RK&K leaders joined executives from Metro, U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, as well as other federal, state, and local leaders to celebrate the opening of the Silver Line Extension at Washington Dulles International Airport in Northern Virginia.
Metro launches Silver Line Extension with opening ceremony; welcomes customers to #RideSilver to six new stations on #YourMetro. https://t.co/Oa3OaKE93q pic.twitter.com/qrtJJMOKOK
— Metro (@wmata) November 15, 2022
A crowd of nearly 500 witnessed the successful grand opening of the much-anticipated Silver Line Phase II extension, for Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA). It is the largest expansion of Washington D.C.’s Metrorail system in eight years.
The event was followed by an inaugural train ride with about 100 customers who previously took part in a special communications campaign to receive a “Silver Ticket” for the special preview ride.
First train leaving @Dulles_Airport with event attendees toward Loudon Gateway. Look 👀 at that great @Dulles_Airport architecture. #wmata #ridesilver #yourmetro pic.twitter.com/vvxxEkKFkm
— Metro (@wmata) November 15, 2022
The latest Silver Line extension connects people to six new stations and adds more than 11 miles of new track. One of the most anticipated features, the Silver Line now connects passengers directly to Dulles International Airport Station, without the need for a shuttle service.
The project also improves connectivity and efficiency for 420,000 people living within five miles of the new stations in Northern Virginia. The extension increases mobility and provides greater access to jobs, entertainment, and shopping destinations.
“The Silver Line extension is going to make life more affordable, give people better access to jobs throughout the region, reduce the time that drivers sit in traffic on our roads, and provide a level of convenience getting to Dulles Airport that has been a long time coming,” said Secretary Buttigieg.
They just opened up the Ashburn Metro station and the folks who will ride the first ever public Silver Line train out of here are getting on. #wmata pic.twitter.com/1wqxifwylb
— Tom Roussey (@tomroussey7news) November 15, 2022
WMATA enlisted RK&K’s communications experts and in-house creatives to provide management, creative services, and outreach and event management to educate the region and future riders about this transformative new service now available to them.
RK&K’s team was brought on board to prepare for the opening day event. Their outreach activities leading up to the grand opening included developing and refining the Silver Line Extension website which includes an overview, station, silver line updates, FAQs, and communications toolkit pages and the Silver Bulletin newsletters which include content, infographics, photography and video, and social content. The team also facilitated the translation of all materials into Spanish and Korean.
“We’re humbled WMATA trusted us to build out and execute a communications plan around the opening of the Silver Line Extension and to educate the region about the new service,” said Technical Manager Kim Troiani.
RK&K’s experts visited several sites to photograph Silver Line stations and events. The team also developed multiple informative videos, including an overview of the project, tours of the stations, and new rider and opening day excitement highlights. The team also developed promotional materials for the grand opening celebration and included a logo, invitations, microsite, signage, event program, attendee tags, and station welcome banners, as well as social media content and graphics.
The extension of the Silver Line completes the final phase of the full 23-mile expansion that began construction in 2009. It is one of the largest capital construction projects in the U.S. With the Silver Line Extension opening, Metrorail now serves 97 stations on a 128-mile system in Virginia, Maryland, and the District of Columbia.
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