VRE takes closer look at westward plunge

By Dan Roem

Railway still could move to Gainesville, Haymarket

By Dan Roem

droem@timespapers.com

“There should be clarity for this whole thing in a year.”

That was the basic message delivered by Virginia Railway Express CEO Dale Zehner to Haymarket officials Jan. 28 as he spoke about the possibility of expanding VRE commuter services through western Prince William County.

Even if everything goes perfectly for VRE, it will be another five to seven years before commuter trains come out to Gainesville and Haymarket.

In the meantime, engineers will be conducting an environmental impact study during the next year to determine if a westward expansion that could potentially include sites near Sudley Manor Drive or Innovation, Gainesville and Haymarket is feasible.

Zehner and VRE’s manager of planning Christine Hoeffner repeatedly stressed that no ideas are final right now and there has not been any specific site selection.

The idea they are working with is adding an extra track or two to the existing tracks Norfolk Southern uses for freight trains west of Manassas.

That is where all the X factors start coming into play.

Haymarket Mayor Pamela Stutz and Town Manager Gene Swearingen both supported the concept of a Gainesville VRE station for multiple reasons.

The area surrounding the Virginia Gateway complex near U.S. 29 and Route 55 is mostly commercial and is accostumed to high volumes of traffic. Given that it is a shorter drive from Haymarket than the existing Broad Run VRE station near the Manassas Regional Airport, it could potentially save town and county residents alike a lot of time during their morning and evening commutes.

Also, a Gainesville station would be designed to relieve the Broad Run station of extra people and vehicles.

If no station west of Manassas is built, however, then an expansion of the parking lot at Broad Run would have to be considered, according to Zehner.

Where it starts to get dicey for Stutz and Swearingen is the prospect of a site near the Town of Haymarket, close to Interstate 66 and Route 55.

Zehner said he “can’t imagine” it could happen without taking land from property owners near the railway because adding one or two more tracks would physically expand the area needed to run the railroad.

“Property acquisition is always a painful process,” said Zehner, later adding, “you’re not going to do it unless it’s so beneficial.”

Adding two tracks instead of just one would have to be considered in Gainesville due to the upcoming construction near the I-66/U.S. 29 interchange.

“They may ask for a third track…so the freights can run all the time,” said Zehner, referring to Norfolk Southern.

How the railway would impact local businesses is also something town officials asked VRE representatives to consider.

Both Zehner and Hoeffner confirmed most VRE commuters in Manassas show up 10 minutes before the train arrives in the morning, and, when they come back in the evening, simply walk to their vehicles and leave.

That means shops don't generate much walk-up business from out-of-area commuters.

A large station at Gainesville could cancel the need for a Haymarket station, but if Haymarket were the end of the line, then VRE could consider it as a place to store trains and perform maintenance.

As for the number of people riding the trains each day, VRE could double its daily number of riders passing through Manassas because officials estimate 4,000 new riders out of western Prince William.

That number is based on four new trains leaving and returning to the western part of the county each day.

There is also the chance that the number of trains passing through Manassas each day could change or could be spread out more, allowing a later train to leave Washington, D.C. at 8 p.m. and arrive at Manassas a little after 9 p.m.

The idea of commuters busing from Haymarket to the train stations is not as practical as it sounds, Zehner explained.

“The bus ride cannot be too long,” he said, though he mentioned “people will do it.

“Generally, people do not like a transfer,” Zehner said, and the number of people who will ride both the bus and train is 50 percent less than people who would be willing to take just the train.

According to the CEO, mass transit only provides rides to 5 to 10 percent of commuters working inside the Beltway each day because most people prefer to drive themselves or to carpool.

“Wow, I’m amazed,” said Stutz after hearing that figure.