Richmond Region Transportation

[calwinston]

There is no room on the south side of the river around the port for any new warehouses.

If you're traveling south on I-95 for about 1/2 mile from the 'Port of Richmond' and look to your left along the James River there is countless parcels that are open for warehouses. These parcels extend all the way to Route 288.

Change to Aerial View

http://www.mapquest....DRESS#undefined

http://www.mapquest....DRESS#undefined

http://www.mapquest.com/maps?city=Chester&state=VA&address=2080+Coxendale+Rd&zipcode=23836&country=US&latitude=37.372986&longitude=-77.409745&geocode=ADDRESS#undefined

http://www.mapquest.com/maps?city=Richmond&state=VA&address=1600+Willis+Rd&zipcode=23237-2913&country=US&latitude=37.403579&longitude=-77.413768&geocode=ADDRESS#undefined

Edited April 30, 2010 by calwinston

[calwinston]

Would like light rail to come to fruition earlier rather than later. Also I think they should add a commuter line from Petersburg to Richmond.

[burt]

Would like light rail to come to fruition earlier rather than later. Also I think they should add a commuter line from Petersburg to Richmond.

You're a fountain of information today, calwinston. This map is a great find.

I agree with you about a rail connection to Petersburg/Hopewell, especially in light of the massive expansion at Fort Lee.

Edited May 6, 2010 by burt

[calwinston]

Virginia High Speed Rail

I'll begin by saying the proposals out currently for Virginia are not high speed rail. A train traveling at 110mph I repeat is not high speed! Maybe back in the 1950's it would have been considered as high speed!?

Today state officials are trying to start a line from DC to Hampton Roads. Instead of using 1940's technology for these trains they should be investing into Japans new maglev technology which is scheduled to go into service in the year 2025. These trains will have service from Nagoya to Tokyo (225 miles away) in 40 mins!

In America we have depended way too much on cars. This was also hindered by the car companies buying up rail lines in the country and letting fail into disrepair. This was a sad time in are history and we are still recovering from that period 50-60 years ago! Today we have been lapped so much in rail technology by other countries that we have to the US Transportation Secretary riding bullet trains in different countries looking to see who to award a contract too for high speed rail in the United States. Why?!?!

Virginia has a opportunity to be in the forefront of high speed rail. Instead of waiting for the federal government to help pay for a rail line officials should be clamering to be the first ones online with high speed rail. Not only will this get us noticed nationally but also across the world. Imagine traveling from DC to Hampton Roads in 45 minutes. DC to Richmond in 25 mins. From the time it takes to cross the HRBT(Hampton Roads Bridge Tunnel) doing rush hour you could be in DC lounging in Georgetown. With Japans new maglev train technology this is a possibility. Also instead of having the government run the bullet train we could use Japans method and have private companies operate the lines. Virginia should be looking for investors national and international and sell us as a great place for high speed rail to be. This could be done under the same law that was enacted back in 1997 that opened up the door to public/private transporation projects.(example is Route 895 which is run by Transurban of Australia).(the Route 895 project was done 25 years in advance of projections with the private partnership).

Virginia has been ranked #1 as the best state for business the past four years by multiple magazines! Virginia has a low corporate tax base, great quality of life , one of the best school sytems in the country, and located smack dab in the middle of the east coast. This will all be improved with high speed rail. National and international companies will be clawing their way to come Virginia.

The time is now! Or tomorrow we will left in the dust and lapped 100 times over!

Hopefully it will become a part of daily life of every Virginian!

Quote

Rather, it's part of the fabric of daily life, something not so much taken for granted as relied upon. The sleek trains - better known outside Japan as bullet trains - shoot through much of the nation almost unnoticed every few minutes, efficiently hauling more than 300 million riders per year.The world's first high-speed rail line, the Shinkansen opened in 1964, just in time for the Tokyo Olympics, with a single line between Tokyo and Osaka. It was like nothing the world had seen, with dedicated tracks and a train that ran at speeds of 130 mph.

Japan's rail culture

Today, the Shinkansen, which means "new trunk line" in Japanese, covers about 1,400 miles on five lines. Another 400 miles of extensions are under construction and 300 miles are planned. Three private rail companies run the trains at speeds up to 186 mph on tracks built and maintained by the national government.

