MCLEAN, Va. — After meeting with Metro General Manager Paul Wiedefeld Tuesday morning, Virginia Sen. Tim Kaine said he is encouraged by the beleaugured transit agency’s progress and believes that Metro’s safety culture is going in the right direction.

“I have been a fan of what Paul Wiedefeld has done with really putting safety first,” Kaine said. “Metro has to continue to do a better and better job, and we have to do our job in Congress to make sure that there’s ample funding for Metro to operate.”

Kaine was out and about on the Metro system on Tuesday. He took a train from Tysons Corner to the Wiehle-Reston East Station before hopping on a bus and surveying progress on the Silver Line extension to Dulles International Airport.

Crews are about half done building Phase Two of the Silver Line, which includes six new stations to serve Reston, Herndon, the airport and Ashburn.

“I’m very excited to see it,” Kaine said. “It’s just a necessary project to keep up with the growth of Northern Virginia.”

Phase One of the Silver Line, which opened in July 2014, included four stations in the Tysons Corner area and one in Reston. As governor, Kaine helped secure funding for the first phase of the new line.