Successful passenger rail service shares best practices

LYNCHBURG, Va.,— In anticipation of the new Lynchburg to Washington D.C. service, a local delegation visited the Alexandria headquarters of the Virginia Railway Express. Chamber President and CEO, Rex Hammond was accompanied by Lynchburg City Councilman Turner Perrow, Charlottesville TransDominion Express Committee Member Rebecca White and Chamber staff Corrin Hoffmann.   

The delegation rode the morning train from Broad Run into the city and was then treated to a tour and presentation by VRE’s CEO, Dale Zehner. The conversation mostly focused on best practices and lesions learned in VRE’s 17 plus years of service.  

“This was an excellent chance to get to know several VRE employees and dialogue with them about the service. VRE has an excellent reputation in Virginia and has been helpful and supportive in promoting other passenger rail services in the Commonwealth,” said Rex Hammond, President and CEO of the Lynchburg Regional Chamber of Commerce.  

The Chamber is currently working closely with the Department of Rail and Public Transportation, the City of Lynchburg, and the Committee to Advance the TransDominion Express to ensure the new service is a success.

###

LYNCHBURG, Va.,— In anticipation for the new Lynchburg to Washington D.C. service, staff from the Lynchburg Regional Chamber of Commerce recently attended an Amtrak Civic Conversation in Savannah, Georgia. The convention focused on rail depot redevelopment and restoration and provided an opportunity to strengthen relationships with Amtrak officials.  

“This was an excellent chance to get to know several Amtrak employees and dialogue with them about the potential service,” said Rex Hammond, President and CEO of the Lynchburg Regional Chamber of Commerce.

The convention is part of Amtrak’s Great American Stations Project to discuss the redevelopment and restoration of passenger rails stations. Roughly 33 percent of all Amtrak stations are owned by cities making it essential to collaborate with localities to serve passengers.

The Chamber is currently working closely with the City of Lynchburg to ensure that necessary improvements are made to the Kemper Street Station to accommodate Amtrak’s needs in moving the project forward.

Even so, it should not be a difficult choice to make between support of party leadership (whichever party it might be in any given season) and support of initiatives to enhance the economic development and quality of life for his or her constituents and for the Commonwealth as a whole.

Last year a number of delegates chose party leadership over immediate needs and planning for future critical needs of their constituents. Might committee seats and chairmanships have been at risk? Hmmm…, there’s a cogent question. To lose a seat of power and be relegated to a lesser position could reasonably cost a region its legislative sway. But, to be voted out of office for failing to fight for the constituents might be a larger failure.

When does the electorate win? Does it feel secure that its representatives have seniority, even when they respond like “sheeple” in order to keep their seats? Or might it be better to temporarily lose some seniority and reinfuse the passion to represent the real needs of the people?

These are questions we must each weigh. But, while we’re weighing them, keep in mind that it was party leadership in the House that prevented the many transportation issues from being included in a viable budget, that set back long-range planning for initiatives reaching far beyond transportation, some for perpetuity. Transportation does not exist in a vacuum any more than education does. These core services impact every other facet of our personal, business, municipal, state, and national health.

Were we served last year? Yes. TDX was served up as a sacrificial meal. But, we were not alone.

“Today” is the result of the decisions made and not made in the past. “Tomorrow” critically depends on the actions we take today. And those actions are shaped by our attitudes, vision, and willingness to risk. It might be nice to remind our legislators and administrators that a failure to make a decision is, in itself, a decision to fail.

TransDominion Express leadership and supporters are not involved in partisan politics. In fact, we are witnessing the harm created by extreme partisanship. We would ask the people of Virginia to carefully examine the critical transportation funding needs while looking at our future through the lens of current policy; then shifting the focus through a visionary and practical lens to actively plan for a better outcome.

The bottom line is that we need a level of dedicated transportation funding that allows for planning well into the future. Experience has shown us that transportation projects, to be effective, should consider 20-years out to be short-range. Looking for return on investment and profit generation must not be tied to fare box or toll booth returns, but to the enhanced business income, lifestyle, and taxes generated as a result.

