VIRGINIA RAILWAY EXPRESS
703-684-1001
www.vre.org
UPDATE
May 19, 2010
New Amtrak Richmond
to Washington Train
Editor’s Note:
Amtrak and the Commonwealth of Virginia
have signed an agreement to operate an
additional train between Richmond and
Washington, D.C. during commuter hours.
This new train, along with the previously
implemented daily service between Lynchburg
and Washington, D.C., provides more passenger
options, and are the first state-supported
services are estimated to remove 1.4
million cars from highways, save more than
8.3 million gallons of fuel and eliminate
66,000 tons of carbon emissions each year.
intercity passenger rail services in Virginia.
are another step in positioning Virginia
to be a national leader in high speed rail.
Governor Kaine attended a roundtable
discussion with Vice President Joseph R.
Biden, U.S. Secretary of Transportation Ray
LaHood and other Governors on the future
of high speed rail in the United States.
These two projects, and the associated
infrastructure improvements, display Virginia’s
continuing investment in intercity rail, and
"The world's favorite
season is the spring.
All things seem
possible in May."
- Edwin Way Teale
And May for us at
VRE is all about
looking forward
to the many good
things to come.
Inside this
issue you’ll find
information on our
new Dyson hand
dryers, the new
Fredericksburg
express train as
well as information
on the Manassas
Railway Heritage
Festival and Amtrak’s
new Richmond to
Washington train
service. Also inside,
you’ll find the history
of Burke Centre
and information on
upcoming bridge
constructions, one
that will take place
north of the Brooke
station and one in
Alexandria.
Volume 6, Issue 4
“We cannot engage the future without a
strong commitment to passenger rail in these
vital corridors, providing more transportation
choices for all Virginians while helping
grow our economy,” Governor Kaine said.
“I appreciate the commitment of Amtrak,
CSX and Norfolk Southern to make these
new services a reality. This is a first step
toward a national vision of rail and ensures
Virginia’s place in that larger network.”
The new routes represent the first phase
of planned passenger rail improvements
in Virginia’s I-81/Route 29 and I-95/I-64
corridors. At full implementation, these
The additional Richmond to Washington, D.C.
route will begin operation on July 19, 2010 with
stops at Staples Mill Road in Richmond, Ashland,
Fredericksburg, Quantico, Woodbridge,
Alexandria, L’Enfant Plaza in Washington, D.C.,
and Union Station. The train is scheduled to
depart Richmond daily at 7:00 am and arrive
in Washington, D.C. at 9:30am. Afternoon
continued on page 2
History of Burke Centre
Safety Sense
You never know
when the car will
break down or
roads will become
impassable due
to weather or
an accident, so
always prepare
for unexpected
contingencies
having:
1. A flashlight or
lantern.
2. Emergency flares
or banner.
3. Water and food.
4. A Blanket.
5. Tire-changing
and battery-jumping
tools.
These are just some
of the basics to add
to your packing
list. Don’t forget
a cell phone for
emergencies or a
phone card so longdistance calls won’t
cost as much. A
container for those
with car sickness
may be useful, along
with paper towels or
baby wipes. Think
of other things that
your passengers
may need before
setting out, keeping
in mind that helpful
items like these tend
to cost more when
you buy them far
from home.
Page 2
The area of Fairfax County known as Burke
is named for Silas Burke (1796–1854), a
19th century farmer, merchant, and local
politician who built a house (which is still
standing) on a hill overlooking the valley
of Pohick Creek in approximately 1824.
When the Orange and Alexandria Railroad was
constructed in the late 1840s, the railroad
station at the base of that hill was named
Burke's Station after Burke, who owned the
land in the area and donated a right-of-way
to the railroad company. In 1851, The Orange
& Alexandria Railroad reached Burke and
Manassas (then called “Tudor Hall”). The
original Burke Station dates from that period.
