The Virginia Railway Express commuter rail is operating at record levels, reaching its highest single-day ridership at the beginning of January and its highest yearly totalin 2009.
The commuter train agency set the records consecutively in both cases. VRE had its highest daily ridership on Jan. 6, with 18,629 passenger trips, and its second-highest total on Jan. 5, with 18,315 trips. VRE broke its yearly record in 2008 with a ridership of about 3.8 million, then again in 2009, with a total of about 3.9 million.
“It’s really ramping up … success is killing us here,” said Dale Zehner, chief executive officer of VRE.
New cars and improved maintenance have cut down on delays, Zehner said. Virginia’s ever-increasing traffic nightmare also may be contributing to the spike.
“I think congestion is worse — on [Interstate 95] and especially [Interstate 66] now,” he said.
Sharon Bulova, vice chairwoman of the VRE Operations Board, cited the combination of service improvements and increased highway construction as reasons for the uptick.
“They’re good things, but they’re impacting transportation,” she said of the construction projects.
The boom in business comes during a transitional period for VRE. The French railway company Keolis will wrest operation of the agency from Amtrak in July. The contract is for five years, with two five-year renewal options. The first 18 months was approved for $18.5 million.
“I think Keolis can do the job — no question,” Zehner said.
Patrick Jeantet, executive senior vice president for Keolis International, thanked the operations board at its latest meeting for selecting the company. VRE is its first foray into U.S. rail operations.
