Acela pilot begins; long distance trains added WASHINGTON – Amtrak announced today it has extended and expanded its pets program, allowing customers to continue traveling with their small pets on many eastern corridor trains. Amtrak has also added this service for trips up to 7 hours in length to most long distance trains beginning Tuesday, […]
Hampton Roads, and the rest of the country, appear to have dodged the threat of a passenger rail shutdown as Congressional leaders have fashioned a bipartisan bill to extend the deadline on new safety regulations. The deadline is Dec. 31, but the compromise, which still needs an official vote and a signature from the president, […]
NORFOLK, Va., Oct. 20, 2015 – Norfolk Southern Corporation (NYSE: NSC) today said its rail operating subsidiaries will no longer accept shipments of Poisonous-Inhalation-Hazard commodities, effective Dec. 1, 2015. PIH commodities in transit on Dec. 1 will be delivered to destination by Dec. 31. Additionally, passenger and commuter trains operated by Amtrak, Virginia Railway Express, […]
Lynchburg, VA -On Wednesday, the historic 611 train made a stop in Lynchburg on its way to Manassas. The steam-powered train is one of fourteen that were built in Roanoke in 1950, but has sat dormant for more than 20 years. Now restored to its former glory, the 611 is gathering quite a crowd wherever […]
Built into a new transportation agenda backed by Gov. Terry McAuliffe and House GOP leaders is a time-limited provision designed to make it easier for the state to pay for new rail service to Lynchburg and Roanoke. The agenda, announced Tuesday, would allow the state to sign a multi-year agreement with rail companies to pay […]
Roanoke, VA — The first passenger train should be in Roanoke in 2017. Roanoke has not had passenger rail since 1979. Governor Terry McAuliffe was on hand for the announcement Wednesday afternoon. “It’s going to open up the area economically,” McAuliffe said. Amtrak service to Roanoke will be an extension of the Northeast Regional train from […]
The launch of infrastructure work, ordinarily a mundane topic, drew a round of applause in downtown Roanoke on Monday evening at the first official update in months on the planned resumption of passenger rail. By early next year, crews will take on a block of improvements needed before the train service commences in 2017, a […]
Amtrak is on its way back into Roanoke after more than thirty years, and excitement is already building. “This train is a rolling platform about the history of the railroad and a vision for its future,” Says Amtrak Government Affairs Vice President Joe McHugh. Amtrak’s special exhibit train made a stop at the Virginia Museum […]
The News & Advance Gov. Bob McDonnell announced today a signed agreement between the state and Norfolk Southern Corporation to make infrastructure improvements necessary to extend Amtrak passenger rail service from Lynchburg to Roanoke. Rail service into Roanoke is fully funded in Virginia’s six-year transportation plan, but officials were studying what work, such as adding […]
Platforms will be built and rail lines improved to accommodate the Roanoke-to-Lynchburg link. Roanoke will get passenger rail service within 42 months, a top state rail official said Thursday as he gave new details about the construction of the track and accessories needed. The Virginia Department of Rail and Public Transportation expects the train to […]
