Summary of Recommendation:
The state needs to commit to the complete plan for rail transportation improvements between Richmond-Petersburg and Washington DC in the Six-Year Plan. Currently, $65 million of improvements is underway and completion of the full $450-$500 million project is needed.

Devoting $75 million per year to this project from an expanded Rail Enhancement program would accomplish the full set of benefits in line with increasing demand. It would reduce passenger rail time by one half hour between Richmond and Washington, offering an option to avoid traffic while saving substantial highway improvement costs. It would help reduce shipper costs and trucks on I-95.

Background:
The recently revised plan to upgrade signals, terminals, and install three continuous tracks in the rail corridor is essential to supporting the economic engine of the state. Currently 40% of the population lives in the I-95 Corridor and 44% of the gross state product (GSP) is generated here. The rail corridor that extends to Newport News can be the backbone of Virginia’s “urban crescent” which contains 60% of the Commonwealth’s population and generates 67% of the GSP.

The state’s focus over the past forty years has been on expanding the road capacity of I-95, but this strategy is increasingly costly, and lacks right of way in the urban areas. But, the primary CSX rail corridor has substantial capacity to support both growing freight and passenger demand. A $450-$500 million investment made in partnership with rail freight would improve reliability and reduce passenger rail time by 30 minutes between Richmond and Washington DC.

This investment provides the opportunity to expand VRE service as population and economic activity increase, and to connect the growing Tidewater region and rapidly expanding Ports complex to the rest of the state by rail. By comparison, road improvements for a single interchange, proposed in 2000 for the “Celebrate Virginia” development, were estimated by VDOT to cost $500 million.

The current set of projects with a construction value of $65 million is eliminating many bottlenecks that effect reliability of the corridor. This includes adding a 2-track crossing at Quantico Creek where only a single track bridge existed before. While CSX had shown some difficulty in completing work on-time, this has reportedly improved recently. Ensuring a continual stream of funding for this project over the next six years, coupled with state leadership, and even contract incentives like those for the Springfield Interchange, would provide the incentives needed to expedite this priority project.

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