ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Saturday, January 6, 1996 TAG: 9601080001
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: C2 EDITION: METRO
DATELINE: FREDERICKSBURG
SOURCE: ASSOCIATED PRESS
A state study says improving railroad tracks and putting faster trains on the Washington-to-Richmond corridor would give travelers an attractive alternative to congested Interstate 95.
The Virginia Department of Rail and Public Transportation study envisions sleek trains that travel at speeds of 110 mph making stops in Fredericksburg and perhaps Quantico.
For now, the study proposes phasing in track, switch and signal improvements to allow existing Virginia Railway Express and Amtrak trains to cruise at higher speeds and to shorten travel times, said Leo Bevon, the department's director.
State transportation officials took the first step toward high-speed rail last fall by designating $13 million to ease bottlenecks on CSX Corp.-owned dual tracks. The work will take a year or so.
As more dollars become available, the state would build a third set of tracks between Washington and Fredericksburg and later to Richmond, Bevon said. State officials agreed to that last year during negotiations with CSX to add commuter trains.
Noting that federally subsidized Amtrak lacks the money for new equipment in the corridor, the report recommends that Virginia purchase several trains for the Richmond-Washington service.
The state is looking at X2000 trains that tilt into curves allowing faster speeds on existing tracks. The tilt trains could be operated by the Virginia Railway Express, or the state could contract with Amtrak to operate the equipment.
The total cost for Virginia's investment in high-speed rail is estimated at $350 million.
There's no time frame for the more costly elements of the rail program.
``The financing is the great unknown. We don't have a clear funding source,'' said Alan Tobias, senior rail transportation engineer for the state.
Bevon said passenger fares would exceed operating costs but would not cover the state's capital costs.
Still, the report concludes that expanded rail service is a cost-effective way to ease traffic jams and air pollution in fast-growing eastern Virginia.
The shorter travel times aboard fast trains should draw traffic-weary drivers onto trains, Bevon said.
The Fredericksburg-to-Washington trip now takes about 70 minutes aboard Amtrak and 85 minutes on the Virginia Railway Express, which makes frequent stops.
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