Advocates want to see a new line to take passengers through Washington, D.C. and into the northeast but Amtrak won't let it happen unless the station gets a lot bigger.
Another example of misinformed media reporters freely interchaning words like "line" and "train". There will not be another line, as the area is already covered by the Crescent and the Lynchburg Northeast Regionals on the Norfolk Southern line, and the Cardinal running on the Buckingham Branch.
The general expectation is that when service begins to Roanoke, the trains that now end in Lynchburg will simply be extended. If the Roanoke addition is a big success, then perhaps more trains should be extended south from Washington to run through Charlottesville and Lynchburg and over the new route to Roanoke.
Amtrak needs to get a capital grant to double track a portion of the Buckingham Branch so the Cardinal can go daily.
Sloan, I don't think that the Buckingham Branch is the only obstacle to daily service. There are many other political and territorial reasons also involving the other host railroads (CSX mainly). Keep in mind that the way the thrice-weekly timetable is now, every day that 51 leaves the east coast, 50 also arrives in the east coast cities. The two, if both are relatively close to schedule, pass somewhere in western Virginia on the Buckingham Branch. So what they now do 3 days a week could be done 7 days a week.
Sloan
