VRE ready to move on 11-mile rail extension

LANE RANGER HAS A BLOG: Lane Ranger Live - you can ask questions daily and get up-to-date traffic information every afternoon. Check it out here!

Now more than ever, regional transportation officials are looking to rail to move more people.

Coming on the heels of President Barack Obama’s announcement last week about his vision for high-speed rail throughout the country, Virginia Railway Express is also on track to expand.

A long-discussed about an 11-mile extension of VRE’s Manassas line — from Manassas Regional Airport to Gainesville — is looking more like a reality, said VRE spokesman Mark Roeber.

The project is estimated to cost somewhere between $125 million and $250 million.

“I know that sounds like a large ballpark estimate that is all over the place, but the total cost has to do with how many grade separation crossings that we have to include,” said Roeber.

The crossings, which allow cars to cross over or under the tracks, are of major concern to Manassas, said City Manager Larry Hughes.

Hughes wants improvements to the grade crossings at Va. 28 and on Wellington Road if the service is extended.

“The number of VRE trains on the tracks will not double if the extension is built, but the number of freight trains will,” said Hughes.

The additional freight trains will use a second set of rails constructed as part of the extension, said Hughes.

Hughes said beginning in 2014, a $50 million bridge is set to be constructed over the tracks at Va. 28 and Wellington Road, stopping cars from driving on the tracks.

Bridges at two other crossings — one on Wellington Road and another on Godwin Drive — have not been planned.

A crossing at U.S. 29 and Interstate 66 in Gainesville, near where the proposed extension could terminate, is already being improved.

The Virginia Department of Transportation is building a bridge that will allow cars to pass over the tracks, as part of the interchange improvements in the area.

“It is much easier to allow the cars to pass over the tracks. When it comes the weight of the trains, measured in tons, it’s best to keep all of the weight on the ground,” said Roeber.

The agency will hold a public meeting about the proposed extension on May 5 in Haymarket.

Touted as a public workshop, it will discuss the environmental impacts of the extension, various studies completed by project engineers, and where future stations could be placed along the extension.

The entire rail line VRE uses, from Fredericksburg to Washington, has been deemed by Obama a corridor ripe for high-speed rail.

Roeber agrees.

“Clearly we think that the corridor between Franconia, and, really Stafford is a great candidate for high-speed rail,” said Roeber.

Right now that area hampers trains that normally travel at speeds of about 110 mph in other areas, and brings them down to about 90 mph through the Franconia– Stafford corridor, said Roeber.

VRE trains travel even slower, as they are limited to a speed of 79 mph.

The construction of a third set of rails along the corridor, to complement the existing two, would help to speed trains up and further the national plan for highs-speed rail, said Roeber.

The cities of Richmond and Norfolk would also benefit under the president’s proposed rail plan.

Staff writer Uriah A. Kiser can be reached at 703-878-8065.