Amtrak will begin offering daily round-trip service between Lynchburg and Washington's Union Station. The service will commence on Oct. 1. FILE/Jacquelyn Martin/ASSOCIATED PRESS Visit the Photo Place

Culpeper on track for tourist trains

New Amtrak train will start its run through Culpeper on Oct. 1

Date published: 9/25/2009

By Cathy Jett

STARTING NEXT MONTH, tourists will have a new, easy way to visit Culpeper.

Amtrak Virginia will begin offering daily, round-trip Northeast Regional service between Lynchburg and Union Station in Washington on Oct. 1.

The route will include a 10:40 a.m. stop at the train station in downtown Culpeper, which is just a short walk from a number of restaurants, shops and bed-and-breakfasts.

That, said Culpeper Tourism Director Beth Burns, is sure to have a big impact on tourism not only in the redeveloped downtown but in the entire region.

"People can stop here and rent a car to see Montpelier and the wineries in the surrounding countryside," she said. "Once our State Theatre opens, that's going to be a tremendous attraction, too."

The State Theatre Foundation is raising money to restore the historic Art Deco-style State Theatre on Main Street as a regional cultural center. Among other things, it will hold film festivals presented in collaboration with the Library of Congress National Audio-Visual Conservation Center and the Daniel Technology Center in Culpeper.

Amtrak Virginia is a program developed by the Virginia Department of Rail and Public Transportation and Amtrak. It's sponsoring the new service as part of a three-year pilot program to provide more rail travel choices within the state. Beginning in December, the program also will include service between Richmond and the Northeast Corridor, including a stop in Fredericksburg.

Besides Culpeper, the new Northeast Regional service will stop in Charlottesville, Manassas and Alexandria, and have Virginia Railway Express connections at Burke Centre and L'Enfant Plaza. The train will continue as far as Boston.

"For leisure travelers, this is a great way to visit sights in Virginia and north of Washington without facing long highway traffic delays," Jay McArthur of Amtrak's Policy and Development Department said in a prepared statement.

Virginia is the 15th state to partner with Amtrak to operate state-supported trains. It will kick off the service with a whistle-stop tour Sept. 30 that will stop in Culpeper at 12:45 p.m. The Eastern View High School band will play, and there will be speeches by Del. Ed Scott (R-Culpeper) and others.

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Date published: 9/25/2009