AmtrakTrain: DC to VT: VA

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.

Showing posts with label VA. Show all posts

Thursday, January 7, 2010

Today, January 7, 2010, Amtrak Posts New NE Train Schedule on Website, but Not Lynchburg Flyer

On January 7, 2010, Amtrak posted a new schedule of its NE Service, including these trains that travel in the DC to Lynchburg Corridor:

Cardinal,

Crescent, and

New Lynchburg Train (145, 147, 171, 156, and 176).

Unfortunately, Amtrak did not post the Lynchburg Flyer, an ongoing oversight on their part.

One can download the new schedule from "www.Amtrak.com", click on "Schedules", and look for one marked, "Northeast, Mid-Atlantic and Virginia Service".

Saturday, December 12, 2009

2nd Possible Bus Connection: Pikeville, KY, via VA Tech, to Lynchburg

I have just learned of a another possible bus link from VT to Lynchburg, connecting with the train. The bus would go from Pikesville, Ky, via VA Tech (Blacksburg) to Roanoke and Lynchburg. As an interstate route operated in a underserved area, the bus company would be eligible for a Federal grant and possibly no need for State funds. This is the second possible bus link. The other would be the one from Bristol to Lynchburg.

Wednesday, December 2, 2009

Purpose of Amtrak Train: DC to VT Blog

The purpose of this "Amtrak Train: DC to VT" Blog is to preserve and increase Amtrak train service from Washington DC to the Virginia Tech (VT)Corridor by 1) insuring that Amtrak's new 3 year experimental train from DC to Lynchburg, which started October 1, 2009, becomes permanent; 2)encouraging an interim connecting bus service from Lynchburg to Roanoke and Christiansburg (near Virginia Tech); and 3) encouraging the replacement of that interim bus service with permanent Amtrak train service.