VRE warns of shutdown in the face of a looming fright railroad strike

The state’s only commuter railroad warns of canceled trains on both lines, from Fredericksburg and Manassas to Washington, D.C. The lines are owned by freight railroads CSX and Norfolk Southern, respectively, and without train dispatchers monitoring the traffic on those lines, VRE trains cannot operate.

“Any labor strike would result in the immediate suspension of all Virginia Railway Express train service until a resolution is reached,” VRE penned notice to riders.

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— Virginia Railway Express (@VaRailExpress) September 13, 2022

The commuter railroad carries about 5,000 passengers daily, down from the 20,000 daily riders it had in 2019. The potential service shutdown comes as VRE offers free rides on its trains this month to attract more passengers back to the service.

VRE aims to offer free fares in October, but they will be limited to travel between the six VRE stations most impacted by the closure of stations along Metro’sBlue Line.

Riders traveling from the Backlick Road on the Manassas Line, Franconia-Springfield on the Fredericksburg Line, and Alexandria, Crystal City, L’Enfant, and Union Station on both lines would ride free.

Suppose VRE shuts down Friday, OmiRide, which provides commuter bus service to Arlington and Washington. In that case, D.C. says it will have plenty of room for more passengers. “Friday is our lightest day for ridership, so we should have plenty of capacity if it ends up that we need to assist VRE,” said spokeswoman Alyssa Ludwiczak.

A railroad strike would significantly affect the economy, slowing food and fuel deliveries to area stores and gas stations. Freight railroad employees are griping about long working hours and rules that keep them on call on their days off.