The Commonwealth of Virginia reached an agreement with CSX last week that lays the foundations for a $3.7 billion investment into the future of the state’s rail lines, including a new bridge, new track, track improvements, and increased service.
While definitive agreements likely will not be finished and executed until the latter half of 2020, the groundwork laid by last week’s agreement paints the path forward: a new bridge over the Potomac River, owned by Virginia and hosting solely passenger and commuter rail lines; hundreds of miles of new right-of-way and track for the railroad; and 37 miles of new track improvements.
“We have a once-in-a-generation opportunity to make our rail system work better for everyone, both in Virginia and along the entire East Coast,” Gov. Ralph Northam said. “This agreement will change the future of transportation in Virginia, improving our ability to move people and goods across the state, and opening up potential rail service in underserved parts of the Commonwealth.”
The centerpiece of the agreement is the Long Bridge project. CSX owns the existing Long Bridge — a structure built in 1904 and which is currently responsible for all passenger, commuter, and CSX freight traffic crossing the Potomac River. Constantly near peak capacity, it represents a bottleneck for transportation in the region that the partners hope to relieve. With passenger and commuter trains able to use the new bridge, freight trains would be given exclusive use of the existing bridge.
Additionally, CSX has agreed to increase service levels. Phased in over 10 years, this commitment would up efforts across the board, doubling the number of Amtrak trains running in Virginia, as well as increasing service for the Virginia Railway Express; the Amtrak service to Newport News and Norfolk, Va.; and between Richmond, Va., and Washington, D.C. CSX has also pledged to acquire the abandoned S-line running from Petersburg, Virginia into North Carolina and to preserve an existing freight corridor between Doswell and Clifton Forge, Va.
“CSX is proud of the innovative agreement reached with the Commonwealth of Virginia which will advance our goals for increased safety, efficiency, and volume growth while meeting the public’s desire for more passenger rail service to relieve commuter traffic congestion in the I-95 corridor,” Jim Foote, president and CEO of CSX, said.
The Commonwealth of Virginia notes that the rail expansion could remove as many as 5 million cars and 1 million trucks from Virginia highways each year while boosting container output from the Port of Virginia.