Passenger Trains > NS Puts Hold On Studying Christiansburg, VA Amtrak Train

A study to determine what is needed to bring Amtrak service to Christiansburg and the New River Valley has been placed on indefinite hold because Norfolk Southern has halted its involvement "due to the company wanting to prioritize other matters related to its rail network."  The service could be an extension of the Roanoke NE Regional.  There is a connecting bus from the Roanoke train to Blacksburg but from personal observation the ridership doesn't appear to be very robust.

From The Roanoke Times via Trains Newswire -

https://www.roanoke.com/news/local/blacksburg/norfolk-southern-delay-sidetracks-new-river-valley-s-amtrak-plan/article_5b4f3c24-8616-534f-9109-65ba195776da.html

 

Jimbo Wrote:
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> A study to determine what is needed to bring
> Amtrak service to Christiansburg and the New River
> Valley has been placed on indefinite hold because
> Norfolk Southern has halted its involvement "due
> to the company wanting to prioritize other matters
> related to its rail network."  The service could
> be an extension of the Roanoke NE Regional.
>  There is a connecting bus from the Roanoke train
> to Blacksburg but from personal observation the
> ridership doesn't appear to be very robust.
>
> From The Roanoke Times via Trains Newswire -
>
> https://www.roanoke.com/news/local/blacksburg/norf
> olk-southern-delay-sidetracks-new-river-valley-s-a
> mtrak-plan/article_5b4f3c24-8616-534f-9109-65ba195
> 776da.html
>
>  

They are also instituting elements of PSR and so seeing that this investment may not be a breadwinner for anyone, they take it off the table. It should be noted that in the initial stages of PSR everything is subject to being cut. If it's not clearly a profitable thing it gets idled. In time, things can be brought back if their promise can be crystalized after further study, in this case....NS would probably take lots more OPM and then say, "hmmm looks like we can do this"

Is the Christiansburg extension high on Virginia DOT's priority list?

NS is in the freight business not tourists passenger train service, I don’t blame them. Christianburg is flyover country which I like and live in myself in a different state  but they don’t need commuter service.

Lackawanna484 Wrote:
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> Is the Christiansburg extension high on Virginia
> DOT's priority list?

Not sure, but high enough that $350,000 has been allocated for the study.  There is also a push from the town of Bedford, between Lynchburg and Roanoke, to have a stop on the present Regional train.  Don't know how much, if any, state money is involved in that proposal.  But I believe the following two additional train plans are further along and have a higher priority:

The second Norfolk train is supposed to be in the works before long.  That shouldn't interfere with NS traffic very much, but for CSX it may be a different story.

From what I've heard the state has the money for the second Lynchburg train but NS is dragging their feet.  Manassas to Lynchburg is somewhat congested and NS wants a second platform to be built at Lynchburg for flexibility in station stops.

Corrections and additional information on the above are welcome.

NS has actually become quite hostile to passenger train service on their tracks over the past few years. It's quite the change from the Moorman years.

Its too bad they can’t get to Blacksburg proper as Im sure the real play is Va Tech students. Once you have to take a shuttle bus to Christianburg, going another 30 minutes to Roanoke seems like more efficient than running the train that distance...Is there any long term plan to extend to Bristol or even Knoxville?

Posted from iPhone



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 12/10/18 18:37 by DJ-12.

I was hoping someone with more knowledge about a Bristol/Knoxville extension would chime in, but I think there is an effort for Bristol service.  It doesn't seem practicable to me, though.  There aren't a lot of potential passengers along the route, and the railroad is pretty much the original 1850's right of way, slow.

Before the Roanoke service started,  I actually took the train to  and then the connecting bus to , where I visited a grandson who was  there. 
The bus connection was easy (parked at the station waiting for the inbound train) and about 60% full.  For the money, connecting bus is probably more effective.
Virginia Tech has about 34,000 students at .
(link). https://vt.edu/about/facts-about-virginia-tech.html
 
 



Edited 3 time(s). Last edit at 12/11/18 10:34 by hazegray.

hazegray Wrote:
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> Before the Roanoke  I actually took the train
> to  and then the connecting bus to , where I
> visited a grandson who was  there. 
> The bus connection was easy (parked at the station
> waiting for the inbound train) and about 60%
> full.  For the money, connecting bus is probably
> more effective.
> Virginia Tech has about 34,000 students at .
> (link).
> https://vt.edu/about/facts-about-virginia-tech.htm
> l
>  
>
And Amtrak for it's part seems to be in deep love with buses these days!

