WASHINGTON — Virginia Railway Express service remains limited for the morning commute as a result of Tuesday’s Amtrak derailment at Washington Union Station, VRE reported in a service alert.
“Traffic is still suspended going into and out of Union Station,” the alert reads, “and we are still unable to retrieve our equipment from the coachyard north of Union Station.” As a result, VRE service is limited to five trainsets that had not yet reached Union Station at the time of Tuesday morning’s derailment [see “Minor Amtrak derailment disrupts service …,” Trains News Wire, July 11, 2023], meaning just three trains were slated to operate on the Fredericksburg Line and three on the Manassas Line this morning. Five Fredericksburg and four Manassas trains were cancelled.
Trains were operating to L’Enfant instead of Union Station.
Current afternoon rush plans are for three trains on each line, originating at L’Enfant, but that could change if VRE is able to access its equipment.
Amtrak has removed the alert about service south of Washington on its website, and an Amtrak representative told WTOP Radio that the passenger operator expected to resume those operations today. Some disruptions remain possible; check Amtrak’s NEC Alerts Twitter account or the Amtrak website for more information.
Wednesday, July 12, 2023 at 8:22:26 PM VRE plans to operate on the “S” Schedule on Thursday, July 13. Only trains marked with an “S” on the schedule will run. All trains will stop at all stations, including Washington Union Station. See schedules here: https://www.vre.org/service/schedules/ ONLY the following trains will run on July 13: Fredericksburg Line “S” Schedule trains: AM trains 302, 306, 310 and 314, and PM trains 301, 305, 309 and 313 Manassas Line “S” Schedule trains: AM trains 324, 328, 330 and 332, and PM trains 325, 329, 333 and 335 Note: Updates are not typically available for delays under 10 minutes as time is often made up en route. Questions? gotrains@vre.org
Unfortunately, commuters can still expect VRE delays Wednesday morning.
Dr. Güntürk Üstün
COMPLETELY SECONDARY TO THE VRE / AMTRAK DERAILMENT SUBJECT, I HIGHLY ADMIRE THE QUALITY AND MESSAGE OF THE PHOTOGRAPH. FOR GEORGE HAMLIN TO BE STANDING OUTSIDE IN THE COLD, WITH HIS FINGER ON THE SHUTTER RELEASE BUTTON, CONSIDERABLE PHOTOGRAPHIC SKILL AND PATIENCE IS REQUIRED TO OBTAIN SUCH A PHOTO, ABOVE AND BEYOND THE EXTENT OF CAMERAS AND LENSES. WAS ONE TRAIN MOVING AND THE OTHER STOPPED? THE MARKER LIGHTS ON ONE ENGINE CONTRAST WITH WITH HEADLIGHTS ON THE OTHER. AND THE LOW ANGLE OF SUNLIGHT AT THAT TIME OF YEAR ADDS AN ELEMENT OF LUCK TO THE ILLUMINATION OF THE MAIN SUBJECT, JUST AT THE EDGE OF THE SHADOWS. WE SHOULD BE THANKFUL THAT “TRAINS” AND KALMBACH HAVE ACCESS TO NUMEROUS EMPLOYEES AND CONTRIBUTORS EQUALLY SKILLED AS AUTHORS AS PHOTOGRAPHERS. I JUST WISH “NEWS WIRE” WOULD IDENTIFY MORE OF THE “ANONYMOUS” ARTICLE AUTHORS. WALTER FRITZ OBER, INDIANA 574-772-4766
To kvetch a bit more, readers , including me, have continually complained that Newswire need a proofreader who speaks railroad and is proficient in spelling and grammar.
Sir, all caps is shouting online and considered rather impolite.
SEPTA regional rail is safe and reliable. I think MNR deems itself safe and reliable.
Incidentally, if VRE’s equipment is at Wash Union, it can get to L’Enfant Plaza (Elephant Plaza to some) by going North to LANDOVER, then South on the freight line (original B&P) via VIRGINIA to L’Enfant Plaza. Same applies to using the B&O connection over to the freight line at Anacostia.
Safety, reliability, and trust are the foundations of any service business. (Yes, price, comfort, and convenience are atop that foundation!) And, passenger rail in the U.S. currently has none of the above.
Does any operator have the courage to make any of this happen?