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| Virginians laud increased rail service | |
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| Topic Started: April 3 2009, 02:24 PM (74 Views) | |
| Gandalf | April 3 2009, 02:24 PM Post #1 |
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CULPEPER, Va. - Starting as soon as October, local travelers will have a second daily opportunity to hop on the Amtrak in Culpeper and ride to Washington, D.C., the Star-Exponent reports. The new service, originating in Lynchburg and stopping in Charlottesville before Culpeper, is being made possible through a public-private partnership with the state of Virginia, Norfolk Southern Railway and Amtrak. Beyond Culpeper, the train will stop in Manassas, Burke, Alexandria, L’Enfant Plaza and Union Station, with an option to continue to New York City, according to longtime rail advocate Meredith Richards, founder and chairman of C’ville Rail, organized in 2005. “It’s a very positive thing, a historic first,” she said of state dollars for the new service. “We have worked very hard to make this a reality, so it’s hard to believe it is actually happening.” The campaign for more rail through the Piedmont was widely supported by many localities along the route, including Culpeper, and has been a long time coming. “Yahoo!” said Culpeper Town Councilman Chris Snider, member of the Piedmont Rail Coalition, an offshoot of C’ville Rail, and the recently formed Culpeper Rail Coalition. “I can’t wait to ride the train up to D.C.” He said Culpeper would see a number of benefits from the new train service, at the same time realizing it could strain downtown parking. In order to launch the new train, the Commonwealth Transportation Board recently signed off on $17.8 million in state funding — money that will be paid as an operational subsidy to Amtrak over the next three years. The $17.8 million, in addition, will cover operational costs for another new daily train from Richmond to D.C., also launching in October. Besides subsidizing operations, the state will spend tens of millions of dollars to upgrade and expand the railroads owned by Norfolk Southern and traveled by Amtrak. The move signals a step toward more state support for transportation options beyond traditional vehicular road travel. “With two new regional passenger services launching this year, the commonwealth is making real progress toward providing more transportation choices for all Virginians while helping grow our economy,” Gov. Tim Kaine said in a release Wednesday. Though Culpeper is already served daily by Amtrak’s Crescent, the train runs from New York to New Orleans and is often behind schedule. Culpeper attorney John J. “Butch” Davies, CTB member and former state delegate, said the shorter run from Lynchburg to D.C. would greatly improve reliability. He enthusiastically supported state funding for the new line, saying, “The whole corridor represents a unique opportunity to generate fairly significant ridership,” mentioning many large colleges along the way, like U.Va. and Liberty University. Davies specified that the new Amtrak is not intended as a commuter train; weekdays, it will depart Culpeper heading northbound at 9:45 a.m. “This is an intercity, regional train,” he said, adding that the state would likely continue funding the route beyond the three years so long as ridership is ample. As passengers increase, Davies said, the state pays less subsidy to Amtrak. Jennifer Pickett with the Virginia Department of Rail and Public Transportation said the schedule is still estimated at this point, pending action by Amtrak to finalize the multi-faceted agreement at a board meeting April 23. Richards had hoped the train would have left Lynchburg earlier; the original proposal last year had it departing at 5:05 a.m. and arriving at Union Station by 8:40. Like the Crescent, which departs Culpeper heading northbound at 8:12 a.m. — if on time — the new Amtrak will get into D.C. after 10 a.m. “People have always complained that (the Crescent) doesn’t arrive in D.C. in time for that 10 o’clock meeting or a business day in Washington,” Richards said. “So that is a great source of concern” with the new train. Richards understood that many schedules — including Norfolk Southern’s freight route — had to be accommodated to make the new service work, but felt that the later departure time would “depress ridership.” “I know people in Charlottesville have been expressing some disappointment,” she said. Richards planned to further discuss the schedule with the involved parties. But overall, she remained optimistic about expanded passenger rail service to the largely under-served Piedmont region. “It’s not perfect, not exactly what we had hoped for, but sometimes these solutions end up being what is workable.” Construction of a platform, track and rolling stock improvements to support the new service will begin this month, according to Kaine. The governor envisioned “a great economic boost” would result from the new train partnership. That includes tourism. “I think for the weekend traveler, it will be a wonderful thing for a little day trip,” said Culpeper Tourism Director Beth Burns. “People are tending, these days, to stay a little closer to home.” (This item appeared April 3, 2009, in the Star-Exponent.) April 3, 2009 |
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3:25 AM Jul 11