2025. It said the six Phase 2 stations had served more than 9.25 million customer trips since opening in November 2022.
12,700 average weekday trips across all six Phase 2 stations in February 2025, a 16 percent increase over February 2024, according to WMATA data cited by Fairfax County.
Station by station, the average weekday trips in February 2025 looked like this, with the change from February 2024 in parentheses: Dulles Airport 3,410 (up 10 percent), Ashburn 2,985 (up 26 percent), Herndon 2,030 (up 12 percent), Reston Town Center 1,908 (up 12 percent), Innovation Center 1,751 (up 16 percent), and Loudoun Gateway 676 (up 24 percent).
So Reston Town Center was the fourth busiest of the six. The airport station leads, and the Airports Authority said in October 2023 that its station was the most popular on the extension and that about 70 percent of surveyed customers would otherwise have driven to Dulles.
20,000. That is the daily ridership Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority planners had hoped for when the extension was being planned in the early 2000s, according to a November 2023 FFXnow report.
Why the Line Looks Slower Than Hoped
Put the two numbers side by side and the Phase 2 stations are running at roughly two thirds of that early hope. Keep in mind the 20,000 figure and the Metro trip counts may not be measured the same way, so treat the comparison as a rough sense of scale, not a grade.
A Metro spokesperson, Jordan Pascale, told reporters in 2023 that many factors had changed since the early projections and that ridership had recovered unevenly. Remote and hybrid work is the obvious one. Office parks near the new stations also took time to fill.
Michael Hartnett, a senior research director at JLL, said in that same report that Reston Town Center has the most unique strengths of the new stops and is the most pedestrian friendly of the six. In other words, a station you can walk out of into a neighborhood has a different job than a station at the edge of a parking lot.
What Riders and Neighbors Notice
Hunter Mill District Supervisor Walter Alcorn said in the 2023 report that the extension has also cut down on the number of cars driving to and parking at the Wiehle-Reston East garage. That is a quiet benefit, and one you feel at rush hour on Sunrise Valley Drive more than you see it in a ridership table.
Anyone thinking about living near transit tends to ask the same practical questions. How long is the walk to the platform? Is there a bus connection for the evening? What does the street feel like after dark? Those answers vary a lot between Reston Town Center, Wiehle-Reston East and the stations farther west. If you are curious how the Metro corridor fits into the wider Reston picture, our Reston page is a good starting point.
What to Watch Next
Metro reports ridership regularly, so the year-over-year trend is the thing to follow. The 16 percent jump from February 2024 to February 2025 is encouraging. Whether that pace held through 2026 is something we could not confirm for this post, and we would rather say so than guess.
Also keep an eye on development near the stations. More homes and offices within walking distance is what turns a rail stop into a daily habit.
Sources and Reporting Limits
- Fairfax County Dulles Rail Transportation Improvement District advisory materials, “Silver Line Update,” March 25, 2025, citing WMATA data as of February 27, 2025 (station figures, 9.25 million trips, 12,700 average weekday trips). The narrative says 12,700 while the table total reads 12,760. We used both as the source gave them.
- FFXnow and Reston Now, “One year in, Silver Line Phase 2 ridership modest for Fairfax County stations,” November 22, 2023 (20,000 rider hope, quotes from Pascale, Alcorn and Hartnett).
- Northern Virginia Magazine, “Milestone: 1 Million Passengers Have Used Metro to Get to Dulles,” October 5, 2023 (airport station, 70 percent would have driven).
- WMATA press release, “Metro launches Silver Line Extension with opening ceremony,” November 15, 2022 (opening date). Wiehle-Reston East opened July 26, 2014.
- Limits: the newest station-level figures we could verify are from February 2025. Check WMATA’s ridership pages for current numbers before quoting. Different sources count trips differently.
FAQ
When did the Silver Line open to Reston Town Center?
Phase 2 opened on November 15, 2022. Wiehle-Reston East opened earlier, on July 26, 2014.
How busy is the Reston Town Center Metro station?
According to WMATA data cited by Fairfax County, it averaged 1,908 weekday trips in February 2025, up 12 percent from February 2024.
Is the Silver Line meeting its original ridership goals?
Not yet, based on the figures we found. Planners once hoped for 20,000 riders a day, and the six Phase 2 stations averaged about 12,700 weekday trips in February 2025.
If you are weighing a move near Metro in Reston or nearby and want a local read on the market, reach out to Nikki anytime.