Fredericksburg, VA to D.C (Alexandria, Franconia: home, construction, buses)

[tatiana1]

Hi Guys!

How long is the commute from Fredericksburg, VA to DC by metro? Where/what is the nearest metro station to Fredericksburg VA so that I can park and ride? I thought Van Dorn station is the last stop in VA and therefore, closest to Fredericksburg. I want the shortest commute possible without driving. Thanks for the info

[Spade]

Franconia-Springfield is the closest stop to Fredericksburg and that's about a good 30-45 minute drive. You can catch the VRE to the Franconia Springfield metro station but it's probably a bit longer but less stressful.

[mlv311]

I think your best bet may be to travel by VRE from Fredericksburg into DC. You can get off at L'Enfant or Union Station. It is about 90 mins each way. Virginia Railway Express Home Page

[tatiana1]

Originally Posted by mlv311

I think your best bet may be to travel by VRE from Fredericksburg into DC. You can get off at L'Enfant or Union Station. It is about 90 mins each way. Virginia Railway Express Home Page

Great! Thanks so much to you and to Spade also.

[VRE332]

See ya on the train!!!

[ersatz]

Actually, you have a couple more options.

In addition to the train, there are a couple of private bus companies (Martz and Quick) that have morning and evening commuter routes from Fredericksburg to Stafford to the Pentagon to Downtown.

Pros:

Cheaper than the train

Somewhat easier parking than for the train. There are several commuter lots with free parking and dropoff areas. You have to pay to park near the train station unless your spouse drops you off and picks you up. Also, parking is highly limited near the Fredericksburg train station. It is somewhat limited in the commuter bus lots too, but not so much.

You usually don't have to hassle with switching to Metro on the DC end. The buses have multiple drop off points.

Cons:

You usually need to have a reserved seat on the bus

Buses are somewhat slower than the train. Not always. The delays on the trains can be dire sometimes. Or accidents on the highway can create big delays too. In my humble opinion, it's pretty much a wash.

I recommend checking out the bus option. In my case, I started out on the train and switched to the bus as I found it to be cheaper and less of a hassle. However, this works out differently for different people.

There are no publicly funded buses at this time. To check out the commuter bus lines:

[SIZE=2]Martz Virginia / National Coach Trailways - Commuter Service - Morning Routes

Quick's Bus Company

Happy commuting.
[/SIZE]

[cb at sea]

Delays can and do happen on a regular basis no matter WHAT form of transport you take. This has got to be the worst trip (from Fred'bg to DC) on the East Coast! And not just during the "so-called" rush hour--it's ALWAYS rush hour on that stretch of road!

[5stones]

^ I agree Sundays on I-95N can be very brutal during summer with the beach goers etc..
AND..FRiday evening south on I-95...NIGHTMARE.

I have heard of problems with delays with the VRE out of F'burg but they were trying to work on that. I know some say it's not super realiable.

[jmillersanp]

hi - I've taken the VRE since i've started a new job in Alexandria, but need to drive one day....

any idea of, if i leave at ~3:30 from Alexandria, will I only be in the first part of the jam? or do I need to leave earlier?
thanks, j

[juniperbleu]

Originally Posted by jmillersanp

hi - I've taken the VRE since i've started a new job in Alexandria, but need to drive one day....

any idea of, if i leave at ~3:30 from Alexandria, will I only be in the first part of the jam? or do I need to leave earlier?
thanks, j

You should be on the early end. There will still be traffic, but not as bad as if you left at 5:30. Last spring I drove when the VRE had construction in Quantico, and if I left Rosslyn around 4:00 the drive back to F'burg wasn't too bad (relatively). If you can get more people in your car for the HOV lane (slug lines? coworkers?), it's even better. I think the drive in HOV usually took 60-90 minutes. Regular lanes were closer to 2 hours.