Buses are a good way to test and develop the market.

Posted from Android

engineerinvirginia Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> hazegray Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> -----
> > Before the Roanoke  I actually took the train
> > to  and then the connecting bus to , where I
> > visited a grandson who was  there. 
> > The bus connection was easy (parked at the
> station
> > waiting for the inbound train) and about 60%
> > full.  For the money, connecting bus is
> probably
> > more effective.
> > Virginia Tech has about 34,000 students at .
> > (link).
> >
> https://vt.edu/about/facts-about-virginia-tech.htm
>
> > l
> >  
> >
> And Amtrak for it's part seems to be in deep love
> with buses these days!

Amtrak is "in love with" whatever the Commonwealth of Virginia opts to pay for. (That goes for all the other states as well.)

The extension to Bristol has been under discussion for at least twenty years. One of the big shakers and movers behind this effort was State Senator Wampler, R-Bristol, who retired from the State Senate in 2012.

Paul Wilson
Arlington, VA

This is assuredly only a coincidence, but Amtrak threw NS’s permanent office car Marco Polo and transient second car out of Washington Union Station a month ago. Less than a year after NS invested in a new air conditioning unit for the “permanently” installed Polo. Funny what could affect negotiations when one of the parties may be tone deaf.

TL

Posted from iPhone

Dcmcrider Wrote:
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(snip)
> Amtrak is "in love with" whatever the Commonwealth
> of Virginia opts to pay for. (That goes for all
> the other states as well.)
>
> The extension to Bristol has been under discussion
> for at least twenty years. One of the big shakers
> and movers behind this effort was State Senator
> Wampler, R-Bristol, who retired from the State
> Senate in 2012.

Yes, the Trans Dominion Express effort must go back 15 or 20 years.  An attempt to have a train between Bristol and Richmond.  Haven't heard anything about that now for a number of years.  Part of the original suggested route through Farmville, Virginia, has been abandoned for a long time (although you could bypass it) and is now the 31 mile long High Bridge Trail State Park - http://www.dcr.virginia.gov/state-parks/high-bridge-trail#general_information .  The proposed entrance into Richmond from the southwest posed problems, too.

Most likely any future route across Virginia to Richmond would now be via Charlottesville.  But Norfolk Southern is not going to be cooperative.  And the Buckingham Branch Railroad between Gordonsville and the Richmond area would require upgrades.

Jimbo Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
>
> Yes, the Trans Dominion Express effort must go
> back 15 or 20 years.  An attempt to have a train
> between Bristol and Richmond.  Haven't heard
> anything about that now for a number of years.
>  Part of the original suggested route through
> Farmville, Virginia, has been abandoned for a long
> time (although you could bypass it) and is now the
> 31 mile long High Bridge Trail State Park
> - http://www.dcr.virginia.gov/state-parks/high-br
> idge-trail#general_information .  The proposed
> entrance into Richmond from the southwest posed
> problems, too.
>
> Most likely any future route across Virginia to
> Richmond would now be via Charlottesville.  But
> Norfolk Southern is not going to be cooperative.
>  And the Buckingham Branch Railroad between
> Gordonsville and the Richmond area would require
> upgrades.

I went to some VARP meetings in the mid-90s when the "TransDominion (sic) Express" study was active. It was really the Commonwealth's first foray into non-commuter passenger rail planning. What was envisioned was a service that began in Bristol and split in Lynchburg and headed north to DC and east to Richmond. So it's been at least 20 years, if not longer. It was this study that eventually brought the corridor train extension to Lynchburg and Roanoke. The wheels grind slowly.

I think any sort of east-west service to Richmond is a complete pipe dream. It either requires use of the NS (ex-Sou.) Richmond District or the Buckingham Branch (ex-C&O) . Either route will require serious money and rebuilding Main Street station. As you say the Farmville Belt Line would need to be used since the Old Main Line through Farmville proper is now gone.

Paul Wilson
Arlington, VA

And Farmville was to be the only real passenger stop between Lynchburg and Richmond via that route, and it's gone.