In the following years, as rail service expanded
and connected to the entire nation, Burke
Station became a Regional Transit Center
where passengers and goods could be
exchanged. The height of rail service reached
a peak in the late 1800s and early 1900s.
The community that grew up around the
railroad station acquired a post office branch
in 1852. During the American Civil War, the
railway station was garrisoned by Union
troops. On December 28, 1862, Confederate
cavalry under General J.E.B. Stuart raided
the station. Stuart seized supplies from
the area, destroyed a nearby bridge,
monitored Union messages passing over
the telegraph lines, and then famously sent
a telegram to Union Quartermaster General
Montgomery C. Meigs complaining of the
poor quality of the mules he had captured.
In 1903, the name of the post office was
changed from Burke's Station to "Burke."
The area remained predominantly rural
well into the mid-20th century. After World
War I, some employees of the Federal
Government began moving into the area,
and commuted to Washington, D.C. by train.
The popularity of the personal automobile,
the effects of the Great Depression, and the
completion of the Interstate Highway System
contributed to the decline of railroads, including
this station. After 116 years of service,
passenger trains ceased to stop at Burke in 1967.
The first large subdivision in the vicinity, Kings
Park, was constructed beginning in 1960, and
was followed by many others over the next
two decades, converting Burke into a denselypopulated suburban community. Currently,
railroad tracks on the same historical line
are owned by the Norfolk Southern Railway.
In June 1992, the Virginia Railway Express
(VRE) started service at 10 stations, including
the Burke Centre Station, along the Washington
DC – Manassas Airport Corridor. In 2008,
VRE opened its 1500 space structured
parking garage, VRE’s largest, providing
ample parking for current and future needs.
New Amtrak Richmond
to Washington Train
continued from page 1
service is scheduled to
depart Washington, D.C.
at 3:55 pm and arrive
in Richmond at 6:25pm.
Detailed schedules and
fares will be finalized with
Amtrak within the next
two
months.
As part of this agreement, the
t
th A
Commonwealth will help fund Amtrak service
for the first time with a $17.2 million investment
over a three-year demonstration period.
The Amtrak Board of Directors’ approval
expands the availability of Amtrak service
between Virginia and the entire Northeast
Corridor. This agreement with Amtrak is the
last of four major agreements to be signed
with rail operators along each route, including
the host railroads—CSX and Norfolk Southern—
in addition to Virginia Railway Express.
In April 2009, Governor Kaine announced a
similar agreement to operate daily passenger
service between Lynchburg and Washington,
D.C. with stops at Kemper Street in Lynchburg,
Charlottesville, Culpeper, Manassas, Burke
Centre, Alexandria, and terminating at
Union Station in Washington, D.C.. The train
departs Lynchburg at 7:38 am and arrives in
Washington, D.C. at 11:20am. For afternoon
service the train departs Washington, D.C.
at 4:50pm and arrives in Lynchburg at
8:36pm. Service began in October 2009.
For more information on these two trains,
visit: www.drpt.virginia.gov.
New Express Train Coming
A new morning
express train on the
Fredericksburg line is
on the way, beginning
July 19. The new 5:05
am train will run 10
minutes earlier than
the first train currently
scheduled on the
Fredericksburg line and will get riders to
Washington 25 minutes sooner than any
other train VRE operates. The train will stop
at Fredericksburg, Leeland Road, Brooke,
Woodbridge, Alexandria, Crystal City, L’Enfant,
and Union Station. (There will not be an express
train for the return trip). This new express
train will have 3 cars and seat 450 riders and
will help to alleviate some of the crowding
normally experienced on the 5:15am train.
Plans for the express train came after Virginia
was awarded $75 million in stimulus money on
January 28 for high-speed rail improvements
to the Powell’s Creek area, where crews
will build a third set of tracks between
Dumfries and Arkendale in Stafford County.
Courtesy Corner
Most everyone
is aware that cell
phones are not
allowed in the
Quiet Car, so we
thought we’d pass
along some other
reminders about
general cell phone
use and courtesy.