Japan's high-speed trains run with an efficiency, frequency and reliability unimaginable to those familiar with Amtrak or U.S. commuter railroads. The sleek trains with the distinctive long noses depart as often as 14 times an hour - and they're almost always on time. Over the past 45 years, the average delay is less than one minute - and that includes stoppages because of floods, earthquakes, accidents and natural disasters. Rail officials also note their safety record: There's never been a passenger fatality on the Shinkansen.

Chinese Bullet Train

http://money.cnn.com..._train.fortune/

US Transportation Secretary travels to Japan

http://news.yahoo.co...etransporttrain

http://www.guardian....peed-rail-japan

High Speed Rail Lines in other countries

http://www.guardian....sport-transport

San Francisco Chronicle Article about high speed rail in California

http://articles.sfga...-rail-exclusive

Virginia High Speed Rail

http://vhsr.com/

[jbjust]

Ah yes, let's pin our hopes on MagLev technology -- since there are hundreds of examples of that being successful. Europe's high speed rail gets along just fine without Maglev and that is who we should be emulating.

I am traveling to Basel, Switzerland in June and just researched how difficult it would be to take the train from Basel to Lucerne (which is about an hour away). I was blown away to see that, even on a Saturday, there are trains leaving ever 15 minutes for about $25. I would rather have 50 medium-speed trains running to Hampton Roads than to have to worry about making a reservation for one of the three "MagLev" trains that would be unbelievably expensive.

[burt]

Ah yes, let's pin our hopes on MagLev technology -- since there are hundreds of examples of that being successful. Europe's high speed rail gets along just fine without Maglev and that is who we should be emulating.

I am traveling to Basel, Switzerland in June and just researched how difficult it would be to take the train from Basel to Lucerne (which is about an hour away). I was blown away to see that, even on a Saturday, there are trains leaving ever 15 minutes for about $25. I would rather have 50 medium-speed trains running to Hampton Roads than to have to worry about making a reservation for one of the three "MagLev" trains that would be unbelievably expensive.

I took that trip in reverse back in the 1980's, jb and stopped at the Jungfrau station for the cog railway to the top. Maybe my route was Zurich to Basel -- can't remember, though I know I was also in Lucern sometime during that trip. I loved the Swiss trains but don't recall them being terribly fast back then.

I don't see any reason why Meglev shouldn't be encouraged for the future while at the same time striving for frequent, fast and extensive service ASAP in Virginia.

[jbjust]

Maglev makes little sense unless you're really talking about very long distances and you need to compete with air travel. Richmond to DC is 100 miles and getting there in 45 minutes instead of 1:15 isn't worth 100 times the cost. The Chinese MagLev train cost $100 million/mile.

Chinese MagLev Extension

[calwinston]

With Maglev technology getting from DC to Richmond will take only 25 mins with a stop in Fredricksburg if we follow the japanese style of running trains which are always on time! The Maglev technology will be more reliable, drastically cost less and become more advanced as years go by! The Chinese were the first to implement the technology on a mass scale, Japan is currently building one now, and soon Europe is not far behind with Germany being in the forefront. The reliability issue is being taking care of. For example the first year a car new design of a car comes out it usually has many problems. As time goes by the manufacturer works out the kinks and makes improvements during the tenure of that model. The same will happen with MagLev.

Many engineers will take the lessons learned from these pilot programs and fine tweak it for the best suitability and find ways to lower cost.

The reason for the Chinese cost overuns are associated with alternating routes around densely populated areas and adding barriers which where not taking into account. If planned correctly then $100 million/mile today in 10 years be $10 million/ mile easily! After we learn from others we should bring Maglev to Virginia immediately! In the meantime I welcome the 110mph trains which are a improvement from what we have today!

[burt]

Maglev makes little sense unless you're really talking about very long distances and you need to compete with air travel. Richmond to DC is 100 miles and getting there in 45 minutes instead of 1:15 isn't worth 100 times the cost. The Chinese MagLev train cost $100 million/mile. Chinese MagLev Extension

Maglev express: Atlanta; Charlotte; Raleigh; Richmond; Washington; Philadelphia; New York City and Boston. It would connect the eastern megaplex with no less than 100 miles between stops. One station would be in the center of every city it serves. Existing rail corridors could carry local traffic on enhanced electrified rail to connect with Maglev centers. The approximately 1,200 mile line could be built almost entirely along interstate highways, except between Charlotte and Raleigh.

This dream is for the next generation, but attainable, IMO.

