Rail News

When passengers step off a train, odds are they don't think about it again until the next boarding.

But Virginia Railway Express trains are busy during the hours passengers go home, eat dinner and sleep.

Locomotives and passenger cars spend the night at the Crossroads Yard in Spotsylvania County, near the intersection of U.S. 17 and Route 2. There, workers spend an overnight shift cleaning trains, making repairs, testing the brakes and preparing to make another run.

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Sen. Jim Webb, D-Va., and U.S. Rep. Tom Perriello, D-5th, wrote a joint letter to Amtrak this week requesting service assurance and station upgrades for the Danville station.

The letter asks for assurances that a new proposed line that will run between Lynchburg and Washington, D.C., won’t detract from service to and from Danville.

In addition to examining schedules, the senator and congressman urged Amtrak to establish a better physical presence in Danville, notably a Quick-Track automated ticket machine in the station. At the moment, there is no place in the city to purchase tickets or talk to an agent. In addition, they encouraged Amtrak to partner with the city to improve marketing strategies.

Amtrak's Silver Star, which operates a daily northbound and southbound train through Tampa on its New York-Miami route, improved its on-time performance in December compared with the 12-month period, Amtrak records show.

The northbound Silver Star was on time for 87.1 percent of its schedules in December, compared with 51.7 percent over the 12-month period.

The southbound Silver Star was on-time 67.7 percent of its schedules in December, compared with 51.6 percent over the12-month period.

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Before sunrise yesterday, about 150 passengers eagerly awaited the first Virginia Railway Express train pulling into the Fredericksburg station.

When the Washington-bound train chugged into view, a huge cheer rose from the crowd.

It was not your typical workday on the VRE.

Briefcases and lunch coolers stayed at home. Instead, passengers wore fanny packs and clutched small purses that met security requirements. Business suits were replaced by puffy parkas.

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Former congressman Ray LaHood said Wednesday one of his priorities as transportation secretary will be to make sure the money Congress sets aside for construction projects to stimulate the economy is wisely spent.

One of two Republicans President Barack Obama picked to serve in his Cabinet, LaHood also signaled the new administration sees transportation as key to its environmental agenda, telling a Senate panel that all areas of transportation from roads to rails must be "sustainable" to "acknowledge the new reality of climate change."

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Amtrak has launched a TV and out-of-home campaign for its Acela Express that emphasizes customer convenience and comfort.

In addition to 30-second TV spots and print, the effort relies on taxicab advertising, a mobile game and online iterations.

Developed by Arnold's McLean, Va., office, the initiative targets business travelers by playing up the legroom, electronic outlets, food choices and convenient city-center-to-city-center service offered by the train.

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The Amtrak Crescent hisses to a stop at the Kemper Street Station at 10:12 on a recent Saturday night, six minutes late.

The platform — virtually empty just moments before — comes to life as about 40 passengers, mostly students, disembark the train.

At the center of the action is Garland Harper, Lynchburg’s Amtrak station agent.

Harper hustles to the luggage car and stacks a dozen bags onto a metal cart, seemingly oblivious to the raindrops that dampen his jacket. When the cart is loaded, he delivers the bags to a crowd of expectant passengers.

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Virginia will pick up the cost for inauguration goers to ride buses free to Northern Virginia Metro stations Tuesday.

The state will pay eight Northern Virginia public transit agencies to run 300 buses on 45 routes that serve Metro stations, pedestrian access points and park-and-ride lots, according to the Virginia Department of Rail and Public Transportation.

The free service will operate from 4 a.m. to 9 p.m., though some operators may run later depending on demand.

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Folks traveling to Washington this week for the presidential inauguration could face heavy traffic, but one day folks from this area may be able to breeze there or even down to Atlanta.

A multi-state partnership has concluded that a high-speed rail line from Atlanta to Washington along the Interstate 85 corridor could be feasible, traveling at speeds up to 150 miles per hour.

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