The TDX is far more about environmentally responsible economic development than transportation. But, the transportation element cannot be ignored. Part of enhanced transportation funding must include a much larger percentage for rail initiatives as a solution of the future.

Despite hardships related to unresolved tensions in the 2006 General Assembly, in the 2007 session, TDX will have two bills whose passage will determine our ability to move forward. One will amend the 30% matching requirement for the Rail Enhancement Fund. The other is a second run at creating a TDX Authority or Commission.

• Governor Kaine used the TDX initiative as part of his campaign platform, but that support has not been as actively translated as before, with some possible reasons. It took several months to replace Director Rae, and George Conner as Director of Rail. Now, those positions have been filled by Director Matthew Tucker and Kevin Page (promoted to Rail Director), but the agency is involved in an assessment addressing policies of the agency and changes in the Rail Enhancement Fund application process, consuming available man hours and focus.
• Prior to the 2006 General Assembly, a meeting with Secretary Pierce Homer for permission to purchase the five VRE rail cars (for the TDX Demo project), with money already set aside for TDX capital expenses, culminated in a new requirement to first create a governing body. The TDX Committee applied for and was granted corporate non-profit status, and during the 2006 session, worked with Sen. John Edwards on a bill to create the TransDominion Express Authority, a statewide governing body. VDRPT and  a coalition of other rail and business advocates supported the bill.
• The Senate passed it unanimously.
• In the House, party leadership took the bill hostage, voting to send it back into committee (after the committee had adjourned for the session). All delegates of the other party and several of the leading party voted in favor of the bill. But, House leadership wished to make a statement regarding transportation, bonding, and other funding mechanisms, and refused to allow floor votes on this and other transportation-related initiatives, as they wrangled over the two-year budget.
• A meeting with VDRPT this November revealed that because we failed to create the Authority, the administration would not work to release the money for purchase of the rail cars, effectively killing the TDX Demo project.
• The TDX Board has identified two critical legislative moves that must be made to save the TDX, and it has begun working with Delegate Shannon Valentine to put together a bi-cameral, bi-partisan coalition to sponsor them.
• Delegate Valentine has met with Legislative Services to redraft and update last year’s bill. A number of legislators are being contacted for co-sponsorship.
• Wiley Mitchell, of the Rail Advisory Board offered to craft legislation to amend the requirement for a 30% match for applicants of the Rail Enhancement Funds. The 30% match effectively removes from competition small and start-up projects like the TDX.
• The litany of set-backs suffered by the combination of an unwilling legislature to fund transportation, in general, the lack of a state and federal rail policy, the “newness” of the worthiness of passenger rail in planning and funding for economic, environmental, and transportation strengths, and the lack of stable commitment from an administration which turns over every four years has caused many supporters to lose sight of the need for sustained contributions in the uphill endeavor.
• Voluntary contributions have dropped off each consecutive year, often with the complaint that they are still not seeing a train rolling down the tracks.
• The Lynchburg Regional Chamber can no longer support the project as it has in the past, dedicating a large portion of a staff member’s workload to TDX.
• Although the position of full-time Executive Director has been offered to that staff person, there is no money for salary or benefits, meaning she probably will not be available to lobby in Richmond, as in the past several years.
• Although the TDX applied for two grants, totaling more than $300,000, they remain in limbo and the TDX does not have money enough to continue, even into the 2007 General Assembly.

As you can see, we have much yet to do, much to be gained for the communities to be directly served; for the whole of Virginia in opening up job creation, tourism, and transportation options; for the nation as the TDX will serve as a feeder system for the Atlantic high speed rail corridor. But, we have run out of funds and have a critical need to raise a great deal of money very quickly. If we can raise just $60,000 in the next few weeks, we might retain our executive director and start working in earnest, on a daily basis, to effect needed legislation and policy at all government levels. And there will be someone in place to put in the hours needed for multiple grant applications to keep the needed funds coming in.

