Replacing aging train switches in Richmond, Virginia's congested Acca Yard made the first cut of new rail projects recommended for state funding.

At a meeting yesterday of Gov. Mark R. Warner's Rail Advisory Board, state officials said some of Acca's switching devices -- key to moving trains in a timely manner across the freight yard -- were up to 50 years old.

Replacing them is a first step to speeding Amtrak passenger trains through CSX Corp.'s Acca facility to Main Street Station and on to Tidewater, officials said.

This promises to have a "potential positive impact on Amtrak service" in the area, said Karen Rae, director of the Department of Rail and Public Transportation.

The Acca proposal is one of nine projects that got the green light from Rae's agency. The proposals touch on most parts of Virginia, including a major initiative by Norfolk Southern Corp. to allow it to carry more freight containers from the Port of Hampton Roads through Roanoke and on to the Midwest.

Other projects would extend commuter rail service in Northern Virginia, increase freight rail capacity in Suffolk and give CSX access to a large marine-container facility in Portsmouth.

Petersburg and Crewe would also get rail construction. A second set of proposals under consideration could help the Port of Richmond and possibly build a staging area for Amtrak trains at Main Street Station.

The rail board is expected to vote on the funding initiatives Nov. 30. The Commonwealth Transportation Board then must approve the work.

Sharon Bulova, a Fairfax County supervisor who led the rail group, said the first-ever $23 million in funding provides a kind of "venture capital" to give private companies incentive to work with the state.

The fund can pay for up to 70 percent of any one project. At least 30 percent must come from the project sponsor.

A number of senior Norfolk Southern and CSX officials were on hand for the planning conference. Rae told them that every project must prove its worth in measurable ways. That could include faster train times or calculations showing that trucks are coming off the highway.

The largest of the nine finalists was a $7.5 million request to partner with Norfolk Southern, which plans "a major freight rail improvement project in Virginia, West Virginia and Ohio," according to the project summary.

Norfolk Southern wants to build a new "double stack" route that could handle ocean-going freight containers stacked one on top of the other from Hampton Roads through Roanoke and across the Appalachians to the Midwest.

A side benefit would be reduced truck traffic on Interstate 81.

As part of the $32 million project, Norfolk Southern wants to build a truck-to-train transfer facility in Roanoke, which could "bring economic growth to the region," said Robert Martinez, Norfolk Southern's vice president for business development.