Long Bridge Groundbreaking Furthers New Era in Rail Travel in Virginia

NEWS RELEASE – October 15, 2024

Bridge is flagship of Transforming Rail in Virginia Initiative

RICHMOND — The Virginia Passenger Rail Authority (VPRA), together with officials including U.S. Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg, U.S. Senators Tim Kaine and Mark Warner as well as U.S. Representatives Gerry Connelly and Abigail Spanberger, today participated in a groundbreaking ceremony for the state’s Long Bridge Project. The largest of the Commonwealth’s Transforming Rail in Virginia (TRV) projects, Long Bridge is a $2.3 billion infrastructure improvement which will provide increased capacity for passenger rail over the Potomac River.

The new two-track railroad bridge will connect Arlington, Virginia with Washington, DC allowing for the expansion of rail service to meet future demand. Construction activities including site preparation will begin over the next few weeks with large-scale construction beginning in 2025. The project is scheduled for completion in 2030. The new bridge will be constructed adjacent to the existing bridge, a 119-year-old river crossing that currently operates at 98% capacity during peak periods – and will relieve one of the largest rail traffic bottlenecks on the East Coast. Further, the new bridge will aid the state in separating passenger rail from freight rail, improving the on-time performance for both.

“In Virginia, our crippling traffic has truly become a bipartisan issue, and the Long Bridge groundbreaking represents our bipartisan solution,” said DJ Stadtler, Executive Director of the VPRA. “But it’s not just Virginians who will benefit. Travelers from Boston to Miami will feel the effects of this project, and through our Transforming Rail in Virginia initiative, VPRA’s capital investments will add $7.2 billion to our economy.”

Transforming Rail is a national model for state-supported passenger rail service that will give Virginians an alternative to driving along congested highways and interstates. The initiative calls for moving Virginians by using an existing rail corridor and building new infrastructure. When complete, TRV will enable the state’s Amtrak Virginia service to offer a total of 13 daily roundtrips up from eight currently, traveling throughout the state and connecting to the Northeast Corridor.

VPRA began its TRV expansion by purchasing rail right-of-way from freight partners, CSX and Norfolk Southern. In the past two years, VPRA has acquired nearly 500 miles of railroad right-of-way in corridors along I-95, I-64, I-85, I-81, and I-66. Just last month, VPRA signed a new deal with Norfolk Southern to purchase the Manassas Line, and gain access to their Main Line for service to the New River Valley. By purchasing railroad right-of-way, VPRA now has the unique opportunity to own these valuable assets and further enhance rail capacity. With the Norfolk Southern agreement as well as a similar 2021 agreement with CSX, VPRA can now work with VRE to expand their service on both the Manassas and Fredericksburg Lines including offering evening and weekend trains. One key milestone to the second wave of VRE expansion is completion of the Long Bridge project.

Virginia launched its first state-supported train on October 1, 2009 – a roundtrip between Washington, DC and Lynchburg. Ridership that first year was expected to be about 30,000 passengers. However, when more than 100,000 passengers traveled, it was clear that passenger rail was something all Virginians wanted and needed.

Since that first year, ridership has grown as service has expanded. During calendar year 2023, more than 1.32 million passengers traveled on Amtrak Virginia and so far this calendar year, ridership is up 7.3% compared to last year. Currently, Amtrak Virginia offers one seat rides from Virginia to New York or Boston along with other destinations on the Northeast Corridor, with three daily roundtrips from Norfolk, two daily roundtrips from Roanoke and Newport News, and one daily roundtrip from Richmond.

About Virginia Passenger Rail Authority
The Virginia Passenger Rail Authority was established in 2020 to promote, sustain, and expand the availability of passenger and commuter rail service in the Commonwealth. VPRA is committed to delivering and expanding its state-supported Amtrak Virginia passenger rail service. The Commonwealth of Virginia first launched state-supported service in 2009 with one roundtrip between Washington, DC and Lynchburg, VA. Since that time, Virginia’s state-supported passenger rail service has grown to include eight roundtrips daily with stops at 17 stations along four corridors. For more information, please visit vapassengerrailauthority.org.

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