DATE: Thursday, November 20, 1997           TAG: 9711200452

SECTION: LOCAL                   PAGE: B5   EDITION: FINAL 

SOURCE: BY DEBBIE MESSINA, STAFF WRITER 

                                            LENGTH:   81 lines

CONSULTANT FAVORS HIGH-SPEED RAIL AS ONE OF BEST LINKS TO RICHMOND

High-speed rail that can whisk commuters between Hampton Roads and Richmond in an hour or less is prominent among a consultant's recommendations to improve mobility in the increasingly congested Interstate 64 corridor.

The commuter trains would begin on the Peninsula and run along the existing CSX Corp. right-of-way, eventually connecting with proposed high-speed rail lines between Richmond and Washington and throughout the Northeast.

Intercity passenger rail, or high-speed rail, is included in four out of six alternatives identified by consultants Parsons Brinckerhoff Quade & Douglas Inc. as solutions to handling the growing travel demand between Hampton Roads and Richmond.

Traffic along the 75-mile corridor is expected to increase, on average, 60 percent by 2015. In some high-growth areas, traffic is projected to more than double.

``The I-64 corridor is really the link between Hampton Roads and the rest of the state from a highway point of view and a rail point of view,'' said Julie Rush, a transportation planner for the consulting firm.

``What we're looking at is part of a larger system,'' Rush added. ``We're hoping to better connect the Hampton Roads area with Richmond, other parts of the state and perhaps Washington, New York and Boston.''

Improving transportation in and out of Hampton Roads is not only a convenience issue, but an economic one as well.

``High-speed rail, in some circumstances, can significantly change the economic fabric of the area it serves,'' said Brad Face, president of Future of Hampton Roads and chairman of the Hampton Roads High Speed Rail Coalition. ``It can change the way people look at us in terms of accessibility.''

Six alternatives were outlined Wednesday for the Metropolitan Planning Organization of the Hampton Roads Planning District Commission. The board will be asked to select a preferred alternative in Spring 1998.

The options include various combinations of adding traditional highway lanes, High Occupancy Vehicle or carpool lanes, express bus service, smart-road or Intelligent Transportation Systems technologies, and high-speed rail.

One option is to do nothing. A second is a low-cost alternative that does not include highway or rail construction, but instead high-tech innovations such as smart-road technology to get the most out of the existing pavement.

Both high-speed rail and highway expansion are elements of each of the four other alternatives.

Cost estimates are not yet available for the proposed rail service. And there's been no discussion about who would operate such a system.

``Here in Hampton Roads, there's a desire or a need for short-hop service, like to Washington, that's not adequately addressed now by air transportation,'' Face said. ``Interstates 95 and 64 aren't doing the trick either.''

Varying levels of rail service are proposed ranging in speed from 90 mph to 125 mph. At 90 mph, the trip between Hampton Roads and Richmond would take 1 hour and 15 minutes; at 110 mph, 1 hour; and at 125 mph, 55 minutes.

Under each scenario, three new rail stations would be added near Newport News/Williamsburg International Airport, Providence Forge and Richmond International Airport.

Amtrak currently runs two passenger trains per day along that line, with a trip time of 1 hour and 40 minutes to Richmond. That service has one stop in Williamsburg.

CSX also actively uses the corridor to haul freight.

Yet another use of the CSX right-of-way is under consideration. A study is being conducted that evaluates light rail use between Williamsburg and Hampton.

Planners say the existing rail corridor can handle the added traffic volume with some capital improvements - ranging from upgrades to the existing track to adding a second, or even third, set of tracks.

``Fortunately, there's a very healthy right-of-way there,'' Rush said, adding that a lease agreement would have to be worked out with CSX.

``It's not as technically difficult as one would assume.''

The Virginia Department of Transportation commissioned the $2.2 million study to explore ways to satisfy the travel demand between the two metropolitan areas. Among the challenges considered were overcrowding of the existing roads, the effect of congestion on economic vitality, protection of natural resources, air pollution levels and high accident rates on some portions of I-64.

``It's clear we need solutions other than just roads,'' said Gerald W. Sears, VDOT principal transportation engineer. ``We need to look at multimodal solutions.'' KEYWORDS: COMMUTER TRAINS TRANSPORTATION HIGH-SPEED RAIL

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