8/29/22
Virginians for
High Speed Rail
I hope you had a great Summer. As we prepare to transition into September and the start of the school year and end of vacation season, I wanted to give you a quick update on everything that is going on with passenger rail in Virginia.
As always, thank you to the generous donors who support our work and make our education and advocacy efforts possible. We couldn’t do this without you! Please consider making a tax-deductible contribution to support VHSR and our work: www.VHSR.com/donate.
Passengers are returning!
After the roller coaster of the last couple of years it is nice to hear some good news.
Well, the June 2022 ridership on Virginia’s Amtrak Regionals exceed pre-pandemic (June 2019) ridership by nearly 7 percent! In fact, for FY 2022 (October 2021-September 2022), ridership on Virginia’s Amtrak Regionals is at 83 percent of pre-pandemic ridership.
Here’s the asterisk to that point. This ridership growth was BEFORE the July 11 launch of the new Transforming Rail in Virginia service expansion of train 2 to Roanoke and train 3 to Norfolk, as well as the restarting of train 2 to Newport News (which had been suspended since January 2022 due to staffing issues). Virginians love our trains!
One last note on ridership.
Congratulations to the stations and communities of Norfolk (113%), Richmond’s Main Street Station (85%), Newport News (74%), Staunton and Burke Centre (68%), Petersburg (67%) and Roanoke (62%) which exceed the statewide average (59%) for FY 2021 (October 2020-September 2021) ridership when compared to their pre-pandemic average. Ashland (29%) was the worst performing station.
Upcoming Events
VHSR is excited to announce that we’re launching our 2022 Virtual Town Hall Series and we have two great programs already lined up.
September 23, 2022 at 1:00 pm
“Expanding Rail across North Carolina and the Southeast”
Jason Orthner, Director of NCDOT's Rail Division
RSVP: https://us02web.zoom...BRKe7Tz702TpEow
October 4, 2022 at 12:00 pm
“Investing in America's Future”
Jennifer Mitchell, Deputy Administrator of the Federal Railroad Administration
RSVP: https://us02web.zoom...zQTWv0MHxut9E4AOur 2022 Virtual Town Hall series is made possible by our generous sponsors including JBG Smith.
If you’re interested in sponsoring, please contact me at Danny@VHSR.com.
Virginia State Rail Plan
The Virginia Department of Rail and Public Transportation is unveiling the Commonwealth's 2022 Virginia Statewide Rail Plan and hosting a virtual public meeting on September 27, 2022 from 6:00-7:00 pm. I encourage you to participate and learn more.
You can participate by RSVPing here: https://register.got...966644919195149
You can learn more about the Virginia Statewide Rail Plan here: https://www.drpt.vir...wide-rail-plan/
VRE is FREE
Exciting news for September, Virginia Railway Express has gone fare free for the month. If you’ve ever wanted to give Virginia’s Commuter Rail service a try, September is the time.
Learn more about VRE’s Fare Free September here: https://www.vre.org/
Thank you once again to everyone who supports our work. We are incredibly proud of everything that has been accomplished and all of the exciting things that lay ahead. Virginia is a leader when it comes to passenger rail and that is thanks to YOUR support and work.
Regards,
Danny Plaugher
Executive Director
Here are the videos from our 2021 Virtual Town Hall events.
Town Hall 1: Amit Bose, Acting Administrator, Federal Railroad Administration
Town Hall 4: Rich Dalton, VA Railway Express; Joe McAndrews, GWP; and Jay Corbalis, JBG Smith;
Follow Us
Virginians for High Speed Rail
5101 Monument Ave. | Richmond, Virginia 23230
804-864-5193 | Danny@vhsr.com
