Virginia’s top rail officials provide updates at VHSR Town Hall

Nearly four years have passed since former Governor Ralph Northam announced that the Commonwealth of Virginia would spend $3.7 billion to invest in passenger rail in an initiative called Transforming Rail in Virginia. 

“That brought 412 miles of railroad into public ownership, 250 miles of railroad trackage, and afterwards of phase 1 and phase 2 will result in a 53 percent increase in Amtrak service and a 39 percent increase in [Virginia Railway Express Service],” said Danny Plaugher the executive director of Virginians for High Speed Rail. 

On Monday, Plaugher moderated a panel discussion that explored how the initiative is working out. He said interest in a reinvestment in passenger rail dates back to the early 90’s with the creation of the Virginia Railway Express and the Virginia Department of Rail and Public Transportation. 

“Over the next decade from 1993 to 2003, VRE’s ridership grew to nearly three million annual passengers,” said Danny Plaugher. “And in 2009, we became the 18th state to join and launch our own passenger rail service including the Lynchburg Amtrak Regional Train extension.”

That service was extended to Roanoke and planning is currently underway to expand to Christiansburg to serve Virginia Tech and the New River Valley. 

Plaugher said Virginia officials realized that additional lanes on I-95 would cost a lot of money and would likely not relieve congestion, but providing more alternatives could help move people around the Commonwealth. 

“Data is showing that those studies are proving to be true and we’re seeing our ridership grow,” said Jennifer DeBruhl, director of the Virginia Department of Rail and Public Transportation since June 2022. “Every month we’re setting a new record and we’ve seen over 1.8 million passengers in the federal fiscal year.” 

Part of the initiative is the creation of the Virginia Passenger Rail Authority which technically owns much of that new track including the east-west line that runs through Charlottesville. 

“We’re here to add capacity and to add to the ability to separate freight and passenger because those two don’t work well together in the same right of way,” said D.J. Stadtler, executive director of the VPRA. “[I’m] excited to say that we are staying on schedule with our major procurements and focused on adding service in 2026 and even more service in 2030.

One of the major projects VPRA is shepherding is the doubling of capacity across the Potomac River with the Long Bridge Expansion Project. Preliminary engineering is underway with final design scheduled to begin next year with completion by 2030. The idea is to bring on new service where possible such as the recent addition of a second train between D.C. and Roanoke. 

“And in 2026, the Franconia-Springfield bypass will be completed, the Alexandria Fourth Track will be completed, and that will trigger even more service,” Stadtler said. 

To learn more about what’s happening, take a look at the 2022 Statewide Rail Plan. Or take a look at the entire video of the Virginians for High Speed Rail forum on YouTube.

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