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Rail policy group: The state can do even better

An Amtrak train arrives in Roanoke on the first day of expanded service to the city in 2017. A second daily train was added in 2022 and the state is now working toward extending passenger rail service to the New River Valley
David Seidel
/
Radio IQ
An Amtrak train arrives in Roanoke on the first day of expanded service to the city in 2017. A second daily train was added in 2022 and the state is now working toward extending passenger rail service to the New River Valley

Virginia is moving closer to expanding passenger rail service to the New River Valley. But a rail policy group says it’s not thinking big enough.

Back in 2021, the state announced plans to purchase a segment of track and extend passenger rail service from Roanoke to the Christiansburg area. Members of the Virginia Rail Policy Institute have been reviewing the state’s agreements with Norfolk Southern and conducted a first-hand examination of the more than 30 mile corridor.

"The state can do even better," VRPI's executive director, Michael Testerman, said. "If we go with what they’re recommending now it’ll be fine. But it doesn’t move us far enough down the playing field so to speak and it doesn’t move us fast enough if we’re going to get to Bristol."

The Institute’s 23 page report includes recommendations for new track and direct service all the way into the Virginia Tech campus, as well as better connection to Radford and Norfolk Southern’s main line. That could allow passenger service all the way to Bristol and beyond.

"One or two trains a day to the New River Valley might be the wildest expectations the civic boosters there have. But from a strategic planning point of view, and what our public officials should be realizing, is that we probably need to start looking at bigger visions of moving people and goods in that corridor," Testerman said.

VRPI's recommendations envision a rail connection between Virginia Tech's Blacksburg campus and its biomedical research institute and medical school in Roanoke. The cost would be considerable, but Testerman and the Institute believe the demand is there. And as their report says, where there’s a will, there’s a way.

"The demand is there," according to Testerman. "It’s been all met with the highway mode. What our report is trying to do is say, if you are wanting to shift, going forward in the 21st Century, shift some of the delegated mobility responsibilities away from the highway system, away from petroleum dependency, away from the danger of riding on I-81, then this is a way to do it on a scalable fashion that will actually make a difference."

The executive director of the Virginia Passenger Rail Authority recently told the Roanoke Times that the project to expand service to the Christiansburg area is on track for completion in 2026. DJ Stadtler said the state couldn't make the suggested changes without reopening negotiations with Norfolk Southern. VRPA is the state agency that manages the administrative and financial responsibilities of Virginia's state-supported passenger rail services.

The Virginia Rail Policy Institute was incorporated as a non-profit in 2005 and grew out of the Virginians for High Speed Rail organization. The group says its mission is to improve public policy related to both freight and passenger rail in Virginia. "These are not necessarily rail fans or rail advocates," according to Testerman. "These are people who understand rail from the inside, from the industry side, from the legal side. And we really do hope that we can give guidance and inspiration to the policies and practices that the state is undertaking."

David Seidel is Radio IQ's News Director.