Rail News

A former west-central Illinois mayor has been named the chairman of Amtrak's board.
Thomas C. Carper has been a director on the national passenger railroad's board since March last year.

He says he's looking forward to tackling the challenges and opportunities that lie ahead.

Carper was mayor of Macomb from 1991 to 2003. He's also a regional director of an Illinois economic development program.

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Local dream projects that haven't made it past the planning stages won't get funding from the federal economic stimulus package, but some projects already under consideration might, including the Purple Line.

"We're looking at new projects that can be, maybe, moved pretty quickly. Perhaps with some of this economic stimulus and recovery funds that might be the case," says David Robertson, executive director of the Metropolitan Council of Governments.

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Transportation activists in Lynchburg and Charlottesville reacted strongly Thursday after a state senator from Bristol proposed a state budget amendment that, if passed, could halt plans for a new Washington-to-Lynchburg train.

“Pernicious,” said Rex Hammond, president of the Lynchburg Regional Chamber of Commerce, in talking about the proposed change.

“Save the Lynchburg-D.C. train,” read an e-mail from Meredith Richards of Charlottesville, chairman of the Piedmont Rail Coalition in Charlottesville.

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A bill by Del. David Toscano may be one key to getting improved passenger rail to Charlottesville and other parts of the commonwealth. Mr. Toscano has proposed allowing passenger rail to share in the Rail Enhancement Fund, a state fund that now assists freight lines with rail improvements.

“The challenge that we have in Virginia is that we have no way of funding inter-city passenger rail,” he said.

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At a time of severe budget shortfalls for state and local governments, higher costs for Norfolk’s light-rail project is not welcome news. Due to state-mandated improvements, costs have ballooned to $288 million, 24 percent more than the original price tag of $232 million.

Local observers have grumbled that the project has been “mismanaged” by Hampton Roads Transit (HRT), even as government officials began figuring out how they will make up the $55.9 million in additional costs.

The rail line will run 7.4 miles through downtown Norfolk and eventually could expand to Virginia Beach. Funding is being provided by federal, state and local sources. Construction began in March.

The commuter-rail agency named long-time board member Chris Zimmerman chairman. He currently serves on the Arlington County Board of Supervisors and represents Arlington County on the Northern Virginia Transportation Commission (NVTC) and Northern Virginia Transportation Authority. Zimmerman served as past chair of the Washington Metropolitan Area Transportation Authority.

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Sometime next year, Norfolk will open a light rail line transporting people between downtown and Newtown Road. The train, one of 35 light rail systems in the country, will stop at the border of Virginia Beach because 10 years ago, Beach officials couldn't find the political will to pursue a line of their own.

Now, as negotiations continue over purchasing an east-west rail corridor from Newtown to near the Oceanfront, the Virginia Beach City Council is talking about putting the question of light rail on the ballot again. But just as in 1999, when a similar referendum failed, the city lacks specifics on what light rail could do to and for Virginia Beach and the region.

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The price to buy the old Norfolk Southern rail line for a possible light-rail project could reach $40 million.

A state budget amendment proposed by Virginia Beach Sen. Kenneth Stolle and made public Thursday offers the clearest picture so far of what Norfolk Southern wants for the 10.6-mile line. The rail line bisects the city, roughly parallel to Interstate 264.

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City Council agreed to petition the federal government to increase high-speed passenger and freight rail services along the Interstate 81 corridor.

As an alternative to the proposal to expand the interstate to eight or 12 lanes, council approved a resolution Thursday that requests a federally funded grant for a pilot segment of the 21st Century Rail Steel Interstate Service that would run from Knoxville, Tenn., to Harrisburg, Penn.

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City officials and Washington representatives are pushing for increased railroad access for Danville residents as the state considers new Amtrak rail lines connecting more Virginia cities.

Mounting interest in the commonwealth in infrastructure development and train travel prompted a study by Amtrak about enhancing intercity rail travel in Virginia.

The study, released in January 2008, recommends two new lines in Virginia with one that would run from Lynchburg to Washington, with stops in Charlottesville, Culpeper, Manassas and Alexandria. The line would cost the state $1.9 million annually to operate.

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