Passenger Trains > Virginia Rail Passenger Authority

The creation of VRPA sailed through the Virginia legislature and Gov. Northam was a eager proponet.  Sen. Edwards of Roanoke wants to see the rail infrastructure for passenger and freight greatly enhanced.  Since Virginia governors are term-limited to one four year term, the VRPA will have to bring forth a long range vision, which gathers broad-based support.  They will build upon the $3.7B deal with CSX for various portions of their tracks, and additional track construction.   The Commonwealth Corridor is coming.  

I think this is very wise economic planning for Virginia.  My state of Ohio is 50 years behind Virginia.  

Good luck with that grand plan. Considering the reduced tax revenues from the current economic shut down and the ensuing recession/depression, this isn't going to happen anywhere close to what was planned a few weeks ago when railfans were salivating, IMHO.

Virginia's two-year budget is already being tossed out the window. It was passed in early March--now subject to a "do-over." The Governor wants to put the brakes on all new spending initiatives. Sales tax, gas tax, and income tax receipts are all expected to take a big hit.

And it's a bit of an unfair comparison to Ohio. What has Amtrak ever done for the Buckeye State, besides floating that pathetic 3C corridor proposal?

Paul Wilson
Arlington, VA

What were the flaws in the Ohio 3C proposal?

RRTom Wrote:
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> What were the flaws in the Ohio 3C proposal?

Gov. John Kasich was the flaw.....a move that put Ohio back two decades.....And where is that clown today?

RRTom Wrote:
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> What were the flaws in the Ohio 3C proposal?

Other than the fact that it cost too much, and provided little benefit...

Paul Wilson
Arlington, VA

Indiana is farther behind, sorry to report.
MEKoch Wrote:
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> The creation of VRPA sailed through the Virginia
> legislature and Gov. Northam was a eager
> proponet.  Sen. Edwards of Roanoke wants to see
> the rail infrastructure for passenger and freight
> greatly enhanced.  Since Virginia governors are
> term-limited to one four year term, the VRPA will
> have to bring forth a long range vision, which
> gathers broad-based support.  They will build
> upon the $3.7B deal with CSX for various portions
> of their tracks, and additional track
> construction.   The Commonwealth Corridor is
> coming.  
>
> I think this is very wise economic planning for
> Virginia.  My state of Ohio is 50 years behind
> Virginia.  

Dcmcrider Wrote:
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> RRTom Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> -----
> > What were the flaws in the Ohio 3C proposal?
>
> Other than the fact that it cost too much, and
> provided little benefit...

They said the same thing about the Downeaster service.....and what a success that is!!!!!

Virginia expects to be a much more crowded place in 20 years.

So it is planning for something other than 20 lanes wide highways.

Good for them.

Posted from Android

There are plenty of people making business trips from DC and Northern Virginia to Richmond and vice versa. Having that close to hourly Amtrak Northeast Regional service will help when the those service frequencies increase. Many of those Amtrak trains are going to also serve Richmond Main Street Station for those people who want more rail options into Downtown Richmond. Though further than Richmond from DC and Northern Virginia, I'm sure that people will be very happy to hear about more Amtrak trains serving the Hampton Roads Region. The State of Virginia and NS should let Amtrak raise the speeds along the right of way from Petersburg(Ettrick) to Norfolk. It's very straight there and not populated either until you get closer to Suffolk. It would be nice to add a station in Suffolk as well given that the line passes through there. I know that there have been proposals to build an Amtrak Station in Suffolk-one of them being on the border of Chesapeake.

santafedan Wrote:
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> Indiana is farther behind, sorry to report.


If one is to judge how far advanced a state is by the amount of passenger train service the state has, which is a bar that no one besides foamers would use, Indiana is far ahead of Ohio.

Yes but probably not by much. The main passenger rail routes in Indiana stay in the northern part of the state(Amtrak Wolverine and Blue Water Service). Plus you have the Amtrak long distance trains like the Lake Shore Limited and Capitol Limited which could cater quite well for people spending a day in Chicago as long as if they aren't running very late. The South Shore Commuter Rail operation which runs from Chicago to South Bend runs multiple trains but many of them don't go past Carroll Ave Station in Michigan City. There are some that probably don't go beyond one of the stations in Gary. The Amtrak Cardinal route serves multiple towns in Northwestern Indiana like Rennselaer and Dyer but the schedule is only three times a week with a rather slow ride into and out of Chicago. That's probably what caused the Hoosier State to stop running. The Chicago based Amtrak service, in general, isn't convenient. It's slightly better across the border from Indiana in Illinois. The Hiawatha has the most trains but many of the other Amtrak routes that go out of CHI see three trains in each direction.