Biography

I grew up in Pine Ridge, about one mile from the Fairfax Hospital, in Fairfax County, Virginia. In about 1952, I remember traveling on the Washington and Old Dominion (W&OD) Railroad (the "Virginia Creeper") from Falls Church to Roslyn. This train ran from Bluemont to Roslyn and Alexandria, VA, with a branch to Great Falls, which ceased operations earlier. I graduated from Fairfax High School (1963), the College of William and Mary, BS, Biology (1968) and the University of Connecticut, MS, Zoology (1974).
I spent a year (1966-1967) working for the Smithsonian Institution in Venezuela collecting mammals and parasites. I was in the US Army (1969-1971) and spent a year in Japan, outside Toyko. That was first experience with a well run train system and with a ride on their Bullet Train, which traveled at 130 mph at the time. I have worked for the Office of Pesticide Programs at the Environmental Protection Agency for 36 years (1973 to 2009). During that period, I have ridden the Virginia Railway Express (VRE), a Washington/Virginia commuter rail system since its beginning in 1992. Now I am paying more interest in Amtrak and want to stimulate ridership and new service, especially in Virginia. I am a member of the Virginia Association of Railway Patrons (VARP), www.varprail.org, which has been promoting passenger rail in the state for 30 years and a member of Cvillerail, www.Cvillerail.org, which was major reason for the establishment of the new Amtrak Train to Lynchburg, the subject of this blog.

Sunday, May 27, 2012

College Students are Big Supporters of Amtrak's Lynchburg Train

Since Amtrak started Virginia's first state-supported train on October 1, 2009, by extending Northeast Regional Service to Lynchburg, students have been important supporters of the Lynchburg Train. At the Manassas Station, I regularly see UVA, Liberty, and Randolph students. A conductor once informed me that 350 UVA students had boarded a single Lynchburg Train one fall break morning!

I have also seen at least one student from Virginia Tech in Blacksburg.  VT students take the new Smart Way Connector Bus (just started July 19, 2011, and running at four times the projected rider numbers) on Friday, Saturday, or Sunday to link with the Amtrak NE Regional train in Lynchburg.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IRGTFMSEYTc&list=UUp99-k4FwW382x10HvrCR0g&index=9&feature=plcp
Having strong student support will increase ridership in the short term and and long term.  These students will be become the "Leaders of Tomorrow" and, having actually ridden a train, will be in a much better position from their personal experience to encourage future passenger service when decision makers are considering additional service.
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