(The following article by Kelly Hannon was postedo n the Free Lance-Star website on February 21.)
FREDERICKSBURG, Va. — Virginia Railway Express riders can ask questions about the commuter-train service at a town hall-style meeting Saturday.
Stafford County Supervisor Bob Gibbons, who sits on VRE’s Operations Board, arranged the 10 a.m. meeting at the Stafford Government Center off Courthouse Road and U.S. 1.
“I want them to get an update from the senior officials running VRE,” Gibbons said. “Our on-time performance this year has been dismal and I just want them to hear what CSX plans to do and what VRE plans to do.”
CSX, which owns the tracks VRE’s Fredericksburg line runs on, has for the first time appointed a person whose primary task will be to work with VRE.
Jay Westbrook, assistant vice president at CSX, is working to improve passenger-train performance in the region. He will give a presentation at the meeting.
Afterward, Westbrook and VRE officials will take questions from the audience, Gibbons said.
The Fredericksburg line still experiences delays more frequently than VRE’s Manassas line, where most of the tracks are owned by Norfolk Southern.
The Fredericksburg line was on line 76 percent of the time in December and 66 percent of the time in November. The on-time rates for the Manassas line were 86 percent for both months.