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VRE approves 4% fare hike, outlines long-term expansion


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#1 CNJRoss

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Posted 09 February 2015 - 12:00 PM

WTOP radio "Sprawl and Crawl," 2/9:
 

VRE proposes fare hikes, outlines long, long-term expansion

 

WASHINGTON — Commuters on Virginia Railway Express may have to pay more for their trip starting this summer, as the rail service adds a new Fredericksburg line train, opens the new Spotsylvania station and makes safety upgrades.

 

VRE is proposing a four percent fare hike, and a $2 increase in the cost of Amtrak step-up tickets beginning in July. The fare hike would cost a rider with a monthly pass from Fredericksburg to Union Station about $12 more per month, a rider from Broad Run or Manassas about $10 more per month and a rider from Woodbridge about $9 more per month. Single-trip tickets for those trips would cost about 40 cents more.

 

VRE will hold public hearings on the fare increases over the next few weeks. They are expected to cost riders a total of $900,000 in the fiscal year beginning in July, while allowing funding from the local governments involved in VRE to remain flat.

 

Fairfax County Braddock District Supervisor John Cook, the new leader of the VRE Operations Board, says fares have not gone up for two years, and a fare increase will help cover inflation as well as safety changes such as the implementation of positive train control.

 

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#2 KevinKorell

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Posted 09 February 2015 - 01:37 PM

The line to Gainesville and Haymarket is to me a spur, not an extension, since it will branch off the Manassas Line at downtown Manassas rather than the current endpoint Broad Run station. I assume there is a full wye there so that VRE can continue to use its storage yard at Broad Run, or else they will need a new one up the new line.

 

The idea of operating through trains between Virginia and Maryland points is not a new one, but it will require interagency cooperation between Maryland Transit Administration and VRE.

 

And what ever happened to the plan to run more express trains, but originate/terminate them at L'Enfant Plaza?



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#3 CNJRoss

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Posted 09 February 2015 - 10:11 PM

VRE web page:

 

Public Hearing Information

Click here for the Public Hearing Dates and Other Ways to Provide Your Comments

Proposed Fares are Listed Below:

FY2016 Proposed Fare Increase

The process to develop the proposed budget for fiscal year 2016 began back in June of 2014, a full 13 months prior to the effective start date of July 1, 2015. The VRE Operations Board was presented with a set of key issues to apply to the development of the FY 2016 budget. Those key issues included:

  1. Level of service: Some trains are at or over 100% and the addition of the Spotsylvania station and parking facility will result in increased ridership
  2. Maintenance of VRE assets: Federal formula funds dedicated to maintaining transit assets in a “state of good repair” are expected to provide the ongoing capital costs of maintaining VRE assets over their life cycle
  3. Contract renewal with Amtrak: VRE’s current contract with Amtrak expires on June 30, 2015
  4. Capital improvements to support the VRE System Plan: Capital improvements needed to meet the expected demand for VRE service and to increase railroad infrastructure capacity in the VRE service territory require the identification and commitment of funds beyond those currently available to VRE
  5. Capital reserve: VRE needs to develop a target level for the capital reserve
  6. VRE staffing and office space: VRE needs the staff resources necessary to operate and administer the commuter rail system safely, efficiently and in compliance with all federal and state requirements
  7. Jurisdictional subsidy: The VRE service must be supported within the confines of jurisdictional budget constraints

VRE staff developed a budget based on those key issues and presented it to the Operations Board in September 2014. The budget was then forwarded to the commissions (PRTC and NVTC) which gave approval to forward the budget to all of the local jurisdictions.

Beginning in September 2014, the local jurisdictions, represented by the CAO Task Force, a group of financial representatives from each jurisdiction, worked with VRE staff providing feedback and recommendations for the budget. The final proposed budget, including the CAO Task Force recommendations, was then presented to the VRE Operations Board in December 2014.
The final proposed budget included the following:

  • Estimates average daily ridership of 19,300
  • Funds an additional Fredericksburg line train for a full year
    • Scheduled to begin service summer 2015
  • Recommends 4% fare increase
  • Maintains level jurisdictional subsidy of $16.4M
  • Spotsylvania station scheduled to open summer 2015
  • Funds high priority capital improvements, such as nine additional railcars

The budget was then submitted to the commissions for approval by the local jurisdictions in January 2014, seven months after the process began.

Because the proposed budget includes a fare increase, VRE has begun a period to allow for public comment through the mail, online, and through a series of public hearings giving riders or any other interested parties the ability to voice their opinion before the proposed budget is adopted.

One of the questions that we have received through the public comments is "Why is there a need for a 4% fare increase, when economic conditions are already straining the riders' resources?"

There are several primary reasons for the recommended fare increase. VRE faces revenue reductions and contractual cost increases based on either fixed escalation rates or indexed rates based on CPI adjustments. As an example, track access for the three host railroads, Norfolk Southern, CSX, and Amtrak account for an additional $1.1 million in costs. Positive train control, which is required by the Federal Railroad Administration, has been budgeted at $775k per year in operating costs; a new expense for FY 2016. On the revenue side of the ledger, state operating funding has decreased by 10% (over $1 million). The jurisdictions have their own budget constraints, so the subsidy remained level at $16.4 million. To help close this gap, the proposal includes a 4% fare increase, which is budgeted to generate an additional $900k.

The budget process is very long and requires estimates to be made in many areas of the operation a full year before the budget is scheduled to take effect.



#4 CNJRoss

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Posted 19 April 2015 - 08:05 AM

The Washington Post, posted 4/18:
 

VRE kicks off major expansion plan with new Spotsylvania station

 

Virginia Railway Express is opening a new Northern Virginia station this summer, marking the first major service expansion in the system’s 23-year history and a key piece of VRE’s long-term plans to meet the region’s growing transit needs.

 

The new terminal in Spotsylvania County will extend service south of Fredericksburg, potentially drawing several hundred new riders from a part of Northern Virginia geared up for growth and development.

 

The $3.4 million station is the first of several major projects VRE is pursuing as part of its goal to double ridership by 2040. Next month, it will launch a mobile app to give riders the option of purchasing and showing tickets via smartphones, and it will add a train to the Fredericksburg Line this summer. A station at the Potomac Shores mixed-use community, south of Woodbridge, is in the design phase, and a study is underway for the extension of the Manassas Line to Gainesville and Haymarket in Prince William County.

 

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#5 CNJRoss

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Posted 20 April 2015 - 09:50 PM

The Free Lance-Star, Fredericksburg, VA, posted 4/17:
 

VRE approves 4 percent rate increase

 

It’s official: Virginia Railway Express fares will increase by 4 percent July 1.

 

The VRE Operations Board approved the hike at Friday’s meeting in Dale City. The Amtrak cost of step-up tickets also will go up in July, from $3 to $5.

 

Only 34 people attended seven public hearings on the hikes, providing little opposition.

 

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#6 CNJRoss

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Posted 09 May 2015 - 01:12 PM

The Washington Post, 5/9:
 

VRE fare hike approved; riders will pay more starting July 1

 

Virginia Railway Express riders will pay more starting July 1.

 

A 4 percent fare increase that VRE officials say is necessary to keep up with rising costs was approved this week.  The hike is included in the agency’s proposed fiscal 2016 budget.

 

SNIP

 

The VRE operations board approved the fare increase at the April 17 meeting. The agency, a partnership between the Northern Virginia Transportation Commission and the Potomac and Rappahannock Transportation Commission, got approval from both commissions this week.

 

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