Rail News

One of the founders of the Starlight Express linking Charlottesville to New York says his popular bus service might be doomed by a planned daily Amtrak train that the governor would like to subsidize.

“If the Amtrak really gets successful, we’ll almost certainly close our doors,” says Oliver Kuttner. “We’re marginally profitable now,” Kuttner adds, “so if we lose 20 percent of our customers, it probably won’t make sense to continue.”

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Passenger rail service hasn't been available to Roanoke since 1979, despite its roots as a rail town.

Prospects for a new passenger rail service to Lynchburg improved this week when state rail officials and Norfolk Southern Corp. approved a “framework agreement” for a new daily train to Washington.

The Commonwealth Transportation Board and the railroad that owns most of the track “set out the general parameters” of a pact Thursday night for more passenger rail service, said Jennifer Pickett, spokeswoman for the state Department of Rail and Public Transportation.

“We’re getting closer” to having a second train to Washington each day, likely starting in October, said Lynchburg city Councilman Bert Dodson. Dodson spent two days in Richmond this week talking to state and NS officials about the train.

Thomas Carper's elevation to chairman of the Amtrak board of directors has been greeted enthusiastically in Macomb.

U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin announced Carper's appointment last week.

'Tom Carper has brought a wealth of knowledge and experience to the Amtrak board,” Durbin said in a  written statement. “As mayor and regional director for West Central Illinois' economic development plan, he brought together business leaders, community leaders and elected officials around a common goal. He has done the same as a member of the Amtrak board to improve passenger rail in the United States. He is an excellent choice for chairman.”

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The city may get some federal money to help buy the Norfolk Southern right of way, the most likely route for a light-rail line.  A committee of the Metropolitan Planning Organization has agreed to let Hampton Roads Transit use $6 million of federal funds toward a light-rail study and the right-of-way purchase.

The members of the planning organization will have to formally approve the use of the funds in April.

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Shrinking transportation revenues, the increasing cost of maintenance and construction projects, and uncertainty surrounding long-term federal funding sources are forcing the Commonwealth Transportation Board to conduct a rare mid-year revision to its Fiscal Years 2009-2014 Six-Year Improvement Program passed in June.

Thursday, the CTB hosted a final public meeting to discuss changes to the program that occurred since a series of six-year program hearings were held in January.

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The Spotsylvania Board of Supervisors is about to vote once again on whether the county should join the Virginia Railway Express.

Lost in the emotion and flag-waving is a question that must be answered: How many people from Spotsylvania ride VRE each day, and what would it cost county taxpayers to join?

We do not have current figures, but a recent survey showed that approximately 800 daily commuters take the train.

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The Prince William County Model Railroad Club will have its monthly open house Saturday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. in the historic VRE train depot in the Town of Quantico.

The 600 square foot HO scale model train layout is very visitor-friendly; children and adults are even allowed to play engineer and drive the trains. There will be several friendly and knowledgeable club members available for demonstrations and questions. There's plenty of free parking in the adjacent commuter lot, ample eateries and watering holes within rock-throwing distance, and CSZ and Amtrak trains running by or stopping periodically on the old double-track RF&P mainline running a few feet from the depot's doors.

A short-term booster shot for the economy? Or a complete rethinking of the way businesses and individuals consume energy?

Those are the crucial questions as Congress debates the more than $100 billion in initiatives that are currently part of the nearly $900 billion stimulus package.

As it stands, the bill would use tax cuts and government spending for a wide range of projects - everything from building wind farms to helping you replace your energy-hogging refrigerator.

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Amtrak Board Chairman Thomas Carper says the rail service faces many challenges in the coming days.

He should know.  He became Amtrak board chairman last week.  His term as chairman couldn't have come at a better time. President Obama's economic stimulus package contains money for Amtrak service.

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