VRE to increase its fares

PRINCE WILLIAM COUNTY — In order to pay for increased operations costs, the Virginia Railway Express (VRE) will be increasing fare prices by an average of 3% starting July 1.

“VRE works hard to control internal costs but there are some costs over which we have little control and that rise every year. A good example is track access fees. Because we do not own the tracks on which our trains run, we need to pay CSX and Norfolk Southern to run on them. We recognize the potential impact a fare increase has on household budgets, which is why we strive to control costs, keep increases modest, and avoid annual fare increases,” said VRE spokeswoman Karen Finucan Clarkson.

This fare increase will coincide with the start of the new fiscal budget year, and the exact price of each fare can be found online.

The July Monthly ticket can be purchased at the current price until July 1.

Paper Monthly and Mobile Monthly tickets are available for purchase now.

Clarkson also stated that the VRE’s Operations Board policy is to alternate between increases in fares and jurisdictional subsidies.

The next budgeting cycle is this fall, and the VRE will look to the nine counties and cities that it serves to help meet any increased operating costs.