Metro is putting together a budget for next year that predicts the new rail line to Dulles International Airport may open three months late and could have 1 million fewer riders than originally expected. The budget is the first official acknowledgement from Metro that the $6 billion rail project will not open on time, though the three-month delay Metro envisions is only half of the six-month delay that the project contractor said is possible. Any delay would be a blow to Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority, which insists the first phase of the project is “on time and on budget” and which is still trying to negotiate financing for the second phase.

Metro, which will take over the Silver Line after the authority finishes building its first phase to Tysons Corner, released documents Monday showing the Silver Line’s start date in Spring 2014, instead of the January 2014 opening promised by MWAA.