Continued declines in Virginia Railway Express commuter use are on track to cost the government-run train system $900,000 in revenue this year.
After recovering from widespread delays and equipment problems that plagued the railway last summer, the drop this year raised more concerns about how work-at-home programs decrease railroad demand.
Suburban federal employees are now often commuting only three or four days each week, contributing to a 4.5 percent overall rider decrease this year that will affect future budgets and planning, railway spokesman Mark Roeber said.
“We are looking at Wednesdays when we’re capturing almost 16,000 riders, and yet on the edge days, Mondays and Fridays, we’re in the high 13,000s,” Roeber said.
The average decline of 700 riders per day from 15,200 to 14,500 comes as VRE is considering expansion to Haymarket, Gainesville, Spotsylvania and Fauquier County.
“We’re poised to continue to grow and we have to struggle with ways to fill up the trains,” Roeber said.
The hole in the budget will be offset by larger-than-expected contributions from government grants and unexpected savings.
After completionof the Quantico Bridge in March, some delays that have long plagued commuters continue, but have been much less frequent. Trains that were more than five minutes late half the time in the summer of 2006 are now that late only 10 percent of the time.
The Virginia Association of Railway Patrons said 13 delays related to equipment trouble in May was excessive, and timeliness will remain an issue until VRE is able to complete its plans to purchase or rent new locomotives in 2008.
“Reliability is the greatest cause for concern, otherwise the service isn’t bad,” said Stephen Dunham, the VARP chairman who commutes from the Fredericksburg station to Crystal City each day.
“Compared to driving, it’s reasonably comfortable and convenient and actually saves money, but if you can’t be sure you’ll get to work on time, it might not be worth the savings,” Dunham said.