Edited May 14, 2010 by burt

[calwinston]

Looks like the maglev trains have been in the plans for almost ten years with the Washington-Baltimore being the first phase! The trains may be ran by a JR Central(privately run company was state owned) in Japan. This will have only one stop in Virginia (Richmond).

Bloomberg News

http://www.bloomberg...id=aUUwWmGhR.OA

Times from one city to another

http://www.bwmaglev....ernCorridor.htm

Maglev Route

http://www.bwmaglev....ractivemap.html

Bloomberg News Video

http://www.bloomberg...YHHAt4vFoGc.asf

Edited May 15, 2010 by calwinston

[calwinston]

Looks like the maglev trains have been in the plans for almost ten years with the Washington-Baltimore being the first phase! The trains may be ran by a JR Central(privately run company was state owned) in Japan. This will have only one stop in Virginia (Richmond).

Bloomberg News

http://www.bloomberg...id=aUUwWmGhR.OA

Times from one city to another

http://www.bwmaglev....ernCorridor.htm

Maglev Route

http://www.bwmaglev....ractivemap.html

Bloomberg News Video

http://www.bloomberg...YHHAt4vFoGc.asf

Since I couldn't edit this post wanted to add this video

[calwinston]

Virginia and Gov McDonnell need to get the ball rolling on this now. He should call back the General Assembly for a special session and lock them in the room until they come out with a transportation plan!

Despite a pledge made during last year's campaign that transportation would be an early-term priority, signals are emerging from McDonnell's administration that finding new money for roads might have to wait until 2011.

"Within the next year, no later than next session, we'll have a set of proposals that we will make to the General Assembly to address transportation funding," McDonnell said recently.

Extending that timeline isn't welcome news in Hampton Roads and Northern Virginia, Virginia's two most populous and gridlocked regions. A 2009 National Traffic Scorecard indicates the areas are the 31st- and fourth-most congested in the nation, respectively.

"Our two economic engines, Northern Virginia and Hampton Roads, are still ranked as some of the most congested areas in the country, and we've seen no major investment to improve that area other than the Capitol Beltway in Northern Virginia," said Jeffrey C. Southard, executive vice president of the Virginia Transportation Construction Alliance.

http://hamptonroads.com/2010/05/plans-fix-aging-roads-yield-budget-limits

[Brent]

I wish that they would stop dicking around and just raise the state income tax rate. It will ultimately be done, might as well do it now and start to get some work done.

[calwinston]

VDOT is opening the transportation plan (SYIP 2011-2016) to public comment and review at meetings across the state. $5.6 billion will be spent on highway construction and $2.1 billion on rail and public transportation. The first meeting occured last night in Richmond with 3 more slatted in Northern Virginia, Hampton Roads, and Roanoke. VDOT posted this the same day as the meeting. Looks like somebody is trying to hide this. You think this big of a meeting would have been posted in the local newspapers. We are talking about the next six years of our transportation future!

http://www.virginiad...x-year46750.asp

http://www.drpt.virg...FY11%20SYIP.pdf

Edited May 20, 2010 by calwinston

[burt]

More woes for Amtrak service in Virginia and less hope for future high-speed rail according to this story from Peter Bacque in today's RTD:

http://www2.timesdis...-223402/348970/

BUT...here's the good news

Plans procede for the high speed corridor between Richmond/Petersburg and Raleigh.

http://www.sehsr.org/deis/deis.html

Edited June 4, 2010 by burt

[burt]

WARNING: PDF.

If you want to get deep into the details of the proposed high speed corridor between Richmond and Raleigh, open:

http://www.sehsr.org/deis/deis.html

Then scroll down to and click on "Download Virginia maps" (which is the PDF file.)

Norfolk readers may want to click panel #10, section CC DD in Petersburg which shows "Possible future connection to Hampton Roads area."

It's tedious going, but fascinating.

And bear in mind, north is the left side of your screen, except for portions south of Petersburg where the line swings west for a few miles at Burgess toward the I-85 corridor.

Pump up the size to about 50% for easier reading.

Edited June 4, 2010 by burt

[burt]

It seems Richmond and Virginia officials as well as earnest promoters of high speed rail in the southeast are not in sync.

The state is entertaining plans to begin once-a-day service to and from Norfolk in a couple of years but the route through Richmond may bypass Main Street Station in favor of a stop at the suburban Staples Mill Road depot.