Everyone has been
to a public place
and experienced
either an annoying
cell phone ring or
a loud one-sided
conversation. As
a courtesy to your
fellow riders, please
try to have phones
set to vibrate if
possible.
If you get a call, try
to keep it short and
to the point and try
to speak in a hushed
voice.
We realize the
importance of cell
phones in this day
and age and we’re
not telling you that
you can’t use phones
(except for those in
the Quiet Car), but
please try to show a
little courtesy when
doing so.
Thank you.
Manassas Heritage Railway
Festival - June 5th
Upcoming Dates
Fri. May 21st - Bike
to Work Day
Wed. May
26th, Meet the
Management at
Broad Run. All
morning trains.
Mon. May 31st Memorial Day, no
VRE Service.
Tue. June 1st Planned Service
Disruption
Wed. June
2nd, Meet the
Management at
Leeland Road. All
morning trains.
Sat. June 5th Manassas Heritage
Railway Festival
VRE Update is a
publication of Virginia Railway Express.
The newsletter is
published monthly
12 times per year.
Stories included are
for the sole use of
VRE riders. Comments and questions
may be directed to
VRE at gotrains@
vre.org or at (703)
684-1001.
Page 4
Formerly a Southern Railway passenger station,
the Manassas train depot is now the signature
icon of Old Town Manassas, acting not only
as a busy stop for daily Amtrak and Virginia
Railway Express commuter trains, but home to
the Old Town Visitor Center and the James and
Marion Payne Railroad
H e r i t a g e G a l l e r y.
Now in its 16th year,
the Annual Manassas
Heritage Railway
Festival was originally
created to celebrate
and educate on the
rich railroad history
that Manassas has
t o o f f e r. O v e r t h e
years, the event has
become known as
“train day” to area
families anticipating
an entire day focused
on the Railroad. With
the approaching 150th anniversary of the 1st
Battle of Manassas in 2011, Historic Manassas,
Inc. is pleased to announce that, this year,
a large scale Civil
War weekend will
surround
the
H e r i t a g e Ra i l wa y
Festival on June 5.
“ We a r e e x c i t e d
this year to have
teamed up with
the reenactment
community to add
m o r e C i v i l Wa r
living history to
t h e f e s t i va l t h a n
ever before,” says
Liz Via-Gossman,
City of Manassas
Community Development Director. “This is
all a prelude to what the public can expect
in 2011 when Manassas commemorates
the 150th Anniversary of the Civil War.”
Beginning Friday, June 4, living history
exhibitions will begin setting up on the lawn
of the Manassas Museum as a part of the
larger annual Manassas Heritage Railway
Festival in Old Town on June 5th. Living
historians, authors, and both Union and
Confederate re-enactors will be present in
camps for public inspection. Infantry, Artillery
and Cavalry drill demonstrations are being
planned throughout the day. Period sutlers
vending Civil War memorabilia and provisions
will be on site, and period music will include
groups such as Evergreen Shade, South Fork
and the Chantleers. A special performance
by the Mosby Players with Jim Wass and
Company will round out the evening, with
music and instruction
for a 1861 Period
Community Dance
from 6 to 8 o’clock
Saturday evening.
This year’s Heritage
Railway Festival will
be held from 10am
until 4pm around the
Old Town Manassas
train depot and the
Loy E. Harris Pavilion
on Saturday, June 5.
Once again, the festival
will feature elaborate
model train displays,
the much anticipated VRE Excursion Train
to Clifton and back sponsored by Northwest
Federal Credit Union at Signal Hill, live
entertainment on the
main stage featuring
the Norfolk Southern
Lawmen Band, a
kids’ stage with both
professional and
local talent powered
b y Ra d i o D i s n e y,
food concessions,
rides, and vendors
o f “ ra i l r o a d a n i a ”.
