(The following story by Kelly Hannon appeared at Fredericksburg.com on August 21, 2010.)
FREDERICKSBURG, Va. — Few Virginia Railway Express passengers will forget riding the train on the Fredericksburg Line during the summer of 2010.
A brush fire broke out near the tracks. There were downed trees. Mechanical problems. Temperatures day after day in the upper 90s, forcing trains to operate at slower speeds under CSX Corp. heat restrictions.
A freight train derailed the same day severe thunderstorms raked the region.
On July 12, the trains were driven and staffed by Keolis Rail Services America, with 45 conductors and engineers new to VRE, still learning the nuances of working passenger lifts and making announcements.
The convergence of it all caused train timeliness to plummet.
On the Fredericksburg Line, trains were on-time 56 percent of the time in July. By comparison, 86 percent of Fredericksburg Line trains were on-time in April, 87 percent in May, and 77 percent in June.
“Almost anything that could go wrong has gone wrong in the last month,” said Stafford supervisor Paul Milde, VRE Operations Board chairman.
Service has since rebounded. Nine in 10 VRE trains were running on time this week, spiking up to a 90 percent on-time rate from the summer’s troubles.
VRE CEO Dale Zehner said he told Keolis staff in their last meeting that they must be prepared to face a wave of riders in the fall, back from vacation, and to iron out any remaining service issues, such as checking tickets.
“It’s just a lot of little things, but we’re almost there and it’s getting better every day,” Zehner said.
Passengers stuck with VRE through it all. More people rode VRE trains on the Fredericksburg Line this July than in 2009.
But the headaches of July and early August were rehashed yesterday at VRE’s monthly meeting.
The lowest point for train service was started by an external event.
On August 5, a CSX freight train derailed near Quantico just before the evening rush, halting all train traffic.
VRE scrambled to bring in buses from anyone that could spare them at rush hour, including FREDericksburg Regional Transit, to meet passengers at the Franconia-Springfield station to carry them home to Fredericksburg-area stations.
But Metro trains had its own problems that day, and passengers had trouble reaching the train station. Severe thunderstorms battered the area, snarling traffic and making it hard for buses or passengers to reach the waiting VRE riders.
Although every VRE passenger had boarded a bus to go home by 8 p.m. that night, it meant passengers were delayed several hours.
“That night was the worst night I’ve had at VRE,” Zehner said.
At least one rider might have agreed. Stafford supervisor Harry Crisp read an e-mail from a resident that detailed the rider’s commute home Aug. 5. The passenger was forced to detrain from several Metro trains, had trouble reaching the backup buses at Springfield in a taxi, then lost pay the following day when VRE canceled Fredericksburg Line service due to the derailment and closed track, and the resident couldn’t find another way to work.
Crisp, a former VRE commuter, said while he found it to “be very reliable, generally speaking,” the agency must consider how delays and contingency plans affect riders’ personal lives.
When things go wrong, all staff must be trained on how to respond, Crisp said.
Milde said the bus-and-derailment experience will contribute to future plans. “Now, having done it, we’ve learned something from it,” Milde said.
Zehner is also communicating directly with riders about the transition under Keolis, and service.
In an e-mail sent to all riders this week, Zehner said he’s hired additional engineers to work on train mechanical difficulties.
VRE’s fleet of 20 locomotives are decades old, and are slated to be replaced.
VRE has ordered 18 new locomotives from MotivePower Inc. in Idaho.
The first new locomotive arrived in July, and is running on the Fredericksburg Line. Another 14 new locomotives will start arriving in the winter, and will be in service by summer 2011.
“MotivePower has returned to VRE property to assist in monitoring and maintaining our locomotives. In addition to being the company that is building our new locomotive fleet, they have exceptional background and knowledge in repairing our aging engines. They are working hand in hand with our mechanical team, and will be on site as long as needed,” Zehner wrote.
“Don’t think for a second that I take your loyalty for granted, because I don’t,” Zehner wrote. “No one at VRE does. You are the driving force for what we do here at VRE. I pledge to you that VRE is determined to make improvements, earn back your trust in us to get you to work and home, safely and on-time.”