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Richmond Region Transportation


wrldcoupe4

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GRTC should have a transfer station (maybe trainshed, maybe somewhere else). What would be the alternative and what did you envision within this destination building? If the Highwoods Proposal and something related to the slave trade came to fruition, how would GRTC's use of the train shed negatively impact? (I'm not saying the selection of the train shed is right or wrong, just curious as to why some are against it).

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I won't speak for burt but if that entire shed is used for a bus transfer station then it does put a future limit on how many trains can pass through that area without major rail modifications and even then, space is a serious limitation. Secondly, I've always felt that downtown needed a destination building and had dreams that this building could fit that bill. making it a transfer station only moves people who were waiting for buses on Broad Street and shifts them over to the Bottom. It won't be an economic boon to the businesses there and in fact could be a burden if it isn't implemented properly. I see the idealism behind this idea but practically I think it's bound to be a failure.

Even if Main Street Station isn't the best location, I like the idea of a centralized bus transfer station. having been to Providence, RI, I can say that theirs works really well. http://www.ripta.com/news/index.php?section=10 It's a block from the Greyhound Terminal, within sight of the Amtrak station and two blocks from their river walk.

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Ah, thanks again Tommy.

If readers will check out the image of Main Street Station in the Shockoe Center rendering above I believe my comments will make more sense.

In order to make Main Street Station practical for passenger rail usage it needs considerable work. At present there is one thru track on each side of the building, and while the westernmost track is used at present for freight only, future southeast high speed rail would require it as well as the eastern side to be double-tracked. Even that double-track configuration would be of limited use, especially if commuter rail is in the station's future.

My proposal would be to lengthen the shed to Marshall Street and restore six or more tracks with switches from each of the main lines at the station head house and also north of Broad Street. Four of those could be stub-end tracks terminating at the station, but the other two (one on the west and the other on the east) essentially would be third thru tracks. Storage yards and a "wye" would have to be constructed somewhere in the area -- perhaps in Shockoe Valley, or south of The James.

I also believe the "Buckingham Short Line" connection between MSS and Doswell (described in detail elsewhere in this thread) should be rebuilt for high speed usage in order to avoid freight congestion at Acca yards and reduced speeds thru Ashland. A suburban station near the junction of US-301 and I-295 would be accessible to Henrico and Hanover suburbs.

Parking betwixt and between the supports for added tracks in the shed could be cleverly arranged.

If big money isn't spent on Main Street Station, it will soon revert to landmark value only. Downtown rail service will remain next to useless.

Coupe, this is my vision for MSS. More track access is imperative if the station is to be a major stop on the proposed Southeast High Speed Rail corridor. A minimum of 18 daily trains (not including commuter lines) would call at MSS. GRTC's Transfer Center possibly could go beneath the shed, or at ground level north of Broad.

But if Lewis persists in his present design, sehsr will probably by-pass downtown in favor of the Belt Line and Staples Mill Station. So much for all the spent money and dreams for the historic and unique downtown facility.

Edited by burt
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  • 1 month later...

my aunt works in downtown richmond at VCU medical and said you guys are trying to get light rail..

whats the truth to that?

Light rail has been talked about for eons (the first successful electric street railway was in Richmond), but it's still a long way off. The talk now is about Rapid Bus Transit between Main Street Station at 15th and Main and Willow Lawn Shopping Center on West Broad just beyond Staples Mill Road with 2nd phase extensions east to Rocketts Landing and west to Short Pump Town Center. Lanes will be set aside for buses only along straight-as-an-arrow Broad Street.

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At last there is some serious talk by politicians about high speed rail. Jim Nolan's story in this afternoon's RTD didn't touch on the fact that Richmond would be a stop on the route, not, primarily, a starting point. Charlotte, Greensboro and Raleigh would be cities enroute to Washington and the northeast via the new high speed tracks passing through Main Street Station (if GRTC doesn't botch it up first.) High speed connection from Norfolk via the US 460 corridor would join the route at Petersburg via thru trains to DC, and cross-platform change there for southern destinations. South of Petersburg, the old SAL abandonded track bed would be rebuilt between Petersburg and Raleigh.

http://www.timesdispatch.com/rtd/news/loca...0404/263639/P0/

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I know there was quite a stir in NYC yesterday as an Air Force One plane was followed by F-16's for an update to the file photos for AF1...

but as I was coming back (east along Broad) downtown around 1:30 today I noticed a MASSIVE plane flying incredible low- maybe 500 feet or less-right above Shockoe Bottom/Church Hill. It had to be either a 747 or a large military cargo jet. Maybe they decided Richmond was a bit safer for their file photo update? Any ideas?

Edited by wrldcoupe4
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I know there was quite a stir in NYC yesterday as an Air Force One plane was followed by F-16's for an update to the file photos for AF1...

but as I was coming back (east along Broad) downtown around 1:30 today I noticed a MASSIVE plane flying incredible low- maybe 500 feet or less-right above Shockoe Bottom/Church Hill. It had to be either a 747 or a large military cargo jet. Maybe they decided Richmond was a bit safer for their file photo update? Any ideas?

I don't know about the low-flying flight in Richmond, but the one in New York emptied a lot of buildings and scared hell out of a lot of people.

Maybe Flack knows something about the Richmond incident.