Websites, reports, newsletters, visitations, travel involved with lobbying, and monitoring legislation and rail initiatives, development, execution, and distribution of marketing/educational materials all require massive man hours and reasonable expenses. There is much to be said for volunteer board members and community activists. But, without the pack mule and the focused worker bee, nothing of this magnitude can hope to become reality.

Dear Governor Kaine:

My name is Famham Jarrard, Jr. I currently am Mayor of Bristol, Virginia. …I have been involved in the effort to have Train Service since creation of the effort to create TDX. The number of trips I have made to go to meetings in Lynchburg, VA, or wherever we were asked to go over the past decade is not possible for me to remember.

After your victory my wife and I met you and your wife…. I do not expect you to remember me. But I feel that I must make this appeal. TDX is long overdue. We in Southwest Virginia are at a cross roads. It is a way of opening our State to a means of travel that frankly made Bristol originally, and which will open Southwest Virginia to opportunities that one can only imagine, not to mention its impact on the total length of this great State. The payback of this effort may take five or ten or even twenty years, but to create a passenger rail transportation system across our long State is long overdue.

I attended a TDX meeting in Lynchburg, VA on November 30th and we are planning what I would call, unfortunately, what maybe our final effort. I must ask you to make it known that you expect your current government to work with our staff in Lynchburg and help us develop our last effort in the form of creating a Commission setting forth the requirements needed to launch the TDX effort. This Commission will need first total support by you and your staff, second sufficient funding for making this commission a viable effort, and lastly must be high on your list and not fall through the cracks.

This is not just a Southwest Virginia project this is a State program that will help all along the line from Richmond to Bristol. I know you are a young and dynamic and I am reaching the end of the line, but railroads can move thousands of people and lessen the cost of travel for first thousands of college students along this line, and secondly, with families that would like to see Richmond and Washington DC.

It will some day connect with rail in Tennessee and will go north as far as Richmond, VA and Washington, DC. That means it will open up the opportunity to make connections and use rail travel on the eastern seaboard.

You are not rolling the dice, you are creating an alternate means of travel; one that made America what it is, rail service. I know that the Norfolk and Southern Corporation moves thousands of tons of coal and more thousands of tons of freight in piggy backing trucks that are offloaded in their yards and reach their final destination by truck. Without their support I do not feel that this will happen. We are led to believe that they do not oppose this effort; however, we need their open support. You are the only one who can make that happen.

In closing I want you to know that I see this as an important link in moving Virginia into this new century and giving an edge to our State by demonstrating what rail service can do. This ball is in your court and it will either happen or not happen based on how real your effort is on making it happen. Thank you for your time.

Sincerely yours,
C. Farnham Jarrard, Jr.,
Mayor Bristol, VA

On March 30, 2006, following the official “close” of the 2006 Legislative session, the TDX Board met in Roanoke, the first meeting since gaining its corporate status. Barbara Hartley, TDX Legislative Liaison, gave an update following her time spent in Richmond at the 2006 General Assembly session.

TDX took advantage of a bill filed by Roanoke Senator John Edwards to create a state rail authority. He agreed to modify his bill SB215 to instead create a TransDominion Express Authority. While the bill reported from the Senate floor unopposed and promised wide-spread endorsements among House members, it was ultimately blocked on the House floor, not on basis of merit, but one of several political hostages to the budget stalemate still ongoing in Richmond. However, this maneuvering served to raise the standard for TDX and we fully expect passage of the initiative in the 2007 session.

Lynchburg’s new delegate, Shannon Valentine, took the initiative to offer a House budget amendment to provide $200,000 administrative seed money for TDX expenses over the next 2-3 years. Her figures were based on information provided at a meeting with Karen Rae, former Director of the Virginia Department of Rail and Public Transportation (VDRPT), and Barbara Hartley. But, this budget item met the same fate as SB215, stifled on the House floor during votes to whittle down the Governor’s budget.

Purchase of VRE Cars: We appear to have the needed votes from the Commonwealth Transportation Board (CTB) to approve purchase of the passenger cars, however, the vote has yet to be placed on the CTB agenda. At the January meeting, Karen Rae delivered a TDX update and TDX Board member, Bill Smith, drove to Richmond from Marion, VA to address the CTB on behalf of the TDX proposed Demonstration Line.

