(The following article by Edie Gross was posted on the Free-Lance Star website on June 23.)
FREDERICKSBURG, Va. — Problems along CSX-owned railroad tracks have caused hours-long delays to Virginia Railway Express trains over the last month, frustrating passengers and VRE officials alike.
“It’s unacceptable to me and to the passengers, and we’ve got to do something quick,” said VRE chief executive officer Dale Zehner, who fired off an angry letter to CSX this week. “It just cannot continue to deteriorate.”
The latest incident occurred Monday morning when a locking mechanism between Fredericksburg and Quantico malfunctioned. Trains could use the track in that area but had to travel no faster than 15 mph.
VRE officials calculated that at that rate, early trains might run a half-hour to 45 minutes behind schedule, Zehner said.
However, a CSX freight train on the track slowed down to 6 mph, meaning the VRE trains stuck behind it were delayed, in some cases, more than two hours.
In addition, CSX dispatchers sent a freight train and an Amtrak passenger train onto a parallel track, where they could run at 60 to 70 mph, while the VRE trains were stuck on the slow side.
In the end, VRE passengers on the Fredericksburg line suffered long delays, and the agency didn’t know enough about the problem to warn them ahead of time, Zehner said.
“We like to be able to say, ‘Here’s the situation, here’s the time delay,’ so they can say, ‘I’m going to wait or I’m going to get in the car and go,'” he said. “We like to give them the story so they can make a decision. We didn’t have the right story [on Monday] and we couldn’t get it.”
Zehner fired off a letter to John Gibson, CSX vice president of passenger and operations planning, criticizing CSX’s handling not only of Monday’s situation but also of several others.
On May 17, evening train 313 was delayed about three hours just north of the Leeland train station in Stafford because of a car accident on CSX right of way. Though an Amtrak supervisor and a Stafford County deputy said the tracks were fine, a CSX dispatcher would not allow the train to pull into the station until the tracks were inspected.
On June 6, three CSX trains had to stop in the middle of a run because their crews had been on board the maximum allowable time. One, in particular, blocked the L’Enfant station entrance during the morning rush, delaying eight of 12 VRE trains.
On June 15, evening train 301 sat just north of the Rippon station in Prince William County for about 80 minutes, waiting for a CSX mechanic to show up and fix a problem that could have been handled immediately by a crew member.
On June 16, CSX lifted heat restrictions around 3:45 p.m., but dispatchers failed to tell trains 303 and 307, which continued at extra-slow speeds for no reason.
This month, trains on the Fredericksburg line have been on schedule less than 40 percent of the time–a dismal record for a commuter service striving for better than 90 percent on-time performance.
“The issue here for me is service has gone down, and we’ve got to get it back up,” Zehner said. “In my conversations with CSX, they agree with my assessment.”
Nearly $100 million in improvements to the line–including a new bridge over Quantico Creek–should reduce the delays, Zehner said. But CSX needs to improve its performance as well.
Zehner has asked that the VRE liaison, now based at CSX’s Jacksonville, Fla., headquarters, be moved to this area so responses to these types of problems can occur more quickly.
CSX spokeswoman Misty Skipper said the company is considering that request.
“As far as the issues in the letter, we regret the service delays that have inconvenienced VRE passengers. We’re unhappy with that performance as much as the passengers are,” she said. “Some of the delays are the result of the high volume of traffic that comes through this area, about one-third of which is passenger traffic.”
Passengers didn’t seem hopeful that CSX’s performance would improve. Stafford resident Joe Gherlone said he’d like VRE to get tougher with the railroad owner, perhaps calling on members of Congress to apply some pressure.
“I recognize they’re not in a good bargaining position, but just sending a letter when things get this bad, that’s not going to do anything,” he said.
Fredericksburg resident Scott Fischer said VRE does the best it can, considering that it relies on CSX tracks. But passengers are starting to lose their patience.
“It’s just so frustrating. I can take it in stride when I’m going home. But you’re really embarrassed to walk into work 45 minutes or an hour late,” said Fischer. “They’re making the best of a bad situation, and I sympathize with them. But the morale of VRE passengers is not good.”