NORFOLK The Tide will return to full service this morning after work ended early on the installation of a new section of track. Full service between Newtown Road and the EVMC/Fort Norfolk station is scheduled to resume at 11 a.m., according to a news release. Hampton Roads Transit suspended service downtown on Friday to install a new section of track near the 400 block of West York Street.

NORFOLK Norfolk's Tide is running again after a light-rail train traveling westbound at low speed derailed between Colley Avenue and Second Street on Friday evening. Hampton Roads Transit's CEO Philip Shucet said six passengers were on board when the train derailed on Brambleton Avenue around 5:45 p.m.

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The Tide will offer free light-rail rides Wednesday, Hampton Roads Transit has announced, because it carried its 500,000th passenger Saturday.
The light-rail line opened in August. The freebie is "a way to say thank you to the thousands of commuters who made this milestone possible," said a news release Sunday from the transit service.

People are eager to hop aboard now that The Tide is up and running. A new poll shows that 80 percent of Norfolk and Virginia Beach residents want to see light rail extended. And preferred destinations are the Oceanfront, Norfolk Naval Station, Town Center in Virginia Beach, Norfolk International Airport and Old Dominion University, in that order.

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Hampton Roads Transit is suggesting people buy light rail passes early to avoid lines at ticket vending machines for The Tide before the start of the annual Grand Illumination Parade on Saturday.

The kickoff to the holiday season traditionally brings tens of thousands of people downtown.

NORFOLK After two months of service, Norfolk is providing a significantly smaller subsidy for light-rail operations than anticipated. Ridership has outpaced projections and operating costs are lower than budgeted, which means city taxpayers don't have to kick in as much to keep The Tide running - for now.

Tidewater Community College is the latest institution to pay Hampton Roads Transit a set fee for its students and staff to ride light rail, buses and ferries for free. Close to 30,000 students, faculty and staff will be allowed to ride transit at no charge Jan. 1 through June 30. TCC will pay HRT just over $92,000 for half the year.

VIRGINIA BEACH A Denver economic development official told Hampton Roads business leaders that his city has attracted $2 billion in development along 39 miles of light rail tracks and another $4 billion near the lines, much of it during the difficult economy.

NORFOLK It takes Bobby Parks an extra 20 minutes to commute to work and an extra $50 for a monthly pass to ride The Tide. Still, he's hooked. "To me, not having to drive (Interstate) 264 is worth it," he said. "It makes me cringe with the potholes and bumps. ... Light rail is less stressful and, with traffic, it's more consistent."