Virginia Service expansion

[JWJD126]

I was poking around the Amtrak website and it looks like starting 7/11, Train 95 will *not* stop in Ashland, VA, but it will add 67 and 185. So right now, 95, 125, 93, and 85 service Ashland (southbound service), but next week, it will be 67, 185, 125, 93, and 85.

 

[jis]

Folks in Suffolk want a station on the Norfolk route...

https://www.suffolknewsherald.com/2022/07/07/suffolk-residents-advocate-for-amtrak-stop/

 

[City of Miami]

Service starts tomorrow on the new NER 151 and 66 to/from Roanoke running counter to the current 171/176. I shall be at the stadium at 10:30 am and possibly 7pm to see what I can see. Amtrak has tickets for sale with absolutely no promotion or publicity I know of.

 

[Ryan]

There was a good article in the Post. Second Amtrak-related one in a week or so.

 

[City of Miami]

NER151 debut arrival in CVS was about 10 minutes late, not bad. There were 4 coaches followed by a food service car on the tail. A couple of dozen passengers detrained and at least a dozen boarded for points south. There were 2 conductors which is one more than usual in recent months.
My planned trip to NYC Wed was torpedoed by performance cancellations due to COVID-19 outbreak but Amtrak refunded my cheap fares to vouchers painlessly.

 

[user 13416]

Folks in Suffolk want a station on the Norfolk route...

https://www.suffolknewsherald.com/2022/07/07/suffolk-residents-advocate-for-amtrak-stop/

The guy quoted in the article is a former coworker of mine. And one of Suffolk's loudest cheerleaders.

The article has some glaring errors (I-264 doesn't run through two tunnels for example, the Midtown Tunnel is US-58) and taking the train from Suffolk to Norfolk to go shopping is a pipe dream, because both outbound trains are in the morning and both inbound trains are at night. And no way is NS going to allow a commuter train on that route. But a NER stop in Suffolk would make DC/NYC trips more convenient for residents of Suffolk, Franklin, and Isle of Wight & Southampton counties. Downtown Suffolk to Norfolk is a 30-minute drive in traffic, and is 7 miles farther apart than RVR-ASD.

 

[Ryan]

He also can't spell "Amtrack"right in his group name (or the paper munged it up).

My in-laws live in "Suffolk", by which I mean "Damn near North Carolina". But I'll bet I could convince @SANSR to make the arduous drive up from Whaleyville to pick us up if we were dropped in Suffolk proper.

 

[City of Miami]

NER 66 was almost an hour late this evening at CVS for her maiden voyage after leaving Lynchburg only a few minutes late. There were about 3 dozen people waiting to board. In the meantime NER 171 came in on time for a change and discharged the usual mob which of course confused people. There was a new station agent I'd never seen before who had a weak voice making her pretty much useless on the platform. The last car was BC as well as Cafe with I didn't notice this morning.
One interesting thing, there were 2 conductors on 66 but they were not the same 2 who went south on 151 this morning.

 

[user 13416]

He also can't spell "Amtrack"right in his group name (or the paper munged it up).

My in-laws live in "Suffolk", by which I mean "Damn near North Carolina". But I'll bet I could convince @SANSR to make the arduous drive up from Whaleyville to pick us up if we were dropped in Suffolk proper.

That was another error in the article.
https://www.facebook.com/groups/578100000340806
(for some reason, the forum is displaying the Facebook link in Cyrillic letters for me )

 

[Kirk2266]

Service starts tomorrow on the new NER 151 and 66 to/from Roanoke running counter to the current 171/176. I shall be at the stadium at 10:30 am and possibly 7pm to see what I can see. Amtrak has tickets for sale with absolutely no promotion or publicity I know of.

I'm from Virginia so it's nice to see Amtrak expanding some at least!

 

[RebelRider]

I was poking around the Amtrak website and it looks like starting 7/11, Train 95 will *not* stop in Ashland, VA, but it will add 67 and 185. So right now, 95, 125, 93, and 85 service Ashland (southbound service), but next week, it will be 67, 185, 125, 93, and 85.

95 no longer makes Woodbridge, Quantico or Ashland. On the Roanoke side, 151 and 66 do not stop at Burke Center.

One interesting thing, there were 2 conductors on 66 but they were not the same 2 who went south on 151 this morning.

All crews spend one night in Roanoke and come back the following day.

 

[Heading North]

Any idea why 151/66 skip Burke Center? I know there’s only a single platform. It’s a shame considering that Burke has plenty of parking (same as when the stop at Franconia was discontinued years ago), while Alexandria doesn’t. Most people in Fairfax in particular need to drive the last mile, even if they’d rather take the train wherever they go.

 

[City of Miami]

All crews spend one night in Roanoke and come back the following day.

So I wonder if this could help crew rotation? The crew from 171 can lay over and take 66 back the next afternoon, the crew from 151 take 176 back to WAS next morning.

 

[BlackDiamond]

(for some reason, the forum is displaying the Facebook link in Cyrillic letters for me )

Must be one of those Russian cyberattacks

 

[PVD]

I thought it only did that each year on February 14th.

