<div id="subtitle">Federal Transit Administration gives key approval to plan to extend DC rail to Dulles airport</div><div><p>Federal officials have approved a plan to extend the D.C. region's Metrorail system to Dulles International Airport, nearly a year after cost concerns threatened to kill the $5.2 billion project.</p><p>The Federal Transit Administration's approval, granted Wednesday, is critical to obtaining the $900 million in federal funding needed for the 23-mile extension in northern Virginia. However, the plan still needs final approval from U.S. Transportation Secretary Mary Peters, Congress, and the Office of Management and Budget.</p><p>Proponents have said the project would ease congestion in traffic-choked northern Virginia and give tourists easy access to the popular subway system. More than 24.7 million passengers passed through Dulles in 2007, according to the airport's Web site.</p><img src="http://admatch-syndication.mochila.com/images/ad.gif?aid=38119624&bid=informcom" /></div><div id="copyright"><div>

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