The Virginia plan is to run trains from Harbor Park in Norfolk via Bowers Hill and the US460 corridor to Petersburg, thence to Richmond via the "A" line through Acca yard to Staples Mill and onward to the Northeast.

The Southeast High Speed plan for rail service between Washington and Charlotte includes a stop at downtown Richmond's Main Street Station. A look at its schematics,, http://www.sehsr.org/deis/deis.html (a PDF file), shows extensive rebuilding of the "S" line north from Bellwood across a new double track James River bridge into MSS.

The Richmond and State transportation officials would be wise to coordinate their intentions with SEHSR and seek major Federal funding for service through MSS.

From today's RTD:

http://www2.timesdispatch.com/rtd/news/local/article/RAIL05GAT_20100605-150001/349248/

Edited June 6, 2010 by burt

[burt]

Relative to the above post about new non-high speed, once-a-day rail service to and from Norfolk which would by-pass Richmond's Main Street Station, a look at the Southeast High Speed Rail web site tells a different story.

The Alternate 1 plan would offer 6 daily roundtrips via Petersburg to and from Norfolk at speeds up to 110 mph AND 3 daily roundtrips to and from a new downtown station in Newport News at up to 90 mph.

http://sehsr.org/

Scroll down to "Richmond to Hampton Roads Draft Tier 1 EIS complete alternatives", then click the highlighted www.rich2hrrail.info. Then, click "Alternatives Under Study."

Edited June 7, 2010 by burt

[burt]

Just a passing thought.

If 6 roundtrips to and from Norfolk and 1 additional roundtrip to and from Newport News, PLUS the 8 currently running roundtrips to and from Staples Mills were to pass through Main Street Station, Shockoe Bottom AND Staples Mill* would each host 30 passenger trains just about every day.**

Also, if Southeast High Speed Rail is completed between Washington and Charlotte, it is likely another 3 or 4 roundtrips would pass through Richmond, raising the total train count to about 36 or 38.

* The daily Auto Train passes thru Staples Mill but does not disembark nor take on passengers and is not included in the total number of trains. Because of its double-deck consist it could not negotiate the Triple Crossing on the "S" line south of MSS near the James River.

** Some trains do not operate daily.

Rumors and possibilities:

(1) There is some talk of abandoning Staples Mill and building a new, larger station further north at Parham Road.

(2) Main Street would remain a "pass-through" station with platforms on the east and west sides of the building. Thus, the shed could accommodate commercial space befitting a busy, big-city terminal.

(3) The daily Trans Dominion Express connecting Richmond and Bristol via Lynchburg and Roanoke is still a possibility, bringing 2 more daily roundtrips to MSS.

Edited June 7, 2010 by burt

[burt]

City Council consideres hiking bus fares in Richmond.

From today's RTD:

http://www2.timesdispatch.com/rtd/news/local/article/GRTC08_20100607-222404/349715/

Edited June 8, 2010 by burt

[burt]

While 16 passenger trains stop in Richmond daily, only four of them pass through Main Street Station.

Amtrak and CSX have recently adjusted schedules of afternoon train service in and out of Main Street Station thusly:

Train #95 southbound from Washington (Monday thru Friday) will arrive at 5:12PM.

Train #66 northbound from Newport News (daily) will arrive and depart MSS at 6:05PM.

This schedule allows almost an hour between trains arriving from different directions at the station.

However, in the mornings, there is an arrival from Washington at 10:12AM as well as an arrival from Newport News which departs for New York at 10:29AM. This schedule has NOT changed and allows only 17 minutes between arrivals at MSS -- almost guaranteeing delays on one or other of the trains.

Why wasn't that schedule adjusted? Or better yet, why don't they lay a second track?

Years ago CSX ripped out one of the double tracks approaching and within the station. Because of that and Amtrak's ill-advised scheduling, trains have been running 20 minutes late on average.

Despite the new arrival and departure times, all four trains will still travel at a snail's pace between MSS and Staples Mill Station requiring 25 to 30 minutes to traverse the 12 miles via Acca Yard.

From today's RTD:

http://www2.timesdis...-221407/350367/

Edited June 11, 2010 by burt

[calwinston]

While 16 passenger trains stop in Richmond daily, only four of them pass through Main Street Station.

Amtrak and CSX have recently adjusted schedules of afternoon train service in and out of Main Street Station thusly:

Train #95 southbound from Washington (Monday thru Friday) will arrive at 5:12PM.

