Norfolk Southern and the Virginia Passenger Rail Authority (VPRA) have finalized a deal to expand passenger rail service in the Commonwealth of Virginia without impacting freight operations. It involves, in part, a “line swap” in which VPRA has sold 28 miles of the Virginian Line back to NS and purchased the Manassas Line from NS.
“This new agreement with Norfolk Southern allows passenger rail to reach Christiansburg years earlier and at a better location,” said Virginia Secretary of Transportation Shep Miller. “It also includes the acquisition of the Manassas Line, which will provide tremendous value to the Commonwealth—particularly Northern Virginia—by not only supporting intercity rail, but also enabling VRE to implement night and weekend service to better meet customer demand. The deal achieves all of this while saving nearly $100 million. I commend Norfolk Southern for working closely with the Commonwealth to arrive at this much improved result.”
“Together with Norfolk Southern, we have worked hard to put together an agreement that brings more service to Northern Virginia, new service to the New River Valley, and makes rail a strong part of Virginia’s future transportation mix,” said DJ Stadtler, Executive Director of VPRA. “We look forward to furthering our partnership with them to develop passenger rail service that travels where Virginians want to go when they want to go.”
“This agreement is proof of what’s possible when freight and passenger railroads work together,” said Norfolk Southern Senior Vice President and Chief Strategy Officer Mike McClellan. “We appreciate the partnership from VPRA and look forward to continuing to work together to make this service to Christiansburg a reality as soon as possible.”
BACKGROUND
On Aug. 28, the VPRA Board of Directors voted to advance the new agreement with NS to purchase the Manassas Line and gain access to the NS main line (N-Line). VPRA said it “will have the ability to extend state-supported Amtrak Virginia service to the New River Valley (NRV) sooner and at a lower cost than originally planned. In addition, the purchase of the Manassas Line will enable VPRA to increase Virginia Railway Expres’ (VRE) Manassas Line service in the future with additional frequencies including evening and weekend options.” The Authority said it expects to finalize the agreement with NS and close the transaction in early September.
On Aug. 16, the Surface Transportation Board, in Docket No. FD 36784, VIRGINIA PASSENGER RAIL AUTHORITY—ACQUISITION AND OPERATION OF CERTAIN ASSETS OF NORFOLK SOUTHERN RAILWAY COMPANY IN FAIRFAX AND PRINCE WILLIAM COUNTIES, AND THE CITIES OF MANASSAS PARK, MANASSAS, AND ALEXANDRIA, VA., ruled that it “finds that the VPRA … does not need Board authority to acquire certain real property, track, and other improvements on a rail line owned by Norfolk Southern … or to obtain an easement for passenger rail purposes on a connecting NS rail line. VPRA’s motion to dismiss is granted, and the petition for exemption is dismissed.” (Download decision below).
VPRA’s purchase of the Manassas Line gives the authority flexibility to work with VRE to add frequencies on that line, including evening and weekend service. Currently, VRE offers eight roundtrips on the Manassas Line with stops at Broad Run, Manassas, Manassas Park, Burke Centre, Rolling Road, Backlick Road, Alexandria, Crystal City, L’Enfant, and Washington Union Station.
VPRA’s original expansion plans involved extending passenger rail service to the New River Valley (NRV) as far west as Christiansburg, Va. (roughly 30 miles west of Roanoke) on the single-track Virginian Line (NS Whitethorne District, originally the Virginian Railway). But after receiving more information regarding the cost and timeframe for delivering service along the Virginian Line, per a 2022 agreement with NS, VPRA revisited negotiations with the Class I. VPRA determined that selling that line back to NS would enable the Authority to pursue “a more cost-effective and timelier option” to reach the NRV and Christiansburg on the double-track N-Line (main line, NS Christiansburg District, originallythe Norfolk & Western Railway). NS’s Cambria Yard in Christiansburg served passengers until 1979, prior to the N&W/Southern Railway merger, which created NS in 1982.
The agreement moved forward on July 16, when the Commonwealth Transportation Board (CBT) authorized sale of approximately 28 miles of the Virginian Line between Salem (just west of Roanoke) and Christiansburg, Va., back to NS for $54 million. The CBT also approved VPRA’s amended $6 billion capital budget, which includes an increase from $433 million to $487 million for passenger rail expansion to Christiansburg. Those capital funds will help cover the Manassas Line purchase, infrastructure improvements in Roanoke to accommodate more trains, rights to run passenger service on the N-Line to Christiansburg, and costs to build a passenger platform and siding there.
VPRA said the agreement with NS would support expansion of two Amtrak round trips on Northeast Regional trains 151 and 171 beyond Roanoke to Christiansburg and provide for a third between the two cities. The expansion project could be completed before 2028. The VPRA Board of Directors will rule on the agreement at its Aug. 27 meeting.
“We value our relationship with VPRA and appreciate the role the authority plays in advancing passenger rail in the Commonwealth of Virginia,” said Mike McClellan. “We look forward to continuing to partner on projects like this that stand to serve the interests of our communities while also balancing the needs of our freight customers and the economy we support.”
“VPRA exists to promote, sustain, and expand the availability of passenger and commuter rail in the Commonwealth, and with these negotiations, we are working toward that mission,” said Virginia Department of Rail & Public Transportation (DRPT) Director and VPRA Board Chair Jennifer DeBruhl.
“We saw the numbers, the timeline, and listened to our stakeholders, and it became clear that if using the N-Line was a possibility, we had to pursue that,” said DJ Stadtler. “Norfolk Southern has been a great partner to VPRA as we’ve worked to reach more Virginians by rail, and we appreciate their efforts in aiding us in this endeavor.”
