The Virginian-Pilot
©
RICHMOND
The revival of passenger rail service between Norfolk and Richmond is one step closer to becoming reality.
Gov. Bob McDonnell is expected to announce today that Virginia has signed a deal with Norfolk Southern Railway Company to upgrade tracks that run between Norfolk and Petersburg so they are suitable for passenger trains.
Work on the improvements is scheduled to begin in 2011 and will be funded with an $87 million rail enhancement grant. In addition to track upgrades and related enhancements, the project also will include construction of a new track connection near Petersburg.
After the work is completed, passengers will be able to board an Amtrak train at Harbor Park in Norfolk and travel to Richmond or other points north. Passenger rail service to South Hampton Roads ended in 1977; it could resume within three years.
Virginia is in negotiations with CSX to make appropriate improvements to its tracks for passenger rail and with Amtrak about train service.
The new route would become part of Amtrak's regional Virginia service. Trains traveling those tracks would operate at speeds up to 79 mph. It's unclear what the fares for the ride would be.
Pilot reporter Debbie Messina contributed to this article
Julian Walker, 804-697-1564, julian.walker@pilotonline.com
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Congratulations
Brad Face and Harry Lester, take a bow. It is amazing what competent men can do when they simply will not accept no for an answer.
grant money
Hopefully when they take back the scammed funding that HRT and norfolk illegally obtained from the state and federal tyaxpayers, they will cover this $87 million cost.
Great news
This is great news, and fervent hope is that the light rail will be extended through the Beach so that residents of the largest City in the Commonwealth of Virginia will have light rail access to passenger rail to Richmond and thence to the Amtrak system to wherever they need to travel. This is important for our visitor industry, for the military, for economic development, and simply for us, the citizens of this city. While the Norfolk/HRT partnership has had its problems, the management issues seem to have been sorted out, and the TOD in Norfolk has shown the value of this additional means of access, and we can do the same at the Beach while benefitting from the management changes at HRT.
Great for business & travel ton RIC & DCA & points North/South
Hop the train and use your laptop/pda for work all the way! No need to worry about the tunnels, traffic or weather issues!
No worry about getting to the airport 2-3 hours early for a short flight!
Union station in DC is a fabulous terminal with mall like stores/food places through out!
Although nice in theory…
Using existing rails presents a problem I experienced a few years ago. The cargo trains have track priority. Since they are the heart of the money making part of rail, and they often have perishable goods being shipped, they do and should have priority over passenger rail. This will cause delays. I spent 4 hours on a platform waiting for a train delayed for this reason.
I’m not against passenger rail, just letting everyone know, it isn’t without its issues.
The great thing about
The great thing about modifying the existing track is that it should help both the passenger rail and the cargo rail. This project really kills two birds with one stone, and shows great initiative by the McDonnell Administration. Even with the Amtrak costs don't break even (which they probably will) the increase in cargo capacity/speed should more than cover the project.
Don't mean to burst your
Don't mean to burst your bubble, but the planning stage for this project was started under Timothy Kaine. Keep your champagne on ice for now before celebrating McDonnell's accomplishments. If you don't believe me, you can view the feasibility report below.
http://www.drpt.virginia.gov/projects/files/RHR%20Executive%20Summary.pdf
McDonnell Administration
Yea, yea, yea he's the best governor since Jefferson.