Passenger Trains > Va.'s (D.C.-area) "Long Bridge" project - new updates are online

Virginia's "Long Bridge" project over the Potomac River between Washington DC and Alexandria VA has a new update; they are seeking to double the current 2 tracks to 4, which is to dramatically increase the train traffic capacity through this seriously congested gateway.  Here's the link:

http://longbridgeproject.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/Chapter00_ExecutiveSummary_LongBridgeDEIS.pdf?eType=EmailBlastContent&eId=cd9a7f6a-49eb-4751-a9d7-6805f45f0c11

The blurb sent out by the Virginia Dept. of Rail and Public Transportation:

".....The draft EIS for the Long Bridge expansion project study has been released. The study recommends a new two-track bridge across the Potomac, as well as keeping the current bridge in place. This expansion of capacity will improve the reliability of our trains, reduce travel times, and allow for the increase of passenger rail service.Overall, it increases our Amtrak service by 83 percent including New service to Manassas, Culpeper, Charlottesville, Lynchburg, Roanoke, and NRV; New service to Richmond, Petersburg, Williamsburg, Newport News, and Norfolk; and New service to the Southeast including to Raleigh and Charlotte. It also allows for 58 more VRE trains and 8 new reverse commute MARC trains!Please take a moment and submit a public comment via our action page.  Thanks again for your support of VHSR and your efforts to help us improve the Commonwealth’s passenger rail network."

Danny Plaugher
Executive Director

That "action page" website is here:  https://vhsr.salsalabs.org/longbridge/index.html?eId=cd9a7f6a-49eb-4751-a9d7-6805f45f0c11&eType=EmailBlastContent



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 09/06/19 08:04 by rbx551985.

The blurb states, "....it increases our Amtrak service by 83 percent including New service to Manassas, Culpeper, Charlottesville, Lynchburg, Roanoke, and NRV; New service to Richmond, Petersburg, Williamsburg, Newport News, and Norfolk; and New service to the Southeast including to Raleigh and Charlotte. It also allows for 58 more VRE trains and 8 new reverse commute MARC trains!"

That's a LOT of potential new passenger train traffic; does that amount raise anybody's eyebrows, in a positive way, here on Trainorders.com?

Sounds great, but how does a new Long Bridge have anything to so with MARC?

Sharon Evans
Glen Allen, VA

I'm guessing it would allow MARC run-through service.

All these premonitions about additional trains to Tidewater and Charlotte, doesn't that also depend on capacity upgrades on all those lines, and getting Class I slots, which has nothing do with this bridge ?

^^Pretty much--Long Bridge is only a small part of it. And how many of these capacity "gains" could be achieved today by ditching Precision Railroading, i.e., better dispatching, and not running 11,000-foot trains in the middle of rush hour with the expectation it will "work out" somehow.

Paul Wilson
Arlington, VA



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 09/06/19 08:40 by Dcmcrider.

joemvcnj Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> All these premonitions about additional trains to
> Tidewater and Charlotte, doesn't that also depend
> on capacity upgrades on all those lines, and
> getting Class I slots, which has nothing do with
> this bridge ?

you’re correct of course, but the Long Bridge is currently the limiting factor.  At this point, capacity projects south of DC would have little impact on the ability to run additional trains between DC and points south.  The numbers cited are the additional trains that could be added before the Long Bridge(s) again became the limiting factor.  At some point you have to consider a fourth track between RO and AF, and also at capacity between Virginia Ave and Union Station and at the station itself.  Plans for three main tracks all the way from AF to Richmond have been in the works for years.  NS was once all double track and presumably could be again relatively easily.  But none of this matters unless the Long Bridge choke point gets corrected.

Gordon

"More tracks" should read: "More places for the Precision Railroaders to park dead trains." Nice if you can get gullible politicians to foot the bill though.

Paul Wilson
Arlington, VA

We had a thread a while back. On physical and operational limits to MARC service to Amazon, etc.

Posted from Android

One imporatnt element that I don't see discussed is increasing passenger train speeds.  The curves between Virginia Ave. and the bridge are generally 30 MPH and the bridge has a maximum speed of 45 MPH.  It takes a train at least 15 min the make the 8.2-mile run between Washington and Alexandria, VA - one of the slowest runs in the US for a high-volume passenger corridor.
Andy

Let's don't forget a DAILY Cardinal...........

I think eventually, the current Long Bridge is going to have to be replaced. Either way, there needs to be more capacity on the former RF&P over the Potomac. Did I see correctly that a fourth track will be added through E'nfant Plaza Station? What about having platforms on both sides of the tracks?

Dcmcrider Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> "More tracks" should read: "More places for the
> Precision Railroaders to park dead trains." Nice
> if you can get gullible politicians to foot the
> bill though.

Some statistics, please.  I’m actually not aware of large numbers of “park[ed] dead trains” in the Alexandria/DC area.

Gordon

We don’t need no stinking data.

gbmott Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Dcmcrider Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> -----
> > "More tracks" should read: "More places for the
> > Precision Railroaders to park dead trains."
> Nice
> > if you can get gullible politicians to foot the
> > bill though.
>
> Some statistics, please.  I’m actually not
> aware of large numbers of “park dead trains”
> in the Alexandria/DC area.
>
> Gordon

Bob Wilcox
Charlottesville, VA
My Flickr Shots

bobwilcox Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> We don’t need no stinking data.

Well said, Bob :-)
 

gbmott Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Dcmcrider Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> -----
> > "More tracks" should read: "More places for the
> > Precision Railroaders to park dead trains."
> Nice
> > if you can get gullible politicians to foot the
> > bill though.
>
> Some statistics, please.  I’m actually not
> aware of large numbers of “park dead trains”
> in the Alexandria/DC area.
>
> Gordon

There are nearly daily publications on the VRE (Virginia Railway Express) website alerting riders of potential delays to their commuter runs into and out of D.C. -- and many of those contain messages of stalled freight trains blocking the rail line, with lots of those being trains "on the law" or simply stalled out, or even caught by defect detectors, which VRE riders are well-versed in due to so many CSX freights blocking their trains.  That's just one example......... radio scanner chatter provides us with many other instances, on -- yes -- a nearly daily basis.