Two potential passenger rail corridors that would run through Southwest Virginia — one that would extend service to Bristol and into Tennessee and the other a new east-west corridor across the state — have been chosen for study as part of a new federal program.
If approved, the new routes also would have implications for communities including Roanoke, Christiansburg and Bedford.
The Virginia Department of Rail and Public Transportation submitted the corridors for inclusion in the federal Corridor Identification and Development Program, and they were approved by the Federal Railroad Administration, according to a Friday news release from the state rail department.
The program was established by the federal Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act in 2021 to create a pipeline of projects to advance passenger rail expansion. It includes pre-construction development, which may involve planning, environmental review, preliminary engineering and other corridor development activities, the release states.
Each corridor project will receive an initial grant of $500,000 to pay for the studies.
Although there’s no commitment beyond the studies, state and local officials say inclusion of the corridors in the program is a big step in the process.
“I think these two studies enable us to take a much closer look at potentially providing passenger rail service to areas of the state that currently don’t have intercity passenger rail connections and so it enables us to really broaden the perspective that we have on passenger rail,” Jennifer DeBruhl, director of the state rail department, said Friday.
“Our passenger rail program has done extraordinarily well in the commonwealth and so looking at different areas of the state where it could make sense for that expansion is something that we want to continue to do as we take a long-term view of multimodal transportation in the commonwealth.”
Beth Rhinehart, president and CEO of the Bristol Chamber of Commerce, has been a leader in the decades-long effort by local officials and residents to bring passenger rail back to the Twin City. In July, she was appointed by Gov. Glenn Youngkin to the Virginia Passenger Rail Authority board of directors.
Rhinehart said Friday the study is “the next step along a journey to getting passenger rail back to and through Bristol, and it’s a step that we’ve been hoping to hear back on. We were pleased to be included in the corridor ID application that the commonwealth submitted. So, to know that it was granted is that milestone to now getting a true feasibility study around it.”
She added that the study will look at new stations, cost estimates, how long it would take to complete and where it falls within the state’s rail plan. All the information gathered will help determine the next steps, Rhinehart said.
A 2021 analysis of extending service to Bristol said it would cost at least $535 million and likely take until at least 2030.
The route, known as the Western Corridor, would encompass existing state-sponsored passenger rail service between Washington and Roanoke, an already planned expansion to the New River Valley between Blacksburg and Christiansburg, and possible future expansion to and through Bristol, according to the news release.
Meanwhile, the state rail department has been working with the Tennessee Department of Transportation on the possibility of the route extending beyond Bristol and into Tennessee, which has been touted in the last couple of years as a way to increase interest in the initiative. Youngkin told Cardinal News earlier this year that he had spoken to Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee about the possibility.
During a passenger rail summit in Bristol in June, Tennessee officials said a route from Chattanooga to Knoxville and then Bristol was being considered as one of three options.
The other route that has received federal study funding is known as the Commonwealth Corridor. It would be an east-west, cross-state corridor that would connect the Hampton Roads region with the Richmond region, Charlottesville, the New River Valley and Southwest Virginia, according to the state rail department. The state has committed to extending service to the New River Valley, according to DeBruhl.
This corridor would include existing state-sponsored Amtrak service connecting Hampton Roads to the Richmond and Petersburg area. It would fill the gap in service between Richmond and Charlottesville along the freight route operated by Buckingham Branch Railroad, the release states.
East-west service across the state is the eventual goal, according to the release, which said the groundwork has been laid with the acquisition of track and capital improvements.
A study of this corridor revealed it would have an estimated 177,200 passengers.
On Friday, U.S. Sens. Mark Warner and Tim Kaine, both Democrats from Virginia, announced the $1 million for the studies of the two corridors in Virginia plus an additional $1 million for two additional studies:
- $500,000 to the North Carolina Department of Transportation for a proposed project that would address infrastructure capacity constraints along the existing Carolinian service between Charlotte and Washington, D.C., by improving service in Petersburg, Richmond, Fredericksburg and Alexandria, plus several stops in North Carolina. Improvements would include rehabilitating a partially abandoned alignment between Raleigh and Petersburg so it is more direct and could cut travel time by more than an hour, their joint release states.
- $500,000 to Amtrak for a proposed project that would increase existing Amtrak Cardinal Service from three days per week to daily. The service connects Alexandria, Manassas, Culpeper, Charlottesville, Staunton and Clifton Forge to cities including New York, Chicago, Philadelphia, Baltimore and Washington.
“For years, we’ve been championing the expansion of rail to every corner of the Commonwealth because it’s a slam dunk for local economies, cuts traffic, and protects the environment,” the senators said in the release. “We’re thrilled the bipartisan infrastructure law is taking a big step towards expanding service across the entire Commonwealth so communities along the I-95 corridor and beyond can be connected by more convenient, consistent passenger rail.”
On Thursday, the senators announced a $729 million investment in the Long Bridge project, which crosses the Potomac River, an effort to alleviate a passenger and freight rail bottleneck. In recent years, state transportation officials have said no rail expansion could take place in the state until those issues were corrected because it is the only connection linking Virginia to Washington and the northeastern corridor.
The Western Corridor would also include new frequencies, improved travel times, improvements to reliability and new stations, including a stop in Bedford, Warner and Kaine said.
Bedford officials have been working to get a stop for years. Two daily trains currently stop in Roanoke and Lynchburg but pass through Bedford.
“Bedford’s location within both identified corridors is certainly encouraging to proponents of a passenger rail stop here,” said Town Manager Barrett Warner. “We continue to study and identify ways in which a Bedford stop would contribute value to the Amtrak business and operational mode.”
Bristol officials said they are encouraged by the study of the possible extension of passenger rail to their city because it could mean so much for the area.
“It’s definitely a big deal for Bristol and for all the communities that will be affected,” said Mayor Neal Osborne. “This $500,000 will go a long way toward our goal of connecting Bristol to the rest of the commonwealth via rail. This announcement … shows that the government has a commitment to funding passenger rail and I am excited to be a part of it. I’m grateful to our federal legislators who secured this funding through the president’s infrastructure package, and I look forward to the results of this study and the eventual ability to again board a train in Bristol.”
City Manager Randy Eads said the possible return of passenger rail is an “exciting prospect. Passenger trains would provide people from Southwest Virginia and Northeast Tennessee another mode of transportation to the Northeast and beyond. More importantly, it opens Southwest Virginia up to residents from other parts of the state and country. People will have the opportunity to visit the region and enjoy its natural beauty. … Visitors will also be able to enjoy the Hard Rock Resort & Casino and the Birthplace of Country Music right here in Bristol, Virginia.”