

Carlos Coreas, left, and Jose Salvador shine the area near the escalators at the site of the Wiehle-Reston East Station of the Silver Line rail extension on April 29, 2014, in Tysons, Va. (Jahi Chikwendiu/The Washington Post)

Tuesday was a significant step forward for folks eager to take their first ride on the Silver Line. Now that Metro is in control of the rail line, officials can begin testing and training their personnel with an eye toward a summer 2014 opening.

After all that hand wringing (what do you mean, the speakers don’t meet fire code?) and all those delays (seven months late!) all it took to hand over the $5.6 billion project was this two-page memo. Here’s a peek at what it said. Note: Even though the handover happened Tuesday, the memo was signed last Friday.