(The following report appeared on the News & Messenger website on June 3, 2010.)
MANASSAS, Va. — Virginia Railway Express will recommend against filing a lawsuit against Amtrak following allegations the agency hampered the commuter railroad’s efforts to hire and train new employees.
“Now that we have had our congressional delegation help to put a little more pressure on Amtrak to get them to play nicely, I’m not expecting VRE management to make a recommendation to file a lawsuit,” said VRE spokesman Mark Roeber.
Despite management’s recommendation, the final decision to file suit would come from the Northern Virginia Transportation Commission and Potomac and Rappa-hannock Transportation Commission – VRE’s agencies.
VRE’s operations board voted last month to explore all possible actions against Amtrak, including the possibility of filing suit, after tensions between the two agencies rose in late April.
VRE’s management will come together tonight in Springfield at a joint meeting of the NVTC and PRTC. Officials will discuss the operational transition from Amtrak to Keolis Rail Services of America scheduled for June 28.
In April, VRE accused Amtrak of barring their employees – who are currently charged with operating and maintaining VRE trains – from speaking with Keolis about possible employment there.
VRE also said Amtrak – responsible for training new Keolis employees on the rules of running VRE trains on Amtrak-owned rails and stations in Washington – last month changed the passing scores on
written tests from an 85 percent to an 88 percent.
Then Amtrak fired back and said the scores had been set at 88 percent since January, said agency spokesman Steve Kulm.
The test score issue prompted VRE chief Dale Zehner in May to ask Amtrak to leave some employees on standby June 28 in the event all of the new Keolis employee were not ready to report for work.
Amtrak declined, and said that if Keolis was not ready to assume operations the contract should be rebid.
Keolis, a French company, won the bid to operate VRE last fall. It marks the first time the company has operated in the U.S. The $85 million, 5-year contract comes with two built in extensions.
VRE passengers to be bused to work
Efforts to fix a stalled Virginia Railway Express train in Quantico have failed this morn-ing.
OmniRide buses will now pick up the passengers who were forced off the train and bring them to VRE’s inner stations inside the Capital Beltway and Washington.
Amtrak train 84 will be along to pick up passengers still waiting at the Rippon, Woodbridge and Lorton stations, says VRE.
VRE opened its Metro option for riders this morning, allowing them to board Metro with a valid VRE ticket.
Train 310, which departed Fredericksburg at 7:50 a.m., stalled this morning after encountering brake problems.
After the train was more than 30 minutes behind schedule, the commuter railroad opened the Metro option.
VRE rider wants answers about parking shortage
Virginia Railway Express is reminding riders who board at the Manassas station not to park in the lot owned by ABC photo, off Prince William Street.
Parking is limited at the station in Old Town Manassas, even after the addition of a parking garage in 2008.
“Certainly, we understand that crowding in Manassas is an issue, and parking is scarce, however, also know that the ABC lot is a private lot and anyone who chooses to park there will be towed by the lot’s owner,” said VRE spokesman Ryan Lang.
Judy Zoll, who lives outside Manassas, has the red parking permit Manassas requires commuters to have in order to park in the Old Town Manassas parking garage, and says there is still not enough places to park.
“There is no parking available after approximately 7:45 AM in Manassas. VRE demand has increased, yet VRE has reduced parking spots available at both Broad Run and Manassas. This situation in intolerable to responsible people who are trying to get to work,” in an e-mail to Lang, demanding answers as to how the commuter rail operation is going to remedy the parking situation.
The commuter rail agency has directed passengers to its website for updated parking rules and information for the Manassas station.