Seeking a meaningful solution to the state’s ever-growing traffic problem, the Virginia General Assembly created the Virginia Passenger Rail Authority (VPRA) in 2020 and tasked it with implementing the Commonwealth’s $5 billion Transforming Rail in Virginia (TRV) initiative. TRV is changing the future of rail transportation in Virginia by acquiring railroad right-of-way, increasing rail capacity and reworking passenger and freight operations to improve reliability and increase rail service in Virginia. The long-term goal is to separate freight and passenger rail services.

TRV encompasses more than a dozen current rail infrastructure projects from L’Enfant Plaza in Washington, D.C. to Spotsylvania County in Virginia, as well as the extension of service from Roanoke to Christiansburg in Virginia’s New River Valley. Its flagship project — the Long Bridge Project — will connect Virginia with Washington, D.C. via a new railroad corridor dedicated solely to passenger rail. TRV will not only allow for the expansion of passenger rail service in the Commonwealth, but it will also relieve rail congestion through the Mid-Atlantic region, benefiting both passenger rail and freight traffic nationally.

Once Phase 2 of TRV is complete in 2030, VPRA will fund a total of 13 daily Amtrak Virginia roundtrips along four corridors between Washington, D.C. and Roanoke, Newport News, Norfolk and Richmond. Future phases will enable expanded Amtrak service to Raleigh and Charlotte, NC along a new route, which is significantly shorter and faster than Amtrak’s current route to Raleigh.

For more information, please visit Transforming Rail in Virginia.

Benefits

• Increased frequency
• Increased capacity
• Improved reliability
• Improved motorist and rail safety
• Boosts economic growth

Partners

• Federal Railroad Administration (FRA)
• Virginia Passenger Rail Authority (VPRA)
• Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT)
• CSX Corporation
• Virginia Railway Express (VRE)