Train #66 northbound from Newport News (daily) will arrive and depart MSS at 6:05PM.

This schedule allows almost an hour between trains arriving from different directions at the station.

However, in the mornings, there is an arrival from Washington at 10:12AM as well as an arrival from Newport News which departs for New York at 10:29AM. This schedule has NOT changed and allows only 17 minutes between arrivals at MSS -- almost guaranteeing delays on one or other of the trains.

Why wasn't that schedule adjusted? Or better yet, why don't they lay a second track?

Years ago CSX ripped out one of the double tracks approaching and within the station. Because of that and Amtrak's ill-advised scheduling, trains have been running 20 minutes late on average.

Despite the new arrival and departure times, all four trains will still travel at a snail's pace between MSS and Staples Mill Station requiring 25 to 30 minutes to traverse the 12 miles via Acca Yard.

From today's RTD:

http://www2.timesdis...-221407/350367/

Here is a article from Style Weekly to compliment this post

http://styleweekly.com/ME2/dirmod.asp?sid=&nm=&type=Publishing&mod=Publications::Article&mid=8F3A7027421841978F18BE895F87F791&tier=4&id=29791D54D95A48EF8AD1206D2C1290F2

Will Main Street Station ever become viable?

[orulz]

Evenually, all trains to and through Richmond, with the exception of the Auto Train, will stop at MSS. The timing depends largely on funding. Since the odds of Congress getting around to the transportation bill before the 2010 election are looking like slim-to-none, it then depends largely on how conservative Congress becomes in November 2010, and the white house in November 2012.

As a part of its Northeast Corridor Infrastructure Master Plan, Amtrak considers what upgrades need to happen to the line between Richmond MSS and Washington. This includes a project known as the Acca Yard Bypass. This involves a high-speed bypass around Acca Yard, moving the suburban station from Staples Mill road to Parham road, and improving the tracks to access Main Street Station to allow trains to move 45mph instead of 15mph.

The SEHSR project from Richmond to Raleigh proposes spending a bundle of money to fix up the line from Petersburg to Richmond MSS so that it has two tracks and allows for trains to travel up to 110mph. That will allow all trains to Norfolk as well as NC and points south to serve MSS. This will be a big project in that it will add 14 or 15 new grade separations to the line between Richmond and Petersburg.

[calwinston]

'Virgina Railway Express may transport soldiers from Fort Lee to Fort AP Hill"

I applaud the army for doing this to relieve congestion on our roadways and for having the foresight that rail is logistically better!

Now only if VRE can transport and increase service for Virginians from Richmond to Petersburg and Fredricksburg on a hourly basis.

http://www2.timesdispatch.com/business/2010/jun/19/RAIL19-ar-212441/

[burt]

'Virgina Railway Express may transport soldiers from Fort Lee to Fort AP Hill"

I applaud the army for doing this to relieve congestion on our roadways and for having the foresight that rail is logistically better!

Now only if VRE can transport and increase service for Virginians from Richmond to Petersburg and Fredricksburg on a hourly basis.

http://www2.timesdis...IL19-ar-212441/

This RTD story about possibly transporting military personnel between Ft. Lee and Fort A. P. Hill via train fascinates me. I'm scratching my head as to how I missed reading it in the RTD given my interest in rail transit.

While suggesting that soldiers would be unloaded at a station in Milford about 3 miles from the Ft. Hill base in Caroline County, it does not name an embarkation point near Ft. Lee.

There is trackage through Ft. Lee between Petersburg and Hopewell and I wonder, with some shunting and manouvering, if a connection could be made to the old "S" line near downtown Petersburg, thence via that line through Colonial Heights to Richmond and beyond? Otherwise, I guess the troops would have to be bused to the Etrick Amtrak station.

VRE commuter equipment, some of which is double-decked, would have to avoid a route thru Main Street Station because of clearance limits at downtown Richmond's triple crossing.

ANOTHER possibility, if low-rise VRE or Amtrak equipment were used and if existing trackage could handle passenger trains, is to load trains AT Ft. Lee and proceed on N/S track into Hopewell, then connect to an existing CSX track which parallels the "S" line to a point south of the James River, thence via MSS and the Buckingham line to Dowell junction where it could join the CSX main to Milford Station.

Such a route would avoid Acca Yard and Ashland. .

Very interesting proposition!

Edited June 26, 2010 by burt