(The following article by Christopher Dinsmore appeared on The Virginian-Pilot website on March 20.)
NORFOLK, Va. — Norfolk Southern Railway Co. has taken the first formal step toward abandoning the 13.7-mile rail line that runs from near downtown Norfolk to Birdneck Road in Virginia Beach parallel to Interstate 264.
The eventual abandonment of the line could clear the way for the development of light rail in Norfolk and possibly in Virginia Beach.
Hampton Roads Transit has been negotiating with the Norfolk-based railroad to acquire a four-mile stretch of the line in Norfolk for its proposed light-rail system.
“This is not a surprising development,” said Michael Townes, HRT’s president and chief executive officer. “We’ve been expecting it.”
Norfolk Southern is publishing a legal notice in The Virginian-Pilot stating that it anticipates filing an application with the federal Surface Transportation Board within three years to formally abandon the line.
The notice is the first step in a long, involved process for abandoning little-used or under used rail lines. Any abandonment of a rail line must be approved by federal rail regulators, who examine the economic and environmental impacts. The process could take as long as a year after the filing.
If the abandonment is approved, Norfolk Southern would have another year to decide what it wants to do with the line. It could sell the right of way to HRT and the cities for possible light rail or it could sell to another railroad. It could even decide to keep the line and resume service.
“We’re intent upon selling this line,” said Susan Terpay, a Norfolk Southern spokeswoman. “We’ve had discussions with HRT and, in those discussions, we’ve said we’re intent upon receiving a commercially fair price for it.”
The railroad is willing to sell the line whole or in pieces, she said.
Townes declined to comment on the talks. HRT is attempting to purchase four miles of the right of way in Norfolk for its proposed “starter” light-rail system from downtown Norfolk to Newtown Road, Townes said. The city of Norfolk and Norfolk State University also are involved in those discussions.
The Virginia Beach City Council made it a priority last year to acquire the remaining nine-mile stretch of the line in Virginia Beach, rekindling the possibility of extending light rail to the Oceanfront four years after voters in the city rejected the idea. Even if the city ultimately opts not to pursue light rail, the right of way could be converted to a multi-use trail for bikes and pedestrians or even an express route for buses, officials said.
After Beach voters rejected light rail in 1999, HRT and Norfolk decided to pursue development of an eight-mile light-rail line from the medical complex near downtown Norfolk through downtown to a park-and-ride station on Newtown Road. The line is estimated to cost $198.5 million.
Funding for any light-rail system remains a challenge. Norfolk would have to raise about 25 percent of the money, and the rest would have to come from federal and state sources. Federal rail transit money is scarce and in high demand.
The rail line itself first opened on July 17, 1883, Terpay said, and was electrified for trolley service to the Oceanfront in 1904. The railroad later carried stone, construction material, newsprint and other goods to serve the businesses that cropped up along the line.
But no train has moved on the tracks since the fall of 2002, Terpay said. The last remaining customer along the tracks is a building materials firm that now takes deliveries by truck, she said.