The new operator of Virginia Railway Express will be ready to take over the train service next week, according to VRE’s leader — a piece of welcome good news for riders of commuter trains that have faced a recent series of setbacks.

Keolis, a French company, originally was slated to take over operations from Amtrak on June 28 after winning the contract. But the newcomer to U.S. commuter service ran into problems hiring staff and VRE had to ask Amtrak to continue running the trains for two weeks after Amtrak’s contract expired.