Leadership & Alliances: A number of changes transpired at this session, now in extended special session.

• VDRPT Director Karen Rae resigned mid-session to accept a position in Pennsylvania as Deputy Secretary of Transportation. Corey W. Hill is now Acting Director, hired by Rae to oversee the Dulles Rail Corridor project.
• Scott Kasprowicz has been named Deputy Secretary of Transportation, under Pierce Homer. Sharing the title with incumbent Deputy, Ralph Davis, it appears that Kasprowicz has particular interests in rail and environmental concerns.
• New or improved alliances are developing with Virginia Railway Express (VRE). Mark Roeber, liaison for VRE, worked tirelessly for passage of the TDX Authority and budget amendment. He told Hartley that success of TDX would multiply VRE success in a number of ways. Michael Testerman, of Virginia Association of Rail Patrons (VARP) and Rail Solutions, also worked for passage of TDX legislation. As a result, TDX and Rail Solutions are revisiting common ground for future advocacy.
• In relation to the Tennessee connection and other adjacent states, other helpful alliances are currently being developed for greater federal support and funding.

Pierce Homer, Secretary of Transportation, named acting Secretary in March 2005, when Whitt Clement stepped down, was officially named to the cabinet post during the 2006 General Assembly by Governor Tim Kaine.

TDX Committee meetings in August and September of 2005 generated agreement that TDX had reached critical mass and now requires a full-time, singularly focused director to accomplish the work needed to move the effort forward in real time. Staffing has been handled by Barbara Hartley, the group’s lobbyist, on loan part-time from the Lynchburg Regional Chamber.

The Committee, now Board, agreed to create a full-time position of Executive Director, and has subsequently publishing an updated Executive Summary (see page 3).

Additionally, there are some openings for Board members from the Northern Virginia and Richmond regions, which we are looking to fill as soon as possible.

The Board will be holding a half-day strategic planning retreat in late June to fine-tune realistic goals and time lines. Among identified needs are these:

• The Board is seeking specific means to multiply the current operating budget to cover expenses of a full-time staff position.
• With greater focused staff time, ongoing relationships with local, state, and federal legislators can be created and deepened for year-long active participation throughout the Commonwealth.
• Increased active participation will ensue with Tennessee, North Carolina, and other states, working toward multi-state compacts and creation of viable federal freight and passenger rail policy.
• We will coordinate work with several rail advocacy allies to put together and present long and short-range strategic plans, possibly working to use Rail Enhancement Fund distributions to leverage federal funding, exponentially increasing available monies.
• We will prepare for successful creation of a TDX Rail Authority in the 2007 General Assembly Session.

Time is on our side as far as administrative commitment, planning, and relationship building goes. But, it can also work against us, closing windows of opportunity while we await brighter economic skies.

• TDX representation must be constantly maintained through active participation on VDRPT’s various studies and panels. Although we are now working more closely with other rail proponents, there remains healthy competition for available funds and resources when prioritizing time lines at the VDRPT.
• Relationships must be deepened with Norfolk Southern, CSX, AMTRAK and VRE to prevent further loss of rail and/or service.
• We must actively advocate to create a reliable policy for AMTRAK, essential for the rebuilding of an updated passenger and freight rail system for our nation. Just as TDX is a component of the state rail plan, Virginia must also be a system component of a national rail plan. We therefore must expand advocacy on the national level.
• Relationships and involvement with other transportation issues, including the I-81 corridor must be safeguarded and further developed as no transportation exists in a vacuum, and we have been greatly sensitized to the domino effect.
• We have discovered surprising misunderstanding and misinformation among citizen groups and community planners regarding alternative transportation systems and their impact on environment and economic development. Therefore, we must continue to educate ourselves to rebroadcast accurate information for grassroots support and relationships, as well as public demand for the rapid deployment of the full TDX system.
• TDX will assemble an updated business plan in the next few months, incorporating specific time-lines and identifying potential funding sources.
• The TDX Board has concluded these action steps will not be possible without a full time Executive Director. Today’s increasing fuel costs make the timing of this even more critical.

