Political leaders from across Virginia convened recently for an event in northern Virginia to announce $729,000,000 in federal funding secured for Transforming Rail in Virginia (TRV) projects. Additionally, the board of directors of the Virginia Passenger Rail Authority voted unanimously to take a massive step forward in the building of a new Potomac River rail crossing, awarding the first contracts to design and build the Virginia-side aspects of the project, a centerpiece of the TRV initiative.
The new rail bridge project, which will help eliminate the bottleneck created by the 119-year-old Long Bridge crossing the Potomac is a key component of a $3.7 billion TRV package assembled four years ago by then-Gov. Ralph Northam to transform rail service in the commonwealth. Upon its expected completion in 2030, Amtrak will be able to provide almost hourly passenger train service between Henrico County’s Staples Mill Road station and DC’s Union Station, as well as expand commuter rail services provided by the Virginia Railway Express.
Train passengers won’t be the only beneficiaries of these railway improvements. “We’re unlocking a freight bottleneck, too,” said Jennifer DeBruhl, executive director of the Virginia Department of Rail and Public Transportation.
CSX Corp. owns Long Bridge and is selling Virginia 350 miles of railroad rights-of-way and 225 of existing tracks, including 112 miles of right of way and 29 miles of track between Richmond and DC. Prior to the 2019 agreement, CSX’s ownership of most of Virginia’s railroads and rights of way had historically often been an impediment to improving passenger rail transportation in the state. CSX director of state relations for Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia Randy Marcus said the new rail projects “are essential to expanding capacity, improving fluidity, and separating freight and passenger operations in this congested corridor.”
The day after the Virginia Passenger Rail Authority voted to approve the Potomac River crossing contracts, US Sens. Mark Warner and Tim Kaine, Gov. Glenn Youngkin, and US Reps. Don Beyer (VA-08), Gerry Connolly (VA-11), Abigail Spanberger (VA-07), and Jennifer McClellan (VA-04) held an event in Arlington announcing the $729 million federal grant further supporting the construction of an additional rail bridge across the Potomac to supplement the Long Bridge.
“Long Bridge is the connection between the Northeast and the Southeast, and there’s nothing that can really happen in terms of growing our rail usage both for passenger and freight if you don’t deal with Long Bridge,” said Kaine at the event. The Long Bridge expansion is estimated to contribute $1.1 billion annually to the national economy and support 17,750 jobs.
The new funding comes via a passenger rail grant program as part of the bipartisan infrastructure law, which Warner, Kaine, Beyer, Connolly, and Spanberger helped pass in 2021 and was announced as part of a series of grants awarded by the US Department of Transportation this week for major rail projects.
https://vadogwood.com/2023/12/08/major-passenger-rail-improvements-are-on-their-way-to-virginia/
Comment: My local paper had front page articles on this subject all last week. As a long time happy user of our VRE commuter service, I was excited. I fell in love with passenger train travel during my time in Germany. I even had part of my kitchen from Ikea delivered to me by train from Munich to Augsburg. It was a normal thing. I was amazed by the ICE trains and used them often. Trains are an important part of everyday life in Europe. We’ll never match European trains, but we can surely do better.
I remember when the Deutsche Bundesbahn took over the DDR’s train system under reunification. They complained about the lack of electrification and the deteriorating ties and tracks. I rode and walked some of those DDR lines. It looked just like the US rail system. Although I’m sure it wasn’t all like that. We trained on sabotaging prestressed, reinforced concrete ties and continuously welded rails that were common at least in Poland in the 80s.
But back to the railways in Virginia. This is a bipartisan success. The TRV was initiated under the Northam administration. Prior Republican and Democratic administrations pushed for rail service improvements before him. And Youngkin is following suit. It’s good to see this consistency and prudence in Virginia politics. Of course, one only has to experience rush hour traffic on I-95 in northern Virginia a few times to see the wisdom in expanding passenger rail service.
TTG
https://www.nbcnews.com/tech/tech-news/feds-grant-6-billion-high-speed-rail-projects-rcna128508
https://www.kimley-horn.com/project/transforming-rail-virginia-program/
This should not be a partisan issue. The demand load already exists, continues to grow and is not going away. There will never be enough money or enough political will to build enough paved roads and Potomac River crossings to accommodate the vehicular bottleneck of DC. Rail is the best default choice given that rights-of-way already exist. I believe the VRE grand master plan includes expansion south to Ashland, Virginia in Hanover County with a stop in the vicinity of Carmel Church / Ruther Glen in Caroline County. An additional rail storage yard and shops would located near Ashland. I too have ridden the VRE from Manassas and from Spotsylvania into DC as a convenient way to avoid I-95 / I-66 congestion. VRE and Maryland MARC were exploring the possibility of running thru trains thru Union Station to termination points in the other state as a way of alleviating the necessity of detraining at Union Station and re-boarding on the other commuter railroad.
