(The following article by Edie Gross was posted on the Free Lance-Star website on June 4.)
FREDERICKSBURG, Va. — When Karen Owens moved to Dale City in the early ’80s, it took her 15 minutes to drive from home to her office in Alexandria.
Not so anymore.
“It got to be two hours on a good day. I said I can’t do it,” said Owens, who moved to Stafford 18 months ago and has been riding Virginia Railway Express ever since.
“I had a big Oldsmobile,” she said. “The gas on that thing, the wear and tear on it, plus my nerves . The VRE was a factor in where we bought [a home],” said the Stafford Lakes Village resident, a computer specialist for the Army.
Owens’ loyalty to the commuter train service was soundly rewarded yesterday with six recreation passes to the Wintergreen Resort near Charlottesville.
She won the passes in a contest VRE sponsored to celebrate having carried 25 million passengers since its first run on July 20, 1992.
Owens, other riders, employees of VRE and Amtrak, and elected officials from around the state gathered yesterday morning on the platform of the Alexandria train station to mark the milestone.
VRE, which carries about 15,000 passengers a day, actually hit the 25-million rider mark in March, said spokesman Mark Roeber. But Thursday worked out better for those trying to attend the event, including Gov. Mark Warner.
“The greatest thing about VRE is it takes one full lane of traffic off I-95 and I-66 every day, and that’s great news for Virginia commuters,” Warner said.
“As bad as those highways are, think about how bad they’d be without VRE,” he added later.
Ridership has grown 18 percent each of the last four years–a rate about four times higher than the national average, said VRE Chief Executive Officer Dale Zehner.
Trains have gotten crowded, some offering standing-room only during peak times. Track-owner CSX has said VRE can add more trains once the commuter service completes improvements to the railroad line.
The state will do what it can to support that effort, Warner said.
Those who gathered yesterday for the event enjoyed Danish and coffee, courtesy of the event’s main sponsor, Starbucks.
At one point, Warner expressed his own devotion to the company’s decaffeinated mocha frappuccino.
“And who says I’m a yuppie?” he quipped.
It would have been difficult for VRE to identify the true 25 millionth rider, so instead, the agency held a drawing. More than 3,000 riders participated, and four, including Owens, earned trips to Virginia resorts.
Rappahannock County resident Bob Beattie won a weekend for two at The Tides resort in the Northern Neck.
Beattie drives 50 miles to the VRE station at Broad Run in Manassas, takes the train to L’Enfant Plaza and then catches the green Metro line to Prince George’s County, Md., where he provides financial management services to the U.S. Department of Treasury.
“It’s about three hours door to desk,” said Beattie, who has been riding for more than six years. “I love the part on the train.”