Opinion Wanted on Rail Transport in Region
Virginia Department of Rail and Public Transportation seeking public input via online survey.
By Hank Silverberg
CORRESPONDENT
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What is the future of railroads through Virginia?
The state’s Department of Rail and Public Transportation is looking for public input on that question and has put a survey online for you to express your opinion.
It’s going to help determine the future of rail transport over the next 20 years, a decision that could cost billions of dollars but could also have a big impact on how you travel.
Right now, the tracks through Fredericksburg, Stafford, and Spotsylvania carry CSX freight trains, and Amtrak and Virginia Railway Express passenger trains. At times there are bottlenecks, with the passenger trains often caught behind the slower moving freight trains.
VRE runs eight trains a day on weekdays through the Fredericksburg corridor and has plans to increase that, adding weekend service.
Fredericksburg City Council Member Will Mackintosh (At-Large) wants to see that commitment grow.
“I’d really love to see us support the VRE investment in becoming a rail provider all day, seven days a week rather than falling round commuters,” he said.
To do that, he told the Advance, there needs to be more coordination between the railroads and the local bus transit systems. He noted the substantial distance between the downtown Fredericksburg train station and the FXBGO! bus hub on U.S. 1 in the College Heights neighborhood.
Amtrak runs three round trip trains a day through Fredericksburg. The number of freight trains varies between 23 and 40 per day, according to CSX.
There are plans for a third track running all 108 miles from Union Station in Washington D.C. to Richmond. But so far, only 9.2 miles of that third track has been finished in the Quantico area.
Just recently, construction began on a new $2 billion Long Bridge over the Potomac River that will allow for four tracks and could alleviate part of the bottle neck. The money for that has come from both the state and federal government.
Ion Ollis, administrator of the Fredericksburg Area Metropolitan Planning Organization (FAMPO), told the Advance that filling in the gaps in the third track from D.C. to Massaponax in Spotosylvania should be among DRPT’s major goals over the next few years, with a third track to Richmond as the ultimate goal.
“We’d like to see the design work funded for the third track by 2030,” he said.
The third track would allow for more trains carrying both freight and passengers. Ollis says the long-term goal would be one train an hour passing through Fredericksburg. But a new rail bridge has to be constructed across the Rappahannock River and Ollis said there is no funding for that at present.
In Stafford County, Board of Supervisors Chairman Deuntay Diggs would like to see passenger rail service aimed at reducing the county’s growing traffic congestion.
“Having additional options to take some of that traffic, as long as it’s convenient and has some trips and run times that are convenient, would be good,” he said, noting that many of the county’s residents travel north to D.C. for work.
He said there’s no real concern about additional rail traffic “as long as it’s safe and reliable.”
The DRPT survey is open for the public now. The agency is soliciting responses from local residents, commuters, businesses, and farmers on everything from enhanced passenger service to the impact on highway rail crossings.
In the coming months, the University of Virginia’s Institute for Engagement and Negotiation will hold a series of public events on rail traffic in the state. No dates, times, or places have been announced yet.
The survey is available now through March 27. You can take the survey here.
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