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A new rail authority in Virginia could revolutionize connections for riders throughout the state
A new rail authority in Virginia could revolutionize connections for riders throughout the state
TRANSIT By Wyatt Gordon (Virginia Correspondent) March 31, 2020
From new vehicle safety measures to the possibility of zero-fare transit pilots, the litany of policy changes inside Governor Ralph Northam’s recently passed transportation omnibus reads like a wishlist for urbanists. However, the one reform that could permanently transform transportation in the Commonwealth is the creation of a long-awaited Virginia Passenger Rail Authority (VPRA).
After decades of railroad corporations’ stranglehold on Virginia’s rail expansion plans, the Commonwealth will now join the elite handful of states featuring a legal entity with a mandate to own, manage, and expand rail infrastructure for the public good and the benefit of businesses across the region.
On the rails to passage
Although rail enthusiasts and technocrats across the Commonwealth applauded the passage of the bills from House Speaker Eileen Filler-Corn and Senate Majority Leader Dick Saslaw establishing the VPRA, perhaps no Virginian was more enthused by the measure than Danny Plaugher—Executive Director of the nonprofit Virginians for High Speed Rail. “This is a game changer for the state’s transportation network,” he said. “Our organization has been pushing for a rail authority for the past twenty years.”
Plaugher isn’t exaggerating. Nearly two decades ago a years-long campaign for a passenger rail authority culminated in legislation that passed the Senate and House transportation committees unanimously only to die unceremoniously in the House appropriations committee without explanation. This year—with the support of the governor—the measure breezed through the legislature as one of the least controversial portions of an omnibus that also proposed abolishing annual car inspections and raising the wholesale fuel tax.
{snip}
A rail network map by Department of Transportation.
{snip}
TRANSIT By Wyatt Gordon (Virginia Correspondent) March 31, 2020
From new vehicle safety measures to the possibility of zero-fare transit pilots, the litany of policy changes inside Governor Ralph Northam’s recently passed transportation omnibus reads like a wishlist for urbanists. However, the one reform that could permanently transform transportation in the Commonwealth is the creation of a long-awaited Virginia Passenger Rail Authority (VPRA).
After decades of railroad corporations’ stranglehold on Virginia’s rail expansion plans, the Commonwealth will now join the elite handful of states featuring a legal entity with a mandate to own, manage, and expand rail infrastructure for the public good and the benefit of businesses across the region.
On the rails to passage
Although rail enthusiasts and technocrats across the Commonwealth applauded the passage of the bills from House Speaker Eileen Filler-Corn and Senate Majority Leader Dick Saslaw establishing the VPRA, perhaps no Virginian was more enthused by the measure than Danny Plaugher—Executive Director of the nonprofit Virginians for High Speed Rail. “This is a game changer for the state’s transportation network,” he said. “Our organization has been pushing for a rail authority for the past twenty years.”
Plaugher isn’t exaggerating. Nearly two decades ago a years-long campaign for a passenger rail authority culminated in legislation that passed the Senate and House transportation committees unanimously only to die unceremoniously in the House appropriations committee without explanation. This year—with the support of the governor—the measure breezed through the legislature as one of the least controversial portions of an omnibus that also proposed abolishing annual car inspections and raising the wholesale fuel tax.
{snip}
A rail network map by Department of Transportation.
{snip}