The Piedmont Rail Coalition is asking Gov. Tim Kaine to help bring enhanced daily business and passenger rail service to the U.S. 29 corridor.
At simultaneous news conferences in Lynchburg, Charlottesville and Culpeper yesterday, coalition officials announced that they had sent a letter to Kaine asking him to do what he can to provide state money to help fund an Amtrak round-trip route from Lynchburg to Washington.
The letter urges Kaine to make passenger service "the top priority in the upcoming state rail plan." It also points out the need for such service in the rapidly growing region.
Amtrak has said it has the equipment to operate such a route but would need about $1.9 million in annual operational subsidies. That amount could drop as ridership increased.
Chris Snider, the Culpeper Town Council's appointee to the coalition, said yesterday that local governments, bus-iness groups and individuals will need to make their voices heard if the train service is to become a reality. "We have to talk to everybody, state and federal," he said.
The coalition's urgency is fueled by the fact that a route from Newport News to Washington, via Richmond, is also under consideration. Groups from both regions must make their cases by the end of this month.
Nineteen governmental bodies along the U.S. 29 corridor have already passed unanimous resolutions supporting the proposed passenger service. Among them are the Culpeper Town Council and the county Board of Supervisors, the Orange Town Council and the Fauquier County Board of Supervisors.
Even with state funding and Amtrak's equipment, the U.S. 29 corridor plan faces several obstacles. Since Norfolk-Southern owns the tracks, it must grant permission before two more daily trains could use them.
That could be a problem for either of the proposed routes, since new and larger Tidewater ports will put dramatically more freight on the tracks between Newport News and the inland port at Front Royal in the next few years.
Also, parking would be an issue in Culpeper. Right now, there is no space left in an almost completely built-out town that could be used for a parking lot to accommodate a large number of D.C. commuters.
Snider said several parking locations have been discussed and that a proposed annexation agreement with the county could make more land available.
Donnie Johnston:
Email: djohnston@freelancestar.com
The Culpeper Rail Coalition is being formed to help push for business train service between Culpeper and Washington. Members include Town Councilman Chris Snider, Commonwealth Transportation Board member Butch Davies, developer Walt Cheatle, commercial realtor Laura Newman, Supervisor Tom Underwood and Piedmont Rail Coalition member Dan Williams. Two Culpeper women, Linda Clark and Dottie Campbell, have already collected about 350 signatures on a petition supporting enhanced passenger rail service for the U.S. 29 corridor. |