Rail News

Construction of the city's light-rail system is starting to transform a 7-1/2 -mile ribbon of real estate connecting the east and west sides of town.

In some spots, the track's supporting structures resemble a roller coaster as it climbs up and over freight lines and a busy intersection. In others, it's more like a dirt pit as crews lay drainage pipes and build earthen beds for the trains.

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Making the last stops of his two-year journey to the White House by rail, President-elect Barack Obama asked Americans yesterday for the patience and personal responsibility he said were necessary to confront the country's vast challenges.

"While our problems may be new, what is required to overcome them is not," Obama said in Baltimore, where he left the station to address a crowd filling the city's War Memorial Plaza. "What is required is a new declaration of independence, not just in our nation, but in our own lives - from ideology and small thinking, prejudice and bigotry - an appeal not to our easy instincts, but to our better angels."

The bags were heavy. And the air was frigid. But the smiles were everywhere as passengers boarded an early-morning Amtrak train today that would speed them through New Jersey to Washington for the inauguration of Barack Obama.

"I can't believe we're actually doing this," said LaVerne Council, of Mendham, who was traveling with her husband Bennie.

At the Metropark train station in Woodbridge, parents dropping off college students mixed with couples and families, Obama fanatics, the apolitical and even John McCain supporters just looking for adventure and a glimpse of history. Conversations crackled: The balls, the crowds, the celebrities, the history, and of course the weather.

Putting millions of Americans to work and rebuilding our frayed infrastructure are Barack Obama's most pressing priorities when he takes office. He should start by creating a high-speed rail link between Boston and Washington.

When Joe Biden — U.S. senator and Delaware resident — was running late for his trip to Washington, the train conveniently was delayed by some unknown mechanical difficulty.

Biden, now vice president-elect, joked on Saturday that Amtrak conductor Gregg Weaver and his colleagues often found a way to make sure he made the train.

"There was always some mechanical difficulty that lasted for a minute or two," Biden said with a smile. "I have to admit that now."

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President-elect Barack Obama is promising that he and Vice President-elect Joe Biden "will fight for you every day we're in Washington" as the pair visited Delaware en route by train to the capital.

Obama paid tribute to Biden, who has commuted by Amtrak from Delaware to Congress for several years. He told a cheering crowd that getting things right for the country is the reason he asked Biden "to take one more ride to Washington."

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After years of stalled negotiations over a critical corridor from Newtown Road to Town Center and the Oceanfront, Virginia Beach and Norfolk Southern Corp. finally have a handshake agreement to turn the rail right of way over to the city.

Making good on a campaign promise, Virginia Beach Mayor Will Sessoms aggressively pursued a deal on the 10.6-mile line, believing - correctly - that the rail bed is crucial to his city's future transportation needs.

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U.S. automakers, airlines and railroads would benefit from billions worth of infrastructure and advanced technology proposals included in an economic stimulus package unveiled by congressional Democrats on Thursday.

General Motors Corp, Ford Motor Co and Chrysler LLC are fighting for survival because a recession, stiff competition from overseas manufacturers, and shifting consumer demands are driving down domestic sales sharply.

An industry priority is to speed up gasoline-electric hybird development and introduce electric vehicles beginning in 2010 to better match cutting edge vehicle technologies now dominated by Japanese manufacturers.

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Commuter rail service from Fredericksburg is sold out for Inauguration Day, as travelers look for ways to enter and leave the nation's capital without a vehicle.

The Virginia Railway Express sold its last ticket yesterday for 15 trains scheduled to run each way on Tuesday, when two major interstates and all of the bridges to Washington will be closed to personal vehicles.

About 17,500 people have tickets to ride VRE trains that day from Fredericksburg or other stations on the system's two train lines from the Virginia suburbs into Washington.

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The City Council has agreed to spend $10 million to buy the 10.6-mile Norfolk Southern Corp. right of way, the likely route for a light-rail project.

Under the plan, city money would be combined with another $10 million in state money and other incentives yet to be determined.

Buying the right of way could accelerate debate over light rail in the Beach. Voters rejected the idea in a 1999 referendum.

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