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For here in Richmond...

It could have been the FedEx jet...it has a different flight path than any other plane I see coming into RIC. Plus it is huge.

The military is known to do training around here and you'll occasionally see large cargo aircraft or the ones with the big radar dish on top flying around.

...and then the aforementioned Air Force One plane can be seen around here from time to time. I think they practice touch and go procedures here at Richmond.

I did notice low flying military helicopters flying around Mechanicsville yesterday. Very low, with their side doors open. With the race in town, there's bound to be an increase in air traffic of all kinds.

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  • 2 weeks later...

The latest from Southeast High Speed Rail shows a proposed track chart between Main Street Station and Collier Yard south of Petersburg. Apparently almost all track level road crossings will be eliminated and second bridges are proposed across the James and Appomattox Rivers.

This is not easy to read but it does help if you increase the size of the fonts.

http://www.sehsr.org/

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The latest from Southeast High Speed Rail shows a proposed track chart between Main Street Station and Collier Yard south of Petersburg. Apparently almost all track level road crossings will be eliminated and second bridges are proposed across the James and Appomattox Rivers.

This is not easy to read but it does help if you increase the size of the fonts.

http://www.sehsr.org/

If one increases the magnification of the map, the Richmond station would be at Main Street Station, as well a station around Fort Lee.

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If one increases the magnification of the map, the Richmond station would be at Main Street Station, as well a station around Fort Lee.

As far as I can tell the Petersburg station would remain the dinky little depot in Ettrick which is northwest of P'burg. That's a long way from Ft. Lee which is 6 miles east of P'burg.

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The fight has begun in Hampton Roads over which rail route will connect to High Speed at Main Street Station. Possibly there will be two routes -- the present one north of The James and another along US460 via Petersburg.

From today's RTD:

http://www.timesdispatch.com/rtd/business/...-214811/270292/

And here's a sobering take on High Speed Rail, also from today's RTD:

http://www.timesdispatch.com/rtd/news/loca...-100004/270410/

Edited by burt
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Is anybody worried that having a 135 mph train to D.C. would turn Richmond into a bedroom community?

Richmond is too big and important to become a bedroom community -- just as Baltimore is not looked at in that view. Howsomever, speedy trains would increase traffic to DC for a number of Government employees as well as those wishing to avail themselves of the Capital's World-Class attractions. And vice versa.

Here's a more detailed story from the RTD of a discussion on high speed rail from today's RTD:

http://www.timesdispatch.com/rtd/business/...-214007/270507/

Edited by burt
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So even after we get the 135 mile per hour "high speed" rail it's still going to take 2 hours to get to Washington? Why do we settle for that when we could have 200 mph trains like they have in Japan, Germany and France?? At some point this county is going to wake up and realize that the rest of the world is passing us by...

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So even after we get the 135 mile per hour "high speed" rail it's still going to take 2 hours to get to Washington? Why do we settle for that when we could have 200 mph trains like they have in Japan, Germany and France?? At some point this county is going to wake up and realize that the rest of the world is passing us by...

It's just not feasible at this time. Too much money, too little ridership.

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It's just not feasible at this time. Too much money, too little ridership.

...and too much control by CSX, a freight line that has little empathy with passengers. Dedicated track(s) for high speed rail is the ideal solution.

In my youth there were daily trains on the 109-mile route between Richmond's Broad Street Station and DC's Union Station called "Capital Cities Limited" and one or two others called "The Blue" and "The Grey." They advertised running time of one hour and 59 minutes and ran on time along the same tracks that are still in use. But in those days the rails were owned by a more cooperative RF&P.

When people talk about "light" ridership they fail to take into account that most future trains will pick up passengers at Main Street Station from points of origin in Charlotte (and possibly Atlanta) as well as Hampton Roads.

There were two major rail lines south of Richmond to Florida -- Atlantic Coast Line (still the main line) via Rocky Mount, Fayetteville and Charleston, and Seaboard Air Line via Raleigh, Columbia and Savannah. Those companies merged and the SAL track between Petersburg and Raleigh was ripped up. The proposed Southeast High Speed line would rebuild the abandonded rail bed for dedicated passenger use.

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Here is the latest overview of the SEHSR corridor between Richmond and Raleigh. I was mistaken in the above post about the line being a dedicated passenger route. However, there will be 5-mile long passing sidings every 10 miles and the entire project wil have fully grade separated crossovers. Speeds eventually will be 90mph between Main Street Station and Collier Yard south of Petersburg, and 110mph from that point all the way to Ralreigh.

Warning: PDF.

http://www.sehsr.org/graphics/overview_row_mas_tracks.pdf

Edited by burt
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So even after we get the 135 mile per hour "high speed" rail it's still going to take 2 hours to get to Washington? Why do we settle for that when we could have 200 mph trains like they have in Japan, Germany and France?? At some point this county is going to wake up and realize that the rest of the world is passing us by...

If we really wanted it to happen it would be feasible. Why not lay a whole new set of tracts? There sure are enough people looking for jobs at the moment. I'm sure the amount of money that is wasted each year on taxpayer subsidies for Big Oil and other corporate interests would pay for real high speed rail that would profoundly benefit all citizens. Why do we allow corporate interests to constantly trump the public good in this country? It's time for the people to stand up and take the country back.

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