Gov. Ralph Northam announces the state's $3.7 billion rail expansion project at Alexandria’s Amtrak/Virginia Railway Express (VRE) station on March 30, 2021.
Virginia will have more train service in the next decade, as Gov. Ralph Northam announced Tuesday the formalization of a $3.7 billion rail expansion package in Virginia, the tenets of which were announced in late 2019. The state signed agreements with Amtrak, CSX and Virginia Railway Express at a ceremony Tuesday.
According to the governor’s office, the number of Amtrak trains serving Virginia will double over the next 10 years, providing nearly hourly service, and increase VRE commuter service by 60%. An existing east-west freight corridor between Doswell and Clifton Forge will be preserved to provide passenger service, and the project creates the possibility of rail serving the entire state. Some of the funding comes from the $1.9 trillion American Rescue Plan legislation Congress passed in December toward pandemic relief.
Northam, who signed the agreements Tuesday while accompanied by U.S. Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg at the Amtrak/Virginia Railway Express station in Alexandria, called the agreements a historic initiative “that will fundamentally transform our transportation infrastructure, delivering long-term economic benefits for our workers and communities as we rebound from the pandemic and into the future.”
