VRE says $2 Billion Needed to add Southbound Service

[davinp]

Right now, VRE is designed to ferry commuters from Northern Virginia north into Washington, D.C. on weekday mornings and then back home again in the afternoon.

“That is part of our plan, to run trains in both directions, so people can work out here and live in the city,” said VRE CEO Doug Allen.

The cost for this new service is expected to top more than $2 billion for the addition of new track, new rail cars, all to do what the commuter rail system is already planning to do: double it’s ridership to 50,000 riders per day by 2040. The money, Allen says, could come from federal grants.

- See more at: http://potomaclocal.com/2014/08/01/attr ... qmbfl.dpuf" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[Jersey_Mike]

How did the RF&P do it?

[ThirdRail7]

I'm going to go out on a limb and say the RF&P did it with the help of the now closed Pot(omac) Yard. One they closed Pot, the classification went to Acca resulting in more traffic on the RF&P sub. Even Bennings role has been dramatically restructured. This puts the squeeze on the territory.

[Literalman]

The RF&P had platforms on both tracks at all stations, as far as I know, whereas the VRE stations that were built new were on one track only. Woodbridge and Franconia-Springfield have gotten second platforms, but right now a counterflow commuter train would have to skip a lot of the busier VRE stations. So my guess is that the money is needed mainly for new platforms and an additional consist. If Crystal City and L'Enfant Plaza get second platforms, that will allow a counterflow through train from MARC; maybe another consist wouldn't be needed because the MARC train could run through to Spotsylvania in the morning and go back north in the evening rush.

[Station Aficionado]

Also, the RF&P was handling essentially all LD trains--they didn't have the rush-hour volume of passengers that VRE presents on weekdays (and remember that north of ALX, there are both Fredericksburg and Manassas line trains, plus Amtrak).

[mmi16]

How did the RF&P do it?

The RF&P didn't do it!

VRE wasn't formed until 1990. There was no prior history of commuter service provided by the RF&P.

[dt_rt40]

Trivia question: was VRE the first post-Amtrak, completely new commuter rail system in the country? Per my understanding, all 3 MARC lines had a pre-Amtrak, pre-MARC precedent and were in continuous operation through the private operator-to-state conversion. Is that the case?

[ThirdRail7]

All three MARC lines had existing commuter service through their host railroads (B&O, Penn Central). I would argue (perhaps unsuccessfully) the Shore Line East service between NLC-NHV fits was the first post-Amtrak new commuter service. Although, the shore line had a commuter service at one point, it was cancelled in the early 80s. Additionally, Shore Line East added new stations to the route while bypassing a few previous stops.

[The EGE]

No, it was not - Tri-Rail opened on January 1, 1989. I would also argue SLE as a new service - local service was limited to the once-daily Clamdigger from A-Day till 1978 (with a large gap), and the Boston-focused Beacon Hill till 1981. Two short-lived services also lived and died before VRE: Parkway Limited in 1981, and CalTrain (forerunner of Metrolink) in 1982-1983.

Metrolink, Trinity Railway Express, Coaster, and now-dead OnTrack were all opened within the next four years after VRE.

[dt_rt40]

Thanks for filling in the background for me. Interesting timings...if like me you tend to take a historicist's perspective on history (!). "Fffeeeww. we've finished fighting the cold war...we can finally offer socialized transit to work." haha.

EDIT: just reading about OnTrack, had never heard of it. Man, 75 riders a day! That's crazy.

[Arlington]

I don't profess to understand what all the stakeholders in the Long Bridge are doing (DDot? Feds? VA? CSX? VRE? MWCog?), but somebody just got another $2.8m to study some more
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/dr- ... overnment/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

I'd say money was a good thing, except by this time, I thought the studies would be over and we'd know who had to build what.

I'm also disappointed that somebody seems to have let the "longbridgeproject.com" domain expire. Humph.

[Joke Insurance]

Could that $2 Billion also be used to add any in-fill stations? I was thinking of flag-stops in Clifton and Newington.

[mmi16]

I don't profess to understand what all the stakeholders in the Long Bridge are doing (DDot? Feds? VA? CSX? VRE? MWCog?), but somebody just got another $2.8m to study some more
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/dr- ... overnment/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

I'd say money was a good thing, except by this time, I thought the studies would be over and we'd know who had to build what.

I'm also disappointed that somebody seems to have let the "longbridgeproject.com" domain expire. Humph.

Politics = Studies

Politicians never tire of spending money on studies - as long as they don't result in a recommendation for action and money to support the action.

[Backshophoss]

CalTrain still lives,was the former SP commuter operation,4th & Townsend to San Jose,was under CaDOT,now under
the control of a"Joint Powers Board"(JPBX),of all the cities and Counties surrounding SFO.

Doesn't VRE need CSX's blessing to run south to Richmond?
Could be a hard sell with all the traffic CSX runs on the RF&P to/from the north.

[mmi16]

Yes VRE would need CSX's blessing to run South of Fredericksburg (Crossroads) to Richmond. I suspect that blessing could be bought with VRE and the State of Virginia adding a 3rd Main track between Crossroads and Richmond at no expense to CSX.

One thing VRE could do today to help their own cause is to make ALL their stations able to be serviced from all Main tracks. Currently, stations must be serviced from #2 track from Crossroads to AF and #3 track from AF to Union Station.