
                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: THURSDAY, September 1, 1994                   TAG: 9409010071
SECTION: CURRENT                    PAGE: NRV-1   EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY 
SOURCE: By MELISSA DeVAUGHN STAFF WRITER
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Medium

STUDY TO EXAMINE FEASIBILITY OF PASSENGER RAIL LINE

New River Valley officials are hoping a proposed passenger rail system that would pass through their communities will become a reality, but they must wait until a $250,000 feasibility study is completed to see if the demand exists for such a railway.

The passenger line would run from Bristol to Washington, D.C., and Richmond, and would stop where people want it most, said Larry Dodd, a spokesman for the Virginia Department of Rail and Transportation. Possible stops include Pulaski, Radford and Christiansburg.

"Then it would go on to Roanoke and Salem, and on through to the east," he said. "We hope to find out if there is interest in such a railway - not just at the beginning and end points, but all points in between."

Consultants are already beginning the study which they hope to finish by January .

City Manager Robert Asbury said there has been strong support for a passenger railway in Radford ever since Amtrak conducted a New York to Atlanta rail corridor study in 1992.

"The Radford City Council adopted a resolution in full support of railway service back then," Asbury said. "And I'm sure they'd be prepared to do whatever it takes to get the rail service here now."

Asbury said the greatest demand for the railway system lies with Radford University's more than 9,000 students, many of whom live in Northern Virginia.

"And it's not unrealistic to talk about the short commutes between Roanoke and the New River Valley," he added. "This used to be a common form of transportation until cab services took over." A train depot is located across from the downtown post office on Norwood Street in Radford.

Christiansburg Town Manager John Lemley agrees with Asbury. In 1992, the town had hoped to be a stop on Amtrak's New York to Atlanta route, but that study was abandoned because of budget cutbacks within the company.

While Lemley said he is not familiar with the revived railway efforts, "based upon our prior efforts, I would say we would participate." The Christiansburg train station is in the historic Cambria section of the town.

In Pulaski, where renovations on an old train depot were just completed this summer, there has been a renewed excitement about the railway. In June, the town celebrated its new depot with a special train excursion beginning at the depot, near Pulaski's downtown.

Although no officials with the town of Pulaski could be reached for comment Wednesday, Asbury said, "I think every community in the New River Valley has followed suit [with Radford] and wants to have a passenger train."

by CNB