CSX has a rail plan that could help VRE and cut congestion on Interstate 95

Date published: 4/29/2007

CSX, THE RAILROAD that owns the tracks over which Virginia Railway Express and Amtrak trains run between Washington and Fredericksburg, wants its Washington-to-Miami line to be a "corridor of the future."

On that 1,200 miles of railway, CSX said, passenger trains could "travel unimpeded at 110 mph" and freight trains could "operate at speeds of 50 mph to 70 mph."

The line would be "sealed to prevent motor vehicle intrusion." Some 1,700 "at-grade highway rail crossings" would be closed and, where necessary, replaced with bridges. There would be three tracks between Richmond and Miami and four tracks between Richmond and Washington.

This would require a huge investment, and that's where the Corridors of the Future Program comes in.

Last year, the U.S. Department of Transportation solicited applications from interested parties to "acceler-ate the development of multi-state transportation Corridors of the Future for one or more transportation modes." The Transportation Department will select up to five major transportation corridors "in need of investment for the purpose of reducing congestion."

"Reducing congestion" sounds like VRE's mission of "traffic mitigation," which in plain English seems to say that the purpose of VRE and the Corridors of the Future Program is to make driving easier. I believe that's what federal transportation policy focuses on.

However, if CSX and the commonwealth of Virginia can get a slice of that pie and expand transportation choices, making train travel and freight movement easier and more efficient, too, let's go for it.

The application deadline for the program was April 2, so right now the Transportation Department should be selecting up to five finalists.

If CSX is selected, it has a plan for turning its Washington-Miami line into a corridor of the future:

First, complete the third track between Washington and Richmond, except where major, expensive projects are needed--Ashland, where two tracks run down the middle of the main street; Fredericksburg, with its crossing of the Rappahannock River and elevated track above four streets; and the bridges over Aquia Creek and the Potomac River.

The second step would be to tackle those bigger, more expensive projects.

The third step would be to build the additional track between Washington and Miami and to close or create alternatives for those 1,700 grade crossings.

Date published: 4/29/2007