Eastern Railroad Discussion > Coming N.S. Manassas-Front Royal (VA) improvements

RELATED THREAD:
http://www.trainorders.com/discussion/read.php?2,1584569
Apparently, with much traffic moving on the former SOUTHERN via Charlottesville, the I-81 corridor improvements are to BEGIN with the former Southern Railway line, with at least some restored double-tracking, in addition to the major improvements to the Manassas-Front Royal portion of the route. This is getting interesting.....

TEXT of NEWS RELEASE from the Virginia Dept. of Rail and Public Transportation (DRPT):

RELEASE: IMMEDIATE

Contact: Jennifer Pickett
(804) 786-7432
<Jennifer.Pickett@drpt.virginia.gov>

Construction to Begin on I-81 Rail Corridor Improvements

$57 million contract increases rail capacity, the first step toward removing nearly 600,000 trucks from Virginia highways

RICHMOND, Va. , January 22, 2008- The Virginia Department of Rail and Public Transportation (DRPT) today announced the execution of an agreement for I-81 rail corridor improvements to benefit rail operations in Virginia . The $57 million contract signed with Norfolk Southern Railway on January 7, 2008 is a major step in diverting trucks from highway to rail by increasing capacity for freight rail service and providing the potential for passenger rail capacity improvements.

“This initiative responds to the critical need for transportation improvements in the I-81 corridor,” said DRPT Director Matthew O. Tucker. “Increasing the capacity and reliability of rail service will provide congestion relief for highways and more transportation choices with the potential for expansion of VRE rail passenger service in the Gainesville/Haymarket area.”

The project is funded as a partnership between Norfolk Southern and DRPT. It requires Norfolk Southern to deliver specific public benefits, including an increase in freight rail shipments which would, over the next fifteen years, remove 597,000 truck trips from Virginia highways.

The project was made possible through $40 million in one-time general fund support provided by Governor Kaine and the 2007 General Assembly as part of the 2007 transportation compromise. Norfolk Southern is providing $17 million in private funding.

These improvements will focus on the most congested portion of the I-81 rail corridor, between Manassas and Front Royal along I-66. While the overall needs for improvement in the I-81 rail corridor are extensive, the Manassas to Front Royal portion of the line is the most significant bottleneck for rail traffic, with limited opportunities for trains to pass each other and no signal system to control rail traffic.

Trains operating on a single track pass each other using rail sidings (portions of track alongside the main line). New sidings and double track will be built, and existing sidings will be extended to accommodate today’s longer freight trains. These improvements will also focus on train signalization and control. Installing a modern rail signal system is essential to ensuring the efficient, reliable movement of trains along the corridor in the future.

Preliminary engineering has been completed, and Norfolk Southern is working through the remaining environmental approvals before construction can begin. If Norfolk Southern secures these key approvals, construction will begin in February for completion in late 2008.

Additional I-81 rail corridor improvements will be identified in DRPT’s Statewide Rail Plan, currently under development. The Statewide Rail Plan will expand upon the currently scheduled rail improvements for Virginia and provide a comprehensive plan for the improvement of freight and passenger rail in both the short and long term planning horizons.


About the I-81 Rail Corridor

The heavily traveled I-81 rail corridor in Virginia generally parallels Interstate 81 along two rail routes, the Shenandoah line and the Piedmont line. The Piedmont rail line begins in Virginia at Danville and continues along US 29 through Lynchburg , Charlottesville and Manassas , where it turns west along I-66 to Front Royal and then joins the Shenandoah line north into Maryland and the northeast. The Shenandoah line begins in Virginia at Bristol and generally parallels the I-81 highway corridor. The Piedmont rail line has been prioritized for improvement since it carries the majority of the corridor’s rail traffic and requires the least amount of initial improvement to achieve results.


About DRPT

The Virginia Department of Rail and Public Transportation (DRPT) is the state agency for rail, public transportation and commuter services in Virginia . DRPT has three business areas: rail, transit, and congestion management that help improve the mobility of people and goods while providing more transportation choices. Visit us at http://www.drpt.virginia.gov.

projects:
new 10,000' siding at Gainesville
Allison extended westward
new long siding at Delaplane, to east
double track at Woods extended westward

TCS throughout

mp208 Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------

>
> TCS throughout

Probably more ATCS coverage as well then.

mp208 Wrote:

> double track at Woods extended westward
>

Does this mean double track all the way to Front Royal? The Happy Creek road crossing, makes it so that the only way to make the double track longer is to go east.

Big Time goes the B-Line

---

Whatever happened to the big "Cresent Corridor" Project? This was supposed to be a smaller project in comparison to the whole thing. I was really looking forward to the improvents they were going to make along the lehigh line in NJ.

tlongman Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Whatever happened to the big "Cresent Corridor"
> Project? This was supposed to be a smaller project
> in comparison to the whole thing. I was really
> looking forward to the improvents they were going
> to make along the lehigh line in NJ.

Crescent Corridor is still on the table, though there are interest groups in VA (NIMBY) that don't want NS to double-track the lines through Virginia. I'd heard Maryland and PA both jumped on board at first opportunity, as did Tennessee, but the Commonwealth continues to be the big question mark.

Either way collect your photos of the Manassas Gap Line now, because things are gonna be changing, for the better of course, but changing neverless.

Crescent Corridor is the over-arching project for the I-81 rail corridor, this work on the B-line is deemed necessary. The CC is a smaller project than the Heartland Corridor of course.

I wonder how this plays out for VRE service to Haymarket that they've been talking about for years it seems? Cinder, have your sources heard anything on that? I recall that the curves around Delaplane and Rectortown were just too hard for big passenger cars, so it's not likely to see VRE service all the way to Front Royal in the forseeable future. Even though that service would do more to alleviate congestion on I-66 than anything.

including a map

---

> tlongman Wrote:

> I wonder how this plays out for VRE service to
> Haymarket that they've been talking about for
> years it seems? Cinder, have your sources heard
> anything on that? I recall that the curves around
> Delaplane and Rectortown were just too hard for
> big passenger cars, so it's not likely to see VRE
> service all the way to Front Royal in the
> forseeable future. Even though that service would
> do more to alleviate congestion on I-66 than
> anything.

VRE website info on that project:
http://www.vre.org/about/Gainesville-Haymarket.pdf

YES, that's still on the front burner, and this major NS line upgrade will speed up the process immensely, according to comments by VRE officials, who are working CLOSELY with Norfolk Southern to bring VRE commuter rail service to this rail line as far west as Haymarket, Virginia.