Rail Service Is the Future of Transportation

With traffic jams clogging interstate highways in Northern Virginia and Richmond, it’s no wonder that Virginia is taking a harder look at rail transportation for the future. The General Assembly’s unwillingness to find sustainable sources of revenue for highways only adds to the future reliance on rail passenger service.

Thelma Drake, the new director of the Virginia Department of Rail and Public Transportation, said recently rail transportation is “all about mobility and how you serve the maximum of people.” She could have added “with the minimum number of dollars” to that statement.

The record shows it is far less expensive to build and upgrade rail lines than it is to build miles and miles of highways constructed to interstate standards. And both have the same basic objective – to move people from one point to another.

Lynchburg has already made itself part of that future by becoming part of the state’s first investment in Amtrak service to and from Washington. The state’s three-year pilot program, at a cost of about $25 million, will also pay to run a new Amtrak train from Richmond to Washington.

Amtrak is one of two passenger railroads in Virginia. The other is Virginia Railway Express commuter system that runs from Richmond to Washington.

The Lynchburg Amtrak train represents the first part of improvements aimed at expanding service to Roanoke and Bristol by way of the TransDominion Express, which would be headquartered in Lynchburg. That proposal has been on the table for more than a decade, but the state’s increased reliance on rail passenger service in the future has to increase its chances of becoming a reality.

As The Associated Press reported earlier this month, the state suffered a setback in the announcement of federal stimulus grants for high-speed passenger rail projects across the nation. Virginia sought $1.8 billion, but received just $75 million for its top rail initiative, which is a high-speed rail line between Richmond and Washington.

Passenger trains would run at speeds of 90 to 110 mph on such a line. The fastest that passenger trains run in Virginia today is 79 mph.

Highway statistics clearly show Virginia has not kept pace with its highway needs over the past two decades. From 1987 to 2007, the state’s population increased by 30 percent, while the number of miles traveled on the roads grew by 50 percent. New highway mileage, however, grew by only 8 percent.

At the same time, revenues continue to shrink for highway construction and maintenance. Since spring 2008, revenues for Virginia’s six-year transportation plan have dwindled by $4.6 billion, down to $22.5 billion for 2010 to 2015.

Rail proponents say that improved and increased passenger rail service can fill the gap. They point to more and better service as a way of relieving highway congestion while helping the economy by encouraging tourism, supporting jobs and promoting local investment.

The state rail agency is aware of the work that needs to be done to assure a sound future for rail service. For example, the state has not identified money to keep the new Lynchburg and Richmond Amtrak trains running after the pilot program ends in about two and a half years.

But Drake is optimistic. “We have some work to do. We have some big issues,” she said. But, “every challenge is also an opportunity. We’re positive here.”

As Virginia runs out of capacity on its highways, railroads will assume a larger part of moving people across the state and to the northeast and southeast corridors. As Drake put it, “Whether you like rail or not, it is the future.”