Admission to the
Heritage Railway
Festival and Civil
War
Weekend
is free, and the
Manassas Museum
will also be offering free admission that day.
There is plenty of free parking in Old Town’s
multi-story parking garage, conveniently
located next to the festival at Main and
Prince William Streets. Bring the whole
family and enjoy a wonderful day
celebrating our area’s rich railroad history!
City Manager Larry Hughes looks forward
t o t h e R a i l w a y F e s t i v a l e v e r y y e a r.
“The railroad and the Civil War are the two
marquis themes that have shaped the heritage of
Manassas. I can’t wait to enjoy this great festival.”
On-Time Performance
Over The Last Six Months
On-Time
Performance
April 2010
Fredericksburg
Line
Electronic Hand Dryers Coming
to VRE Train Restrooms
In January, 2010, the VRE Operations Board
approved a task order to install new hand
dryers in all of the VRE restrooms on the
trains. Currently, these restrooms have paper
towel dispensers in the bathrooms
for passenger use. Unfortunately,
used paper towels have been found
stuffed into the toilets causing
damage to the toilet system. The
result of this damage is that the
bathrooms are being placed out of
service for extended repairs, which
elevates our maintenance costs
when we are trying to reduce them.
and it’s hygienic, cleaning the air before blowing
it onto hands. It can dry 22 pairs of hands for
the price of a single paper towel and it uses
80% less energy than warm air had dryers. A
HEPA filter removes over 99%
of bacteria from the air used
to dry hands and it starts and
stops automatically so it is a
touch-free operation. For those
who are in the habit of using a
paper towel to touch the door
handle, just substitute a piece
of toilet paper, your own wet
wipe or handkerchief instead.
VRE obtained and installed one
Dyson Airblade electric hand dryer
in one bathroom on train 328/331
in August of 2009. The objective
was to determine if this unit would
be a suitable replacement for the
paper towel dispenser. The feedback from
passengers was positive and the performance
of the electric hand dryer proved to be reliable
and suitable for the operating environment.
The elimination of the paper towel holder
will also eliminate the need to purchase
and stock bathrooms with paper towels.
By changing to the Dyson
Airblade hand dryer, we can
achieve immediate cost savings
and eliminate paper towel waste,
not to mention the savings on
maintenance costs to repair the
toilets that were clogged with paper towels.
The Dyson Airblade hand dryer works in just 12
seconds. It’s the fastest hand dryer out there
The units have been received and are ready
for installation. We will be installing them
first on the cars that are out of service
and they will be rotated back into the
system. The first installation will take place
within a month or so, and it is expected to
take approximately six months to complete
the installation for the the entire fleet.
300
302
304
306
308
310
–
–
–
–
–
–
95%
86%
91%
95%
95%
91%
301
303
305
307
309
311
313
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
91%
77%
77%
95%
82%
77%
77%
Overall – 86%
Manassas Line
322
324
326
328
330
332
–
–
–
–
–
–
100%
82%
77%
95%
91%
95%
325
327
329
331
333
335
337
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
86%
68%
68%
86%
77%
82%
68%
Overall – 83%
*A train is
considered
delayed if it is
more than 5
minutes later than
the posted
schedule into its
final destination.
Page 5
Upcoming Bridge Work North
of Brooke Station
Bike to Work Day
– Friday May 21st
Join thousands of
area commuters
for a celebration of
bicycling as a clean,
fun and healthy
way to get to work!
Washington Area
Bicyclist Association
and Commuter
Connections invite
you to try bicycling
to work as an
alternative to solo
driving. Help the
Washington region
become a better
place to ride. Bike
to Work Day is a
FREE event and
open to all area
commuters. There
will be a raffle,
prizes, food, drink
and more at all pit
stops throughout
the region.
Free T-shirts
will available for
the first 8,500
registrants who are
in attendance at
the pit stop they
registered for.
Registration for Bike
to Work Day 2010 is
now open!