In April, Homer hosted a meeting with TDX Chairman, French Moore; VDRPT Director, Karen Rae; and TDX Liaison Barbara Hartley. Understanding that he will probably be holding the office for a very limited time, Homer urged that the TDX accomplish certain goals before the change of administrations next January, and offered his personal expertise in specific areas. He strongly urged that we build for the administrative transition and end the year with some agreements and commitments in hand.

The Secretary suggested that our primary concern, currently should be the establishment of an official governing body. Because he was part of Virginia Railways Express’s (VRE) establishment, asking that emerging organization the hard questions needed for a good start, he can lend his experience in formulating the TDX governance board. He suggested that there might be several types of entities from which to choose, and he offered advice as to where to find attorneys and consultants with pertinent experience.

Homer said the harder question is, “How will you make it work?” Getting a governance structure in place and formulating a budget plan will give us much better positioning to then consider the liability issues that have always been a major concern of Norfolk Southern. It will also give us a better footing to consider operational costs and the active participation of the local governments in the plan for raising matching funds. Homer said he felt the capital funding would fall into place, but because of intense competition for the available money, the real serious work would be on the operations side.

Homer questioned Rae about other considerations needed before the TDX Demo could run. Among other things, Rae said the Main Street Station access would require some CSX track work. And, she said that we must press Norfolk Southern on a price to operate. They have not been more specific than to quote “cost plus.”

VRE cars. Homer also suggested a change in the acquisition of the five VRE cars, currently on hold for the TDX. Instead of finalizing their purchase immediately, he requested that Director Rae pursue other means of protecting those assets for us so that the cash outlay for them will be closer to the time when we are ready to deploy them.

Rae indicated that the cars were actually still in use by the VRE, so there was no immediate need to offload them. However, because VRE needs to raise capital, this will not long be the case.

Homer and Rae acknowledged that the AMTRAK question was still looming for all rail proponents. If the federal government does not fund it, repercussions to the Commonwealth could be devastating, and not just to the TDX. Although the House has now reinstated the Amtrak funding, there is still a Senate vote to get through.

In the meantime, Homer and Rae agreed to a meeting with persons who might guide us through the PPTA process (for matching funds).

Even with all the good news to be reported, there remains a need to set the record straight. It has never wavered from its original mission. TransDominion Express, Inc. reaffirms its original goal to establish modern passenger rail to connect southwest Virginia to both Richmond and Washington, D.C., following the originally established route with Lynchburg as the hub from which a leg to Richmond and another to Washington, D.C. will extend.

Anything published or spoken to the contrary is simply disinformation. The Committee, working closely with the administration, has held steadfast to this commitment to the communities previously slated for inclusion. Farmville, alone, due to Norfolk Southern’s decision to move existing track elsewhere, will require modified and rerouted service.

A recent proposal to replace the northern Virginia TDX connection with Virginia Railway Express (VRE) is neither a part of the Commonwealth’s current plan, nor entirely in variance with the overall plan for a unified passenger rail system. Although there have been precursory discussions of coordination between TDX and VRE, this is better described as a facet of long range planning for future overlapping or supplementary services.

From our perspective, a VRE replacement would do nothing to connect anyone south or west of Charlottesville to northern Virginia, or to D.C., so it is not a viable response to our goal of uniting the Commonwealth by rail.

The TDX committee is working to qualify the proposed Demo line for the newly established Rail Enhancement Fund. The demonstration route serving the Bristol to Richmond segment is in the planning stages. This incremental start has encouraged serious advances for passenger rail not only in Virginia, but in neighboring Tennessee, as well!

Having been a primary proponent for rail funding over the past several years, Barbara Hartley, liaison for the TDX, was an invited guest at the June 17 signing of the Rail Enhancement Fund bill, in Norfolk. Working with Senator William Wampler (Bristol) and VDRPT Director, Karen Rae, the TDX was named in Virginia’s budget language, as a potential recipient of some of those funds.