Advocates of increased consumer rail service expect the Virginia General Assembly to appropriate funds for the demonstration leg of the TransDominion Express, a rail route proposed to span the state.
According to Barbara Hartley, vice president of business advocacy for the Lynchburg Regional Chamber of Commerce, it is likely that the General Assembly will allot the needed funds.
"While there is no part of the $23 million rail budget earmarked for the TransDominion Express, we are reasonably certain that the project will push forward," Hartley said.
According to Rex Hammond, president and CEO of the Lynchburg Regional Chamber of Commerce, the route would stretch from Bristol, in the southwest corner of the state, to Lynchburg, where it would split into two legs, one culminating in Richmond and the other in Washington, D.C. The northern leg would include a stop in Charlottesville.
"The northern route would connect to Union Station in Washington, D.C., while the route to Bristol would eventually connect to Tennessee," Hammond said.
Hammond added that the demonstration leg would be a precursor to the full route.
However, there is some disagreement as to where this demonstration leg should be built.
Hartley favors the leg that will run between Bristol and Richmond.
"We need to start where we have the funds and the support," she said.
Hartley noted that unlike the northern leg which would supplement commuter rail, the Bristol-Richmond leg would connect the cities and rural areas and allow them to work together for economic development, a plan supported by state Senator William Wampler, R-Bristol.
Charlottesville Vice-Mayor Meredith Richards supports a demonstration leg that would connect Roanoke and Northern Virginia through the most populous and developed areas of the state.
"The most rational approach is to connect Roanoke and Northern Virginia where there is an unmet demand for rail service and where the demonstration leg has the greatest chance of success," Richards said.
Both parties agree that the ultimate goal is the complete TransDominion Express which would service much of the state.
"Just because the demonstration model would incorporate a certain region doesn't mean that we are giving up on the entire project," Hartley said.
Richards agrees. "Clearly the best thing for the state is to invest in the entire route."
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