VIRGINIA, USA — Amtrak and Virginia Passenger Rail Authority held a ribbon-cutting ceremony Monday to celebrate new rail routes in two Virginia cities.
The "Rail in Virginia" initiative reached its latest milestone with two new roundtrip routes in Roanoke and Norfolk. The new roundtrips started immediately on July 11, between Washington, D.C., and Roanoke. The train departs from D.C. at 8:05 a.m. making stops in Alexandria, Manassas, Culpeper, Charlottesville and Lynchburg arriving in Roanoke at 1 p.m.; it leaves Roanoke at 4:30 and gets back to D.C. at 9:28 p.m.
“We’re adding more options for people at the right time,” said Michael McLaughlin, chief operating officer at the Virginia Passenger Rail Authority. “Capacity on the trains is getting full, and ridership is at record-high levels.”
Starting July 12, Amtrak Northeast Regional service will add three-weekday roundtrips to and from Norfolk.
Amtrak is also helping to restore service to Newport News.
"Virginia has long recognized the importance of having a strong multi-mobile transportation network," said Allison Fultz, Federal Railroad Administration, Chief Counsel. "FRA shares these values. And we continue to campaign passenger rails efforts here in Virginia and across the country."