Rail Service Still A Dream? (Norfolk, Richmond: apartment complex, hotel, transfer)

[roanoker 4]

I understand there is a push in VA for passenger rail from Roanoke to DC with stops in Lynchburg, C'ville and Richmond. Obviously the reason we don't have such service is political and the Norfolk Southern railway not interested. The cost of such service would be less than building 10 miles of an interstate highway. The economic benefits would be great. The SmartWay bus from Va Tech could connect with the train at Roanoke, the train would then go to Lynchburg and on to C'ville. I think the train should go to Dulles airport where there would be a new Metrorail link to DC. Eventually the route could be extended to Bristol and even into Tennessee(Knoxville) which has no rail service. The rails are in place but need upgrading. If there was more of a safe and efficient link from Va Tech to NoVa(insted of death trap I-81) then I believe more jobs could stay in SW VA instead of shipping them up to overcrowded NoVa. France, Germany, Spain have high speed trains that can travel up to 300mph or more. If such a dream existed, can you imagine travelling from Roanoke to DC in about an hour? Of course those countries are "socialist".

[cityboi757]

This is the proposed southeast high speed rail.. I don't see anything about Roanoke Lynchburg and Charlottesville.. Just D.C. to Richmond to Hampton Roads via Petersburg.

http://www.sehsr.org/

[roanoker 4]

» TransDominion Express

[Nebat]

I certainly have hopes for a statewide rail service. I don't think we will ever see one though. I always thought it would be cool to have the rail parallel the interstates and major state highways. You could have one line along 81 with Roanoke, Staunton, and Winchester as hubs to eastern destinations. Another along Rt. 29 with Danville, Lynchburg, Charlottesville, and Culpeper as hubs to western, eastern, northern, and southern destinations. And finally one along 95 with Emporia, Richmond, and F-burg as hubs as well. A spur could go to Hampton Roads via Emporia or Richmond. The cities would have to improve inter-city transportation though as people will obviously not have cars once they arrive at their destinations. I have literally dreamed about hopping onto a train and going to Richmond, and I definitely would in real life. I always use mass transit, whether in NYC or DC, and I love it!

[cityboi757]

Nebat you have a good point.

A statewide rail system would not be effective in Virginia because other than Northern Virginia, urban transit systems aren't efficient enough..Hampton Roads has taken the first step by building light rail to eventually connect to high speed rail, but Richmond only has busses and Roanoke and Winchester have a couple busses but that's about it.

[roanoker 4]

I agree. We will never see such forward looking rail projects in our state. Most of our legislators in Richmond still live in the past. There must be a combination of public and private money to make that happen. The Norfolk Southern Railway is only interested in destroying the countryside to build inter-modal truck/car traffic on I-81. I couldn't believe Norfolk will soon have a light rail system downtown. I suppose one would need to carry a gun on the train to enjoy all of the sights of beautiful downtown Norfolk! Scary place!

[cityboi757]

Originally Posted by roanoker 4

I agree. We will never see such forward looking rail projects in our state. Most of our legislators in Richmond still live in the past. There must be a combination of public and private money to make that happen. The Norfolk Southern Railway is only interested in destroying the countryside to build inter-modal truck/car traffic on I-81. I couldn't believe Norfolk will soon have a light rail system downtown. I suppose one would need to carry a gun on the train to enjoy all of the sights of beautiful downtown Norfolk! Scary place!

Uhmm are you serious? Downtown Norfolk has come a very long way with over a billion dollars in economic development.. a 22 story wells fargo office building, 26 story westin hotel and conference center, 3 7- story apartment complex, light rail, downtown population has almost doubled, office vacancy is below 7%, over 12,000 go to TCC downtown campus, Virginia Arts Festival is building a new HQ, that comment may have once been legit, but not anymore buddy. It's much better than downtown Roanoke!

[VRE332]

wow good thread. I am a VRE passenger and there's a few hurdles that a new rail line would face.

First, Union Station in DC does not have any additional storage for additional trains. Union Station is operated by Amtrak. VRE is having a tough time keeping the current consists in the storage area. Also, once you pass Alexandria, VA the Norfolk Southern tracks and merge with CSX before you end in DC Union Station. CSX is the worst train system in America, and I say that because they're inconvienent to the passenger rail, and only care about their own freight and not to passenger rail.

You also have to deal with funding and whether these backwards counties like Farquier County (which one of the Norfolk Southern train lines run through) would reject funding for such a project. Funding for such projects would have to come from Richmond directly, and not a % fuel surcharge in the area, which supply money to the VRE system.

Another issue would be who operates the train? Amtrak operated or TDE Operated??? You will have a tough time finding and hiring people to operate the TDE train when Amtrak is offering a retirement plan to their employees who are part of a Union. Who can compete with that?

Another point is you have to deal with 3 separate agencies ( Norfolk Southern, CSX and Amtrak) to get to DC. In my opinion, Virginia should extend the VRE south of Fredricksburg and south of Manassas throughout the entire State.

I think the TransDominion Express is a good idea, but it's going to be a major uphill battle.

[cityboi757]

The VRE is only feasible because of the population densities throughout Northern Virginia.What the hell would the Transdominion Express be needed for? It will never be feasible. Not enough people would ride, and would have no reason to. What kind of traffic is in Roanoke or Bristol? Absolutely none. NoVa to Richmond to HR are priority.

[roanoker 4]

I have wondered too why those trains don't go further than Fredericksburg.
When I-81 and I-66 were built there was little traffic then. It was easy to drive from Roanoke to DC in about 3 hours easily. The truck traffic on I-81, added to no new construction on the road has made the route impossible. I go to DC often and recently I drove to F'burg to take the VRE train for the day. The parking at the station was basically non-existant, downtown F'burg doesn't seem like they have a clue to people who drive there and want to park to catch the train. If they ever build the metro from Dulles to downtown DC I wouldn't mind transferring at Dulles. It is such a no brainer that these stupid people that run our state can comprehend. I don't expect anything soon I'm afraid.