Virginia's Passenger Rail Expansion Plans
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 28 ก.ย. 2024
- In this video we cover the Transforming Rail in Virginia Program, a rail improvement program that separates passenger and freight operations along the I-95, I-64, and I-85 corridors. We were joined by Corey Hill, Vice President of Kimley-Horn. Kimley-Horn is serving as the Virginia Department of Rail and Public Transportation’s representative for this project, providing engineering, design, and project management support.
Virginia plans to double Amtrak state-supported service and VRE service, and will create an opportunity for 110+ mph service between Raleigh, NC and Richmond, VA. This aggressive program covers 350 miles of freight railroad right-of-way and 225 miles of track, including three major corridors.
This project will improve passenger and freight rail service throughout the state, and it provides a model for how the two parties can work together to improve the rail network for everyone.
Virginia is vital for linking the NorthEast Mega Region and the SouthEast Mega Region through affordable high speed passenger rail which would open up more housing and employment options for Americans of all socioeconomic levels.
Hazmat freight moves through the District of Columbia every day. Right next to critical U.S. Government facilities. That freight needs to be out on a beltway bypassing DC.
The present Long Bridge is located such that it is probably the worse choke point in the Northeast. None of the other choke points even come close to that ability to screw up rail movement. What if an unlikely event had a CSX freight train derail into the truss portion of the bridge? That accident could shut down the route for a month or more especially if any support columns were broken. Also, if an accident caused the bridge to burn many structures might need replacing such as what happened to UP RR on the west coast.
So, why not immediately start and complete just the bridge portion to allow for detouring all traffic over the new bridge if an accident should happen on the old bridge?
The Brightline-FEC model is best. Access to the track for maintenance and emergencies, but segregated for normal operations.