New Amtrak funding could bring passenger rail from Hampton Roads to Charlottesville, Roanoke
A new passenger rail line from Newport News to Charlottesville, Roanoke and the New River Valley is one step closer to becoming a reality.
The federal government plans to spend $500,000 to study construction of an east-to-west train line that would connect Hampton Roads with the western part of the state.
Called the Commonwealth Corridor, the project would expand service along existing lines and fill the gap from Richmond to Charlottesville through the freight route operated by Buckingham Branch Railroad. Currently, train riders must travel to Northern Virginia before they can access service to Charlottesville, Lynchburg and Roanoke.
Virginia has already acquired tracks and invested in capital improvements, and the new grant will fund pre-construction work like planning, environmental review, preliminary engineering and other activities.
The study, conducted through the Federal Railroad Administration, is part of $2 million in funding from the bipartisan infrastructure law announced by U.S. Sens. Mark Warner and Tim Kaine to research expanding Amtrak service across the state. North Carolina also received $1 billion from the law to help construct the first segment of a high-speed rail service between Raleigh and Richmond, according to a news release from Gov. Roy Cooper.
The east-to-west Virginia rail service would help alleviate traffic headaches and help connect the region to both the University of Virginia and Virginia Tech, said Kurt Krause, president and CEO of VisitNorfolk, the city’s destination marketing agency.
“I think it would be phenomenal from both a leisure side and a business side,” Krause said.
Amtrak is also pushing for college students to use train travel in its marketing materials. A May news release touted rail service to more than 20 colleges and universities in Virginia, including locations in Norfolk and Newport News.
A 2021 state study found completing the project would cost about $416.5 million. The study projected an annual ridership of 177,200 passengers.
Amtrak ridership increased across the state when compared with 2022, according to the Virginia Passenger Rail Authority. Newport News ridership in June increased 57.4%, from 18,956 to 29,839, compared with a year earlier. Norfolk ridership grew 26.6%, from 33,094 to 41,908, during the same time period. The numbers were boosted by the inclusion of a new Norfolk daily train and the resumption of a Newport News service stopped during the pandemic.
While the study is just a preliminary step toward the new route, it’s a positive way forward, said Bob Crum, executive director of the Hampton Roads Transportation Planning Organization.
“It all starts with the vision,” Crum said.
Trevor Metcalfe, 757-222-5345, trevor.metcalfe@pilotonline.com
