Washington DC (Map, News) - Metro faces a $7 billion backlog of capital and maintenance needs that remain "unfunded and dire" even without extending a new track to Washington Dulles International Airport, Federal Transit Administrator James Simpson told The Examiner Friday in an interview that sheds new light on why the project likely will not be funded.

Simpson, who held a press conference Thursday detailing the grave problems surrounding the multibillion rail expansion and why it can't receive a key $900 million in federal funds, also said the Kaine administration never offered any proof that it had made promised cost cuts.

Those issues, coupled with the project not meeting cost-benefit standards, are major reasons why it almost certainly won't move forward.

After the FTA asked the Kaine administration in August to trim about $300 million from the cost of the first 11.6 miles of track, the agency never received any proof, in the form of change orders, that the savings were "real and not pie in the sky," he said.

"As we neared the end of the rainbow, we had nothing quantifiable," Simpson told The Examiner's Barbara Hollingsworth Friday.

Virginia Transportation Secretary Pierce Homer said the issue is a matter of paperwork. The change orders were executed in December and communicated verbally to the FTA's consultant on the project.

"I think the difference of opinion here is that the consultant said 'those are fine, we are going to accept about $240 million worth of those cuts,' " he said.

Metro spokeswoman Lisa Farbstein would not comment on the $7 billion worth of needs or offer documentation on the issue Friday afternoon.

Jim Graham, a Metro board member, said the figure sounds "extremely high."

"I don't know what it is, I don't think it's that much," he said.

The deficit is worsened by Metro's lack of a dedicated funding source, which has been a source of contention in Maryland, Virginia and the District for years and factored in the FTA's decision on Dulles Rail.

Simpson's announcement, though not official, sent local leaders into a fury and left supporters of the project blindsided. Officials were so confident they would receive the funding, they began utility work to clear the way.

Homer, at a press conference Friday, said about $140 million in state and federal funding already has been spent.

wflook@dcexaminer.com