Transportation
Virginia to build Long Bridge and acquire CSX right of way to expand passenger train service

By Luz Lazo
Dec. 19, 2019 at 3:47 p.m. EST

Virginia will build a new rail bridge over the Potomac River connecting Arlington and the District to significantly expand commuter and passenger train service over the next decade, Gov. Ralph Northam (D) announced Thursday. ... The state will own the new two-track span, to be constructed alongside the aged and overburdened Long Bridge. It will allow a 75 percent increase in frequency of Virginia Rail Express commuter trains and a doubling of Amtrak service between the District and Richmond, officials said.

The bridge will be built by as early as 2027 as part of a $3.7 billion investment that also includes adding new track in the Washington-to-Richmond corridor and acquisition of hundreds of miles of passenger right of way from the private company CSX. ... The agreement with CSX is designed to make future expanded train service possible across the state, including from Doswell west to Clifton Forge, and from Richmond south to the North Carolina border, officials said. ... The 10-year project will be paid for with local, state and federal money, Virginia officials said, but the state still needs a funding commitment from the District, Maryland and Northern Virginia.

This is the second time in just over a month that Virginia has committed to financing a major river crossing. Last month Northam and Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan (R) announced a joint, billion-dollar plan to rebuild and widen the American Legion Bridge. It was a major breakthrough for a long-desired expansion that promises to relieve congestion at the Washington region's worst traffic bottleneck.
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Further south, plans are to add a third track from Franconia to Occoquan at a cost of $220 million and a $330 million rail bypass at Franconia-Springfield, which will allow the movement of trains when other trains are serving the station. ... “Our vision is definitely on growth,” Mitchell said in an interview earlier this week. “We would like to get to a place where we have nearly hourly service between Richmond and D.C. We would like to continue expanding trains to places like Newport News, Norfolk and Petersburg. We would like to be able to continue expanding VRE service, because they do relieve congestion on the 66 and 95 corridors.”

The acquisition from CSX also includes the 186 miles of tracks in the Buckingham Branch Line between Doswell and Clifton Forge, which would allow Virginia to launch an east-west train route from Norfolk to the Roanoke area. As part of the deal, Virginia will also acquire rights to use the abandoned S-Line from Petersburg to Ridgeway, N.C., an investment that would facilitate plans for high-speed train system in the Southeast. ... Under the agreement with CSX, the railroad will give Virginia permanent rights to increase the number of Amtrak and VRE trains operating on CSX tracks. ... Today Amtrak runs five Northeast Regional trains to Richmond. Officials anticipate adding six additional daily roundtrips to Richmond and one extension to the Hampton Roads area.

Virginia Railway Express, which runs eight trains on the Fredericksburg line, will add five new roundtrip trains during the rush hour and introduce three roundtrips on Saturday and Sunday. The agreement, officials said, will also allow VRE to add special Friday evening trains to give Virginians the option to use VRE after hours. ... Some trains could start as soon as the deal with CSX is finalized next summer and additional trains by 2026.

Robert McCartney contributed to this article.

Luz Lazo is a transportation reporter at The Washington Post covering passenger and freight transportation, buses, taxis and ride-sharing services. She also writes about traffic, road infrastructure and air travel in the Washington region and beyond. She joined The Post in 2011. Follow https://twitter.com/luzcita