As part of the Transforming Rail in Virginia plan, the Commonwealth purchased half of the RF&P railroad (home to VRE’s Fredericksburg line) from CSX. The agreement includes not only the right of way, but also an agreement for shared dispatching and scheduling authority, opening the door for better on-time performance and more control over passenger rail schedules in a mixed passenger/freight corridor.
Unfortunately, the plan has yet to include any (public) agreements with Norfolk Southern, who owns the tracks for VRE’s Manassas Line. In many ways, the Manassas Line has more potential than the Fredericksburg line – the Manassas line travels through relatively densely developed suburban areas along a corridor that lacks competing highway travel options. The rail line is already double-tracked and mostly grade separated, yet doesn’t host much freight traffic for NS. With the eventual expansion of the Long Bridge enabling more Amtrak and regional rail traffic, the line is a perfect candidate for increasing service.
The vision for regional rail in the DC area: run it like rapid transit. Frequent, all-day service.
My basic, quick-and-dirty vision for the line:
- Purchase the line from NS
- Electrify the line, and link through to the NEC
- Develop stations to maximize ridership
The last item would represent the biggest physical change on the line. The railroad itself is a large barrier in this part of suburban Virginia – only a handful of north-south roads cross it. Conveniently, these areas also include areas with commercial and industrial land uses (orange) ripe for eventual redevelopment as station areas (green).
The existing Rolling Road station would close. All stations would be rebuilt to enable operation on both tracks in both directions, as well as to provide pedestrian and bike connections to neighborhoods on both sides of the tracks. Locating stations near the north/south roads also creates the opportunity for connecting bus transit, which currently doesn’t exist.
Other ideas for the Manassas line:
Add a station at Clifton, VA – limited development potential due to historic preservation, but a strong, walkable small town core.
Consider an extension to Haymarket, VA – VRE studied this, but it would require splitting already infrequent trains among two termini, as well as require extensive investment to avoid NS conflicts.