 

[RebelRider]

Any idea why 151/66 skip Burke Center? I know there’s only a single platform. It’s a shame considering that Burke has plenty of parking (same as when the stop at Franconia was discontinued years ago), while Alexandria doesn’t. Most people in Fairfax in particular need to drive the last mile, even if they’d rather take the train wherever they go.

Probably because 151 and 66 are running against the VRE flow. While there is no direct traffic conflict now, there might be future VRE service slated for those slots.

So I wonder if this could help crew rotation? The crew from 171 can lay over and take 66 back the next afternoon, the crew from 151 take 176 back to WAS next morning.

This is the way. It’s more efficient as previously T&E crews spent two nights in Roanoke as 171–>176 doesn’t work for hours of service.

 

[user 13416]

Virginia's Expanded Train Routes See Record-high Increase In Ridership

The restored NPN and new third NFK routes are credited with a 30% increase in ridership in July vs. June, and a 20% increase over July 2019.

 

[west point]

Here is link to Amtrak press release

https://media.amtrak.com/2022/08/ridership-on-amtraks-virginia-routes-hits-all-time-high/

 

[TransitTyrant]

Running more trains leads to more ridership, maybe that model should be repeated elsewhere.

 

[LookingGlassTie]

The guy quoted in the article is a former coworker of mine. And one of Suffolk's loudest cheerleaders.

The article has some glaring errors (I-264 doesn't run through two tunnels for example, the Midtown Tunnel is US-58) and taking the train from Suffolk to Norfolk to go shopping is a pipe dream, because both outbound trains are in the morning and both inbound trains are at night. And no way is NS going to allow a commuter train on that route. But a NER stop in Suffolk would make DC/NYC trips more convenient for residents of Suffolk, Franklin, and Isle of Wight & Southampton counties. Downtown Suffolk to Norfolk is a 30-minute drive in traffic, and is 7 miles farther apart than RVR-ASD.

I think a stop in Suffolk would be a good idea. It's enough of a distance from the Norfolk station so that it wouldn't be "too close".

Speaking of Norfolk (or Newport News), do you think the NER will ever run from either of those stations directly to Roanoke? Or would that not be cost-effective in terms of ridership? Is such a route included in a long-range plan for Virginia?

 

[Anthony V]

I think a stop in Suffolk would be a good idea. It's enough of a distance from the Norfolk station so that it wouldn't be "too close".

Speaking of Norfolk (or Newport News), do you think the NER will ever run from either of those stations directly to Roanoke? Or would that not be cost-effective in terms of ridership? Is such a route included in a long-range plan for Virginia?

Yes, Suffolk needs a stop on the NER. During the Mountaineer's short-lived existence, it stopped in Suffolk, and that was a long distance train. As far as service from NPN or NFK to RNK, there is currently a proposal to build such a service under the name "Commonwealth Corridor" It is proposed to run from NPN to Christiansburg via Charlottesville, Lynchburg, and Roanoke. It would be the first east-west passenger train service in Virginia since the Hilltopper was discontinued in 1979.

 

[LookingGlassTie]

Yes, Suffolk needs a stop on the NER. During the Mountaineer's short-lived existence, it stopped in Suffolk, and that was a long distance train. As far as service from NPN or NFK to RNK, there is currently a proposal to build such a service under the name "Commonwealth Corridor" It is proposed to run from NPN to Christiansburg via Charlottesville, Lynchburg, and Roanoke. It would be the first east-west passenger train service in Virginia since the Hilltopper was discontinued in 1979.

Ahhh ok.

Related question, did the Mountaineer and/or Hilltopper have a stop in Norfolk near Lamberts Point Terminals?

 

[blueman271]

I’m not an expert on SE VA but the article linked below seems to show an old Amtrak train, The Mountaineer, at a Lamberts Point Norfolk station.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mount...ountaineer_at_Norfolk_station,_April_1976.jpg

 

[Anthony V]

Ahhh ok.

Related question, did the Mountaineer and/or Hilltopper have a stop in Norfolk near Lamberts Point Terminals?

The Hilltopper did not serve the Suffolk or Norfolk Stations, and was only a restructuring of the Mountaineer elicited by congressional pressure from Senator Robert Byrd, who didn't want to lose service on the route through West Virginia when the Mountaineer was scheduled to be discontinued. IMO, because of it's redundancy with the Cardinal and its western terminus located in pretty much the middle of nowhere, the Hilltopper had no chance of success from the start, while the Mountaineer may have had a chance if it would've been marketed properly, as it served unique endpoints (Chicago-Norfolk) and intermediate stops, and provided another connection to the Florida trains from Chicago.

 

[Palmland]

…while the Mountaineer may have had a chance if it would've been marketed properly, as it served unique endpoints (Chicago-Norfolk) and intermediate stops, and provided another connection to the Florida trains from Chicago.

Perhaps there is an opportunity when the VA DOT starts service on the Buckingham Branch RR Charlottesville-Doswell and into Richmond to resurrect what the C&O did for so many years. Have the Cardinal split at Charlottesville with a Newport News (or Norfolk) section.

Although, since they’re paying for it, more likely to have a separate train continuing to Lynchburg, as discussed in another thread, but maybe scheduled to connect to the Cardinal for tidewater customers wanting to go west.