VRE: Fredericksburg line to be 'severely delayed' Monday
By: Kytja Weir
Examiner Staff Writer
November 15, 2009
Virginia Railway Express is warning riders that trains on its Fredericksburg line will be seriously delayed Monday.
The agency is even urging its passengers to find other ways to work.
The commuter train service that ferries riders from Northern Virginia to D.C. will be disrupted because CSX, the freight rail company that owns the track, will be working on the signal system south of Alexandria on the Fredericksburg line. The Manassas line will not affected.
CSX was slated to do the work Friday through Monday, testing the signal system that alerts trains when to travel. During that time, trains will have to wait for dispatchers to verbally give them permission to travel through each signal, according to VRE. That could slow down trains for up to an hour.
The commuter train service originally planned to cancel service entirely on the line Monday but it decided it would run three trains -- about half its usual load -- during both the morning and afternoon.
"Although we are running limited service, those trains will be severely delayed," a VRE notice to passengers said. "If you absolutely need to be on time that day, VRE is not the best option. We strongly encourage you to take alternative transportation if possible."
"Although we are running limited service, those trains will be severely delayed," a VRE notice to passengers said. "If you absolutely need to be on time that day, VRE is not the best option. We strongly encourage you to take alternative transportation if possible."
Special buses will supplement the trains. Riders can also show their VRE pass to use Metrorail for free that day, VRE spokesman Mark Roeber said.
But Roeber said the hassle has a payoff on the other end: It is the final stage of a broader project that will ultimately speed up trains. A third track has been built on the steepest section of the line, known as Franconia Hill, that will enable passenger trains to pass slower freight trains. The new track is slated to open Tuesday, Roeber said, after the signal work is complete.
