(The following story by Kelly Hannon appeared at Fredericksburg.com on July 9, 2010.)
WASHINGTON, D.C. — After 18 years of service, Amtrak has reached the end the line running Virginia Railway Express trains.
Today is the final day it will operate the commuter trains, at least over the next five years.
On Monday, Keolis Rail Services America will run the trains. It is starting a five-year, $85 million contract with VRE. It is the company’s first rail contract, although it is a subsidiary of Keolis, an international company that transports 2 billion bus and rail passengers a year in 13 countries, mostly in Europe. Keolis outscored two competitors last fall in a required bidding process for the service. One of the bidders was Amtrak.
It’s a bittersweet transition for riders.
During an online chat among passengers at vre.org this week, one rider said he’d like to bring a gift today for one of the train’s conductors. Amtrak crews have been a Monday through Friday presence in commuters’ lives since 1992, when VRE began.
Amtrak had nothing official planned today to mark the transition, but employees appreciate the riders’ respect, interest and friendliness, said Amtrak spokesman Steve Kulm.
The goodbyes may not be forever. Departing employees all have jobs with Amtrak in the Washington area.
“Passengers may see them on other trains,” Kulm said.
All Amtrak employees were invited to join Keolis and remain on VRE trains with the same salary and benefits, plus a signing bonus. But all but one employee remained with Amtrak. Amtrak also provided a retention bonus.
Keolis ran a full schedule without passengers on Monday, a federal holiday, as a dress rehearsal.
“Everything is looking very good. Our mock-up went very well,” said Paul Milde, VRE Operations Board chairman and a Stafford County supervisor.
“I have every reason to believe this is going to be a successful start,” said Milde, who plans to ride one of the first day’s trains.
Steve Townsend, executive vice president of Keolis, said a full crew is trained and qualified to operate trains.
All Keolis train conductors and engineers were hired from other U.S. freight and passenger rail services, and have experience operating or conducting trains.
But train personnel are required to pass written and operational tests on the specific sections of track where trains run.
In the VRE service area, that meant passing tests from CSX Corp., Norfolk Southern and Amtrak, which oversees Union Station.
This week, Keolis train engineers shadowed Amtrak engineers as they operated the trains, providing another opportunity to observe, Townsend said.
On Monday, the most noticeable change to passengers will be the personnel.
“I think what they’ll notice is someone they haven’t met before. I recognize that passengers have had many years of talking with and knowing the same conductors,” Townsend said.
He asked riders to be open to forming friendships with the new crew.
“They’re very professional. The conductors want to be on this service, and they want to work on this service,” Townsend said.
The eight-month transition period between Keolis being awarded the contract and operating the trains was rocky at times, punctuated by Amtrak sending a letter in April to Virginia’s secretary of transportation saying Keolis was running out of time to train crews before the planned start date of Monday, June 28.
In May, VRE’s Operations Board passed a resolution saying legal counsel would explore all options, including potential legal action, against Amtrak, stating it was interfering with the transition to Keolis.
In June, Amtrak told VRE it required notice no later than June 9 if VRE needed contingency service beyond June 25, Amtrak’s last scheduled day.
As a precaution, VRE opted to exercise the extension of Amtrak service, pushing the Keolis start date back two weeks to July 12. Amtrak said it needed the advance notice to inform employees of work schedules.
“I will say, in spite of the difficulty of us getting to the point we’re at, I think now that we have crews that are trained and qualified to run on the system, the railroads have been excellent,” Townsend said.
And that includes Amtrak’s operational team, Townsend said.
“They have really been very supportive,” he said.