Register for the pit
stop rally you plan
to attend. Raffles
will be held at each
pit stop for prizes
including commuter
bags, bike locks,
and bicycles.
For more
information, please
visit: http://www.
waba.org/events/
btwd/
Page 6
VDOT is getting ready to start work on
the bridge about a mile north of the
Brooke VRE station. Some of you may
be wondering what is going on there, so
we thought we’d give you a brief update.
When some of Amtrak's taller, double-decker
trains pass underneath the old 1917 railroad
overpass on Courthouse Road, the clearance
is extremely tight. “The distance between the
train and the bridge can be measured in inches,”
said Rob Shackelford, Virginia Department of
Transportation area construction engineer.
There needs to be more clearance.
When the new bridge being built over the
tracks is finished in September 2011, it will
have a 23-foot clearance over the tracks. This
is ample space for Amtrak and the Virginia
Railway Express double-decker cars. The
new bridge also will be long enough to span
a third railroad track, which is envisioned to
eventually be laid down as part of the state's
infrastructure upgrades for high-speed rail.
Residents living east of the single-lane bridge
will likely be happier with the new structure's
width--40 feet across from curb to curb.
Instead of the current bridge's single traffic
lane, which forces cars to take turns crossing,
there will be two 12-foot travel lanes and
8-foot-wide paved shoulders. Improvements
also will be made to Courthouse Road
over 1.3 miles on the bridge's approaches.
"I'm happy to finally see the bridge replaced
under my watch," said Stafford Supervisor
Paul Milde, who represents the area. "It
wasn't built to last 93 years, but it has
served our county and our community well. “
Planning work will start this month, but
area residents will likely notice construction
work beginning in July, Shackelford said.
The existing bridge will stay open during
construction, limiting the need for traffic
disruptions. Once the new bridge is built,
t h e e x i s t i n g b r i d g e w i l l b e r e m ove d .
New Bridge in Alexandria
Will Improve Service
As relayed in a Train Talk from last week, we are
planning for a service disruption on June 1st
due to CSX replacing a century old bridge over
the Norfolk Southern tracks near Cameron Run.
Some of you may be asking, “Why is this being
done?” We hope to answer that question for you.
The CSX territory on which the Fredericksburg
Line operates is a busy corridor that sees about 30
freight, 18 Amtrak, and 30 VRE trains on a daily
basis making the railroad operate near capacity.
In many ways it is the equivalent to driving
down I-95 at 6AM; vehicles may be moving
at top speed but any small disruption
will have a cascading effect on traffic.
All those who have a vested interest in the
corridor know this, and projects to improve
capacity have been happening for some time.
Installation of the Quantico bridge, new
switches, and second platforms, eliminate
bottlenecks and add flexibility to train
operations, but the main project to improve
performance is adding a third track from
Washington, D.C. to Richmond. There are
already three tracks from D.C. to about
Alexandria (excluding the Long Bridge over
the Potomac) and the bridge cut-in near
Cameron Run is part of extending the third
track from Alexandria to Franconia/Springfield.
Currently the old bridge only has one track.
However, the replacement will have two
tracks to facilitate multiple trains operating
in the same area. It will be especially helpful
since our trains will then be able to pass
around freight trains as they slow down
when approaching the hill at Franconia.
Some Manassas Line riders may be saying,
“That’s great, but why does it affect me?”
Well the Alexandria-Franconia area is
where CSX and Norfolk Southern lines
meet. As a result, the bridge that will be
installed will go over Norfolk Southern tracks
which will affect Manassas line service.
We realize this will be a headache for some
riders but infrastructure improvements such
as this one will help improve performance
and efficiency. The disruption will only be
temporary but is part of a long term process
to improve mobility within our region. Lastly,
while we have not finalized the schedule
for that day (stay tuned to Train Talk and
our website in the coming days for those
details), we can say for certain that midday service will be cancelled on June 1st.