(The following story by Uriah A. Kiser appeared on the News & Messenger website on July 15, 2010.)
MANASSAS, Va. — Virginia’s next state-supported Amtrak train will begin rolling Tuesday.
The train will leave Richmond’s Staples Mill station at 7 a.m. each weekday and arrive in Washing-ton at 9:30 a.m.
Along the way, the train will serve stops in eastern Prince William, where Virginia Railway Express riders can choose to spend an extra $10 for a Amtrak Step-up ticket to ride to L’Enfant Plaza or Union Station in Washington.
After the nation’s capital, the train will serve stops along Amtrak’s busy Northeast Corridor, including New York, and will terminate in Boston.
It will then make a return trip that afternoon bound for Richmond.
“Now it’s more convenient than ever to take the train in the I-95 corridor,” said Thelma Drake, Virginia Department of Rail and Public Transportation director. “With hourly trains in the morning and several afternoon trains to choose from, you can easily plan your business trip and get to work on the train instead of sitting in traffic.”
The new train comes after a state-funded Amtrak train from Lynchburg to Boston began service last year. That train serves the western part of the state with stops in Charlottesville, Manassas and Burke week-days.
Former Virginia Gov. Tim Kaine unveiled the train service last year as a three-year, $17.2 million demonstration program.
When the service began, officials were told a dedicated source of funding for the trains must be found for the service to continue beyond the trial period.
In May, transit officials touted the Lynchburg service when in the first six months of operation, the train exceeded its annual ridership goal of 51,000 passengers with 55,025.
The train also exceeded its annual revenue goal of $2.5 million with $2.8 million.