(The following story by Chip Jones appeared on the Richmond Times-Dispatch website on December 25.)
RICHMOND, Va. — Amtrak service was back to normal this week, but Northern Virginia commuter rail was still feeling the crunch of last week’s derailment of a CSX Corp. train in Alexandria.
Spokesman Dan Stessel said Tuesday that there was “nothing out of the ordinary” about train times between Richmond and Washington.
Amtrak restored service during the weekend after the derailment of 19 cars last Thursday forced it to bus passengers from Richmond to Washington and Newport News.
The accident remains under federal investigation. A commuter rail spokesman said a broken wheel on a CSX rail car is considered the likely cause of the mishap. There were no injuries in the accident, but it snarled passenger and rail traffic.
Virginia Railway Express spokesman Mark Roeber said the commuter rail will resume its regular schedule Monday.
It has been using fewer trains this week because of delays along the 1,110-foot-long stretch of mangled track near the King Street Amtrak Station in Alexandria. VRE trains have been delayed an average of 10 minutes making their way through the accident site, Roeber said.
The VRE serves more than 8,000 commuters who ride trains from Fredericksburg and Manassas.