Hampton Roads/Norfolk/Newport News NE Regional Service

The station in NPN will be moved very far north from its original location which is, I believe, in a rough part of town, although closer to the tunnel that takes people to Norfolk. Eventually NFK is supposed to get three trains in each direction daily and that will help people who are already heading to and from NFK as well as VAB not have to travel too far north to get the train in NPN.

dgvrengineer wrote: ↑Wed Jul 22, 2020 6:27 pm Wow, that's almost half way back to Williamsburg.

And across the interstate from the airport, that might have something to do with it. Perhaps making rental cars easier to pick up. I hope there is a shuttlebus that is clearly marked that runs to meet the trains. Some stations like Tukwila and Fort Lauderdale "have a shuttlebus" between airport and station but good luck finding it or riding it. Uber is your friend...

I don't know Newport News and Hampton Roads, but from Google Earth it looks like the new station location is actually closer to the one thing that looks like a downtown area of Newport News (City Center, which has a bunch of new buildings and bricks and looks like someone tried to build a shopping center to look like downtown). Is that about right? The current station seems to be wedged between a yard, some highways, and a random residential neighborhood (could be rough but doesn't look seedy).

Moving the station 9 miles north doesn't seem like the crazy move I first imagined when I thought they were moving from a downtown station to one way outside of town.

Is there some kind of easy connection to Norfolk, or do you just have to choose a train that goes to Norfolk?

Newport News trains have a bus connection to Norfolk and Virginia Beach.

The current station, as noted, is a terrible location. The short-term solution is the move to near the airport, which is near the City Center development and has good highway access. The long-term solution is to keep that station, and re-extend to a new station in the downtown area (next to the shipyard), near where the station was pre-1980. That gives you the walkable downtown station for the shipyard, and the suburban park-and-ride.

It looks like the brand new Newport News Amtrak station is going to be put in a more centrally location in Newport News, although not exactly in the center of the city. The location where it it right now is great for when traveling from Norfolk as well as to Downtown NPN. It looks like there is a lot of commercial development near the future site of NPN Station. Yes, the airport is very close to where the new NPN Station will be but I'm not sure if many people will travel by train to that airport to connect to flights. Even after the new NPN Station opens up, there would have to be bus connections to NFK and VAB as not everybody will be traveling during a time when they may be able to take a train from Norfolk.

https://www.dailypress.com/news/transpo ... story.html

Newport News transportation hub, Amtrak station opening delayed again

Travelers will have to wait a little longer to catch a ride at the new transportation center in Newport News, as the project has been delayed once again due to supply chain issues.

During a City Council work session Tuesday, Acting Director of Engineering Craig M. Galant revealed the project — previously slated to open this fall — is not expected to open until April 2024. The delays will increase the cost of the project by at least $3 million.

The center, which is under construction on Bland Boulevard between Warwick Boulevard and Interstate 64, will serve as a hub for rail, buses, taxis and airport shuttles. It will replace the undersized Amtrak station on Warwick Boulevard and be more accessible and compliant with Americans with Disabilities Act guidelines.

The center was originally expected to open in August 2022, but the city revealed in October that the project had experienced significant delays and would instead be opening in the fall of 2023.
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west point wrote: ↑Fri Mar 17, 2023 10:26 pm What items are missing to complete the station. Maybe a left-hand widget instead of the right-hand ones are in good supply.?

High voltage electrical components, so switchgear components

A fellow railfan was traveling through the Newport News area, and got some good video of the new Newport News station near the airport. It's coming along very well! Station is largely done, track is already being laid down, and the wye looks halfway complete.

I'm trying to get the video posted -- said railfan's on 124 heading back north and took the video from the train.

Video of the station from track side.