(The following story by Sarah Arkin appeared on the Danville News website on January 24, 2009.)
DANVILLE, Va. — City officials and Washington representatives are pushing for increased railroad access for Danville residents as the state considers new Amtrak rail lines connecting more Virginia cities.
Mounting interest in the commonwealth in infrastructure development and train travel prompted a study by Amtrak about enhancing intercity rail travel in Virginia.
The study, released in January 2008, recommends two new lines in Virginia with one that would run from Lynchburg to Washington, with stops in Charlottesville, Culpeper, Manassas and Alexandria. The line would cost the state $1.9 million annually to operate.
While officials agree that increased rail services would both serve residents and enhance economic development, most feel the proposed line leaves Danville out of the bigger picture, and may actually work against it.
“We’re interested in maintaining our existing service,” said Gerald Fischer, director of Danville’s Community Development Department, “and we’re concerned about the impact of the Lynchburg-D.C. line.”
Much of the fear comes from comparing current schedules to that of the proposed new line, which suggests that the train embarking from Lynchburg would leave about the same time as the Crescent Line already does.
Currently, the only line Danville residents can take north to Washington, D.C., is the Crescent Line, which leaves the station at the Danville Science Center at 4:57 a.m. with a southbound arrival in Danville at 11:14 p.m. The Crescent leaves Lynchburg at 6:07 a.m. and arrives from Washington at 10 p.m.
Embarking from New Orleans, the train ends up in New York City.
Riding the rail
Amtrak’s proposed new line would depart Lynchburg at 5:05 a.m., arriving in Washington at 8:40 a.m., and would leave Washington at 4:10 p.m. (3:25 p.m. on Saturdays) and arrive in Lynchburg at 8:25 p.m. (and 7:23 p.m. on Saturdays). The train would continue from Washington to New York.
Fischer said he understands that the study found that by the time the Crescent Line gets to Virginia, many of the seats are already booked.
“I think especially from Charlottesville on, the ridership demands are significant, and they haven’t been able to meet them all,” Fischer said.
But, he said, Danville riders could benefit from an extra line of service as well.
“Ridership has increased fairly dramatically over the past year,” Fischer said. “I suspect a lot of it is fuel prices.”
One related major issue that local officials would like Amtrak to address is the lack of a physical Danville Amtrak office. Passengers arrive at the Science Center, located adjacent to the train tracks, and city-provided security personnel monitor the building during the off-hours the Crescent Line runs.
Fischer said even an automated machine would benefit travelers, who often come into the Science Center during normal business hours seeking tickets.
“(There’s) a regular stream of people coming in asking for tickets,” he said. “We think there’s a market for (a machine) that could improve ridership.”
Looking out for Danville
Sen. Jim Webb, D-Va., and U.S. Rep. Tom Perriello, D-5th, also are urging Amtrak to pay more attention to Danville. The two recently wrote a letter to Amtrak expressing their concerns about the effects of the new line, and made two requests.
In their letter to the CEO of Amtrak, they questioned whether the company had considered staggering schedules, so as to serve more people at different times while recognizing the “inherent complexity of scheduling numerous trains.”
Specifically, they requested that Amtrak place the Quick-Track automated tickets machine at the Danville station. Second, they requested that Amtrak consider marketing strategies with the city of Danville.
In a statement accompanying a copy of the letter, Webb pointed out that Congress passed a “robust five-year Amtrak authorization bill in October.”
“We have made it clear that we would like to see that the Danville community benefit from this renewed investment in passenger rail service,” Webb wrote.
Perriello linked improving rail service in Danville to broader economic development strategies for the region.
“Part of the economic revival equation for Danville is improved transportation and infrastructure that connects us to high-growth areas to the north and south,” he said in a written statement. “I’m looking forward to working with Amtrak and city officials to make our plan a reality. It’s time to look for game-changers, and increased access is part of that answer.”
Developing infrastructure
All branches of the new administration in Washington have expressed interest in enhancing infrastructure, particularly rail, and much of the 2009 Recovery Act is expected to be funneled into those sectors.
Webb and U.S. Sen. Mark Warner, D-Va., recently wrote a letter to the Senate Finance and Appropriations Committees saying “a large portion of the stimulus package should be devoted to infrastructure development, putting people to work and at the same time benefiting the nation’s capital needs.”
The U.S. House of Representatives in a draft of the stimulus package allocated “$1.1 billion to improve the speed and capacity of intercity passenger rail service.”
Interim City Manager Lyle Lacy said a solid rail and infrastructure are in the “big breadbasket” that a community uses to sell itself for economic development.
“Any community that is attempting to gain investments in both money and jobs wants to have all of the facilities that a perspective investor might want,” he said Friday.