(The Hanover Herald Progress posted the following article by Rob Davis on its website on May 27.)
ASHLAND, Va. — Since April 28, Ashland has been missing the routes once traveled by Amtrak’s Twilight Shoreliner, ending speculation about the service’s fate.
Twice a year, Amtrak makes schedule changes based on ridership, said Karina Van Veen, Amtrak spokeswoman. Those changes led to the Shoreliner’s elimination, leaving Ashland without southbound passenger service in the morning and northbound service at night.
The Shoreliner once ran from Boston to Newport News. But its name was changed to The Federal, and the Washington to Newport News leg was removed.
A regional train that replaced the Shoreliner’s service from Washington to Newport News is not stopping in Ashland.
A scheduling conflict with CSX freight service is to blame, Van Veen said, not a nine-percent drop in Ashland riders between 2001 and 2002.Amtrak will work with CSX to resolve the conflict when schedules are reconsidered in September or October, Van Veen said.
“We would certainly take into consideration the community’s thoughts,” Van Veen said.
Mayor Angela LaCombe and Vice Mayor Faye Prichard briefly met Wednesday with Randolph-Macon College president Roger Martin to help solidify those thoughts.
“We want to keep the best rail service we can for the people who live here,” LaCombe said.
That is the message LaCombe said she wants to send, while recognizing limits on Amtrak’s resources.
The town and college will cooperate to advocate for continued train service in Ashland, she said.
Having passenger service always has been a positive to balance Ashland’s freight train traffic, LaCombe said.
The elimination of the Shoreliner’s stops prohibit college students from catching trains north on a Friday night with early Monday returns. Though a majority of R-MC’s 1,100 students have cars on campus, R-MC spokeswoman Anne Marie Lauranzon said the college was concerned about the impact the cuts might have on freshmen.
The next step will be the scheduling of a meeting with an Amtrak official who has offered to discuss service, LaCombe said.
It will be an opportunity to develop a relationship with Amtrak to prevent further cuts to Ashland’s service, she said.
LaCombe said she also is interested in discussing possibilities of connections to Main Street Station, expected to open later this year.
It is hard to measure the impact of passenger train service, LaCombe said. But Amtrak brings a combination of opportunities, from tourists to commuters, she said.While Ashland’s 10,000 riders may not be vital to Amtrak, LaCombe said the town wants to maintain its level of passenger service.
“To a town and community like ours, it’s important,” she said. “The small communities are important in terms of getting people on and off at convenient locations.”