Shako,
I think, in addition to VRE expansion, Amtrak is planning a more regular schedule between Richmond and DC. I attended several weeks of training in Maryland that required me to switch to MARC from VRE at Union Station over 20 years ago. Once I figured out the schedule, it was easy. I actually enjoyed it. I was used to doing a lot of that in Germany.
The Potomac has long been a physical and symbolic wall. The great eastern cities of NY, Philly, and B’more competed to service the west with DC somewhat an after-thought, though eventually DC to the west was also a priority.
I will wait and see. I too love European rail systems and cant stand the state of the system in the metro DC area. I live near Tyson’s Corner. Although I work from home I go into the office a couple of times a month. I live 14 miles from my office but it still takes me 1 hour plus to take public transport each way. It isnt like I live in Winchester. I have been here for 20 years now and it has not gotten better. If you do want to live right next to a rail/metro line you can expect to pay significantly more for housing. They need to expand metro lines, expand the bus operating schedule. Many workers in the area work for the federal government, but this includes positions that are outside of normal 9-5 business hours but many of the most convenient buses run only during limited day time hours and many do not work early or late hours at all.
In my recent trip to Iceland and England I was able to get all over London late in the evening, early in the morning, using the metro and buses. Try getting to DC or around DC late in the evening or early in the morning. Uber is your best chance in such a case. We will never get like London, Paris, Rome or Berlin, but we can do much better.
Congratulations to the federal government employees and all their contractors for receiving federally subsidized commutes to work. The Acela corridor heads south!
As to Europe’s railroads, they were designed for passenger service not freight, unlike most of America’s. Secondly, make sure to say thanks to the Mighty Eighth Air Force for blowing up all that old crap between 1943 and 1945.
https://www.mightyeighth.org/
Balance the budget in cities that want these trains first. From there, tax people who want it until it has enough funding for 10 years then yes, great idea.
Unfortunately what will happen is everyone gets taxed but mainly people who will never use the train or live anywhere near it to benefit from it. The poor, homeless and criminals will also ride it for free and drain city finances even more.
babelthuap,
Unlike the federal government, cities and states do balance their budgets even if it hurts. That usually does mean taxes. The poor, homeless and criminals probably will ride trains, but it’s more likely they use roads which are also heavily funded by the federal government. Even airlines depend on federal funding.
TTG,
LOL California is $68 billion in the hole. Their rail went nowhere, just like Michigan’s.
https://www.insurancejournal.com/news/west/2023/12/12/751697.htm
Fred,
Newsome has to balance that before he submits the budget in January. Youngkin has to do the same here in Virginia although he’s not facing that kind of potential shortfall.
Babel,
I can see how a broad national train system might end the “fly over” conditions which plague the middle of the nation though. They are ignored. It costs so much less to move freight by rail than by truck it could open a lot of manufacturing business opportunities to a large chunk of the nation.
Balance the budget? It’s a chicken/egg dilemma. Get the economy rolling, payroll taxes balance it. Sometimes you gotta spend money to make money.
I guess, by that measure, only people who have school aged children should fund schools? Society is made better by all such projects so everyone, to one extent or another, benefits from them.
If we are able to opt in or out of taxes, I for one would opt out of useless international wars, supporting governments like the Saudis and Israel. It just doesnt work like that.
John Mearsheimer goes on the record about the atrocious genocide that Israel is committing in Gaza. Plenty of documentation as befits a scholar of his eminence. If you don’t live in NY City, consider yourselves additionally fortunate at this time in not having to view the front pages of the Jewish owned tabloids while you wait in the supermarket check out lines. Utterly vile.
https://mearsheimer.substack.com/p/death-and-destruction-in-gaza
I worked for a few months at a research institute in Amsterdam. When I showed up the first day with my rental car the Dutch guys fell out of their chairs laughing. ‘Take your car back to the airport and we will send a Phd student out with you to help you buy a bicycle.”
My colleagues there had two bicycles – one that they rode from their home to the train station, and another one that they rode from the train station to the institute (going in reverse of course when they went home at the end of the day). It was a good system. All this to say that the effective rail in Europe is often part of a larger system.
Are any of those lines in VA [going to be] electrified? It’s been a while, but I’ve taken Amtrak through DC (to WV, and Charlottesville), and I recall the 1/2 wait in DC to switch engines.
Running catenary South (& West) from DC would be a great step. Better for the environment, and riders wouldn’t be choking on diesel fumes in the tunnels under the Capitol!
elkern,
There was talk under Northam to extend the electrified Northeast Corridor down to Richmond. Don’t know if that’s in the present plans.
I guess that would be Amtrak decision and money anyway, where OP is really about VA State transit system.