Amtrak NEC Virginia Regional Service

Half way through April, any word yet?

Maybe Virginia will follow their neighbour North Carolina (Piedmont service) and purchase their own equipment for the Lynchburg route if they want to expand service.

How many of these 1950s-era Heritage cars can you plausibly buy, refurbish, and assemble into trainsets? Granted, North Carolina did a very nice job of conserving taxpayer dollars. Creative, out-of-the-box thinking, very commendable.

But at some point, you have to dip into the Amfleet repairs currently rolling off the lines, or buy new cars.

taoyue wrote:How many of these 1950s-era Heritage cars can you plausibly buy, refurbish, and assemble into trainsets? Granted, North Carolina did a very nice job of conserving taxpayer dollars. Creative, out-of-the-box thinking, very commendable.

But at some point, you have to dip into the Amfleet repairs currently rolling off the lines, or buy new cars.

Older carriages tend to have higher maintenance costs.

realtype wrote:Does anyone know what the new service will be called? IMHO they need to rename the entire current Virginia Regional extension to something other than "Northeast Regional"? Virginia's not in the Northeast, the extension uses different equipment, and is slower. Virginian, Tidewater, or Colonial sound good.

I was at Richmond Staples Mill station yesterday. I noticed that they are announcing the corridor trains as "Southeast Train Number xy". I.e those trains that become regular NEC trains north of Washington DC are being referred to as "Southeast Corridor Service" at Richmond Staples Mill.

Jishnu wrote:

realtype wrote:Does anyone know what the new service will be called? IMHO they need to rename the entire current Virginia Regional extension to something other than "Northeast Regional"? Virginia's not in the Northeast, the extension uses different equipment, and is slower. Virginian, Tidewater, or Colonial sound good.

I was at Richmond Staples Mill station yesterday. I noticed that they are announcing the corridor trains as "Southeast Train Number xy". I.e those trains that become regular NEC trains north of Washington DC are being referred to as "Southeast Corridor Service" at Richmond Staples Mill.

how easy is it to get downtown without a car from staples mill?

The only way that I am aware of is by cab

chefwrg wrote:The only way that I am aware of is by cab

are there cabs at the station? how much does it cost?

Here we go:

http://www.napoleontaxi.com/id12.html

Gilbert B Norman wrote:Here we go:

http://www.napoleontaxi.com/id12.html

so, can I get off the train and get a cab or do I have to call one? that's really what I'm interested in. A friend of mine went to Charleston and foudn the train doesn't actually stop in Charleston, much to her suprise. so much for downtown to downtown service. EVENTUALLY she got a cab.

Suburban Station wrote:

Gilbert B Norman wrote:Here we go:

http://www.napoleontaxi.com/id12.html

so, can I get off the train and get a cab or do I have to call one? that's really what I'm interested in. A friend of mine went to Charleston and foudn the train doesn't actually stop in Charleston, much to her suprise. so much for downtown to downtown service. EVENTUALLY she got a cab.

Charleston is a very different station than Richmound, being that Charleston only recieves 2 trains a day(Palmetto+Meteor), RVR has many more trains. I would expect the cabs to be @ the station when the train arrives. This usually is the case @ most amtrak stations.

Here's some more Virginia News:

http://www.timesdispatch.com/rtd/news/l ... 04/263639/


It will be interesting to see what happens



win

Suburban Station wrote:

Jishnu wrote:

realtype wrote:Does anyone know what the new service will be called? IMHO they need to rename the entire current Virginia Regional extension to something other than "Northeast Regional"? Virginia's not in the Northeast, the extension uses different equipment, and is slower. Virginian, Tidewater, or Colonial sound good.

I was at Richmond Staples Mill station yesterday. I noticed that they are announcing the corridor trains as "Southeast Train Number xy". I.e those trains that become regular NEC trains north of Washington DC are being referred to as "Southeast Corridor Service" at Richmond Staples Mill.

how easy is it to get downtown without a car from staples mill?

Depending on when your train gets in, the city bus is an option.

It was approved!! Should start in October if everything remains on schedule. Lets hope every thing runs as planed and there is nothing to delay the start of this service.

http://www.drpt.virginia.gov/news/details.aspx?id=374

NE2 wrote: Depending on when your train gets in, the city bus is an option.

thanks