VRE inks $8.5 million deal to keep trains running to Fredericksburg for 1 more year

The Virginia Railway Express (VRE) is extending its Operating and Access agreement with CSX Transportation (CSX) for one more year, but the deal may not go much further than June 2021.

This 2011 agreement allows VRE commuter trains to use the tracks between Fredericksburg and Washington, D.C. and was set to expire by the end of this month. VRE uses railways that are owned by CSX, and similar agreements have been in place between the two organizations since 1994.

VRE has a similar agreement with Norfolk Southern railroad in order to run trains on the system’s Manassas line, between the Manassas Regional Airport and Washington, D.C.

The CSX agreement extension will cost $8.5 million in the fiscal year 2021.

“It is currently not in VRE’s interest to enter into a multi-year agreement with CSX, given the agreement between the freight rail service and the Commonwealth of Virginia,” commented VRE Public Affairs Administrator Karen Finucan Clarkson.

The agreement in question refers to one that was brokered between the Commonwealth and CSX back in December 2019. The project is known as “Transforming Rail in Virginia” and is a $3.7 billion partnership between the Virginia Department of Rail and Transportation (DRPT) and CSX. Its mission is to improve railway capacity for both passengers and freight.

Among the goals of this project are building a new Virginia-owned Long Bridge across the Potomac River with tracks dedicated exclusively to passenger and commuter rail, acquisition of more than 350 miles of railroad right-of-way along with 225 miles of track, and 37 miles of new track improvements, including a Franconia-Springfield bypass.

The current Long Bridge that runs over the Potomac River is one of the most significant rail bottlenecks along the East Coast, according to the Virginia Department of Rail and Public Transportation. The long bridge currently runs at 98% capacity during peak times. By building a new bridge, the goal is to relieve that bottleneck and use the old bridge for rail freight while using the new bridge for commuters.

Virginia is also acquiring approximately half of the CSX-owned railroad right-of-way between Washington, D.C., and Richmond.

CSX will be paid $525 million over the next three years in order for the state to gain ownership of the land and tracks. These include the rights to use the tracks between Richmond, VA and Petersburg, VA, all of the CSX-owned (but out of service) right-of-way between Petersburg, VA and Ridgeway, NC, and all of the CSX-owned right-of-way between Doswell, where Kings Dominion is located near Richmond, and Clifton, Forge in western Virginia.

Track within the right-of-way purchased by Virginia will also become state property.

These acquisitions will allow for a doubling of Amtrak state-supported and VRE Fredericksburg line service which would include the addition of VRE weekend service.

The transactions between Virginia and CSX are scheduled to be completed by the end of this year, and a number of agreements and approvals from the Virginia General Assembly will be needed to move the project along.

VRE provides commuter rail service from the Northern Virginia suburbs to Alexandria, Crystal City and downtown Washington, D.C., along the I-66 and I-95 corridors. Services began in 1992, operating 16 trains from 16 stations.

Now, VRE operates 30 trains from 19 stations and carries, on average, 20,000 passengers daily prior to the coronavirus pandemic.