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[KevinKorell]

This thread is about our trip on the Virginia Railway Express commuter train from Washington, DC to Fredericksburg, VA on Friday, July 19th.

[KevinKorell]

Nice trip on VRE, despite some heat orders and our car's air conditioning being a little inadequate. We happened to ride in an ex-Metra gallery car. That with mostly left-handed running, Steve felt right at home (despite the better scenery in Virginia) as if he was on one of the UP (former C&NW) commuter lines. There were 6 of us on that trip. But the biggest problem came at the end. My biggest concern well ahead of time, and something I mentioned as we were preparing to get off, is that I had no idea where to stand for #80. Trains can show up on any track in any direction there, and with VRE running left-handed and a freight we saw doing the same, it is very confusing. There are elevated low-level side platforms, with ramps, stairs, and an elevator. They are connected at ground level by a tunnel. The station building has been entirely converted into a Bavarian restaurant, so there is no indoor waiting area, and nobody of authority to ask where to wait. Track 2 is what one would expect to be the normal northbound track, and Track 3 is what one would expect to be the normal southbound track. Our first assumption was Track 2, since we saw other people waiting there. At around the time #80 should have been there, we heard a faint announcement that told us to go to Track 3. About 15 of us on the platform had to then go down the Track 2 ramp, through the tunnel, and up the other ramp to Track 3. After we were there several minutes, and I of course joked that we might end up back on Track 2, another announcement came that #80 would be on Track 2. Guess what? Another walk down one ramp, through tunnel, and up the other ramp to Track 2. The announcements are coming from an external source, but it's not known where they originated from -- certainly not the Bavarian restaurant. Keep in mind it's close to 100 degrees, extremely humid, and most of the people had one or more pieces of luggage. Not sure how many parties are to blame here, but I'll put at least some of it on CSX, whether they deserve it or not.