VRE to ride the rails Inauguration Day

By: | Inside NoVA
Published: December 17, 2008

When the Virginia Railway Express budget for this fiscal year was approved in December 2007, the commuter rail system planned to be closed on Inauguration Day.

The decision seemed reasonable. Trains likely wouldn't be filled, said VRE spokesman Mark Roeber.

"In the past years, we've not operated because our ridership has not had to work on those days," he said.

But then America elected the first-ever black president, and everything changed.

Millions began planning to come to Washington on Jan. 20, and VRE fielded "hundreds, if not thou-sands" of calls from people as far away as California, Florida and Georgia who wanted to know if trains would be running, Roeber said.

VRE officials also conferred with transportation departments in Virginia and in Washington as well as the federal Department of Homeland Security and inaugural planners.

They decided to operate on a special schedule and announced details of their plans Tuesday.

Beginning at 5:05 a.m. on Jan. 20, the commuter rail service will operate 12 northbound morning trains (six on the Fredericksburg line; six on the Manassas line). Fourteen afternoon trains (seven on each line) will head southbound, starting at 1:30 p.m.

However, trains will not make stops at Franconia/Springfield, Alexandria or Crystal City.

Round-trip tickets will be $25, and will be available by mail order only. Regular VRE tickets will not be accepted, and tickets will not be refunded. All passengers, regardless of age, will be required to have a ticket.

Roeber said the $25 price -- which is more expensive than usual fares -- is necessary to cover VRE's addi-tional costs of running on the historic day.

Not only will all of the commuter rail service's regular employees be working that day but additional crews will be on trains and security will be posted at each station.

Roeber didn't have details on how many Inauguration Day tickets had been sold as of Tuesday evening, but he said that several people had downloaded the online order form.

For more information, log on to vre.org/Inauguration09/main.html.

Staff writer Jonathan Hunley can be